Month: May 2008

What’s on your grill?

I tried to think of something pithy to say about Memorial Day and after about the tenth draft, I decided to let the troops speak for themselves. These are letters to my charity Books For Soldiers.

Check them after the flip

From R J

Somewhere about a month out from my departure, I started collecting small promises.  All of my friends, all of my family, places I would frequent, soldiers I recruited into the Army, all of them would offer these small promises to me.  “When you leave, I swear I will send you stuff.”  “Write me with your address, and I will make sure I write you back.”  “If you need ANYTHING, all you have to do is ask.”  Maybe they felt obligated to say these thing.  I can only guess.  They may have even believed they were being sincere at the time.  It’s amazing how quickly people forget about you when you are gone.  Out of sight-Out of mind is not just a saying.  It’s a truth.  My wife writes me.  She is very consistent.  Once a week I get something from her.  It really is uplifting.  In between letters, I wonder what happened to everyone else.

I am not afraid of dying here.  Death doesn’t scare me a bit.  Being forgotten scares me.  If I pass on, will anyone remember me?  So many people have passed through my live and have touched me in some way…Will they cast a thought in my direction?

I was a recruiter for just over 4 years before I came out here to Iraq.  At the end of my recruiting time, I was tasked with escorting Generals from the Pentagon to attend funerals at Arlington National Cemetary.  I attended too many of them…Hell, one is too many.  I attended the funeral of a Marine I tried to recruit into the Army.  His joining the Marines really was a loss to the Army.  I hope the Marines know what they got…and what they lost.  He was remembered well by hundreds of people.  His funeral was a national event.  It was tragic.  So much potential lost.

I attended the funeral of another soldier…a Specialist.  Besides the General and I, there were only 5 other people at the funeral.  It was a beautiful although small ceremony.  When all was said and done, his mother returned to Ohio.  His friend, who was also injured in the explosion and was receiving treatment at Walter Reed, returned to the hospital.  At the funeral, there were no fond rememberances…There was no testament to the life this man lived.  It was so sad.  It angered me in some way.  It hurt me way down deep that Politicians and top Generals would show up for Bihn Le (he deserved as much recognition as anyone can give him), but almost no one came to mark the passing of this anonymous Specialist.

I consider that Specialist sometimes.  Will that be how I end my time here on Earth?  Will anyone remember me, does anyone care?

BFS cares.  The Soccer Moms, Nascar Dads, the students, the Yuppies, the retired, the church-goers, the liberals, the conservatives, etc…All of you care enough to remind soldiers that someone out there cares for the sacrifices they are making.  I hold on to the belief that at some point during that anonymous Specialist’s tour here, someone from BFS or from Soldier Angels, or any other like organization touched that soldiers life.  You have touched mine.

Last night I received two packages from BFS members.  One was the book “The Action Hero’s Handbook”, the other was filled with snacks and horror movies…just in time for Halloween.  I don’t receive much here, so when I was told I had packages…plural…My heart did somersaults in my chest.  I tore open the box right away and I handed out the Halloween candy like I was Santa Claus on Christmas Day.  The Reese Peanut Butter cups were a hit!  I saved just short of half of the candy for the night shift, and it was a good thing too, because by the time I dropped off my laundry and came back, all of the candy I left was gone.  I kept some tootsie rolls for myself and let the rest of the soldiers devour the last of the candy when I came back into work for the night shift.  Now I can enjoy some tootsie rolls while I learn to be a proper action hero.

It helps.  Everything you send helps.  The letters, the postcards, someone sent me a huge box of footpowder… All of it helps.  Your packages and letters help me to not feel so isolated and removed from the world while I am here.  Thank you for fulfilling the small well-meaning promises of those people who for one reason or another could not fulfill them.  You guys are the best friends I never met.  Everyone in my office appreciates what you do.  Especially my Captain, who as it turns out, hoarded a bunch of the fun sized packages of Whoppers.

You guys are amazing.

From S K

…The medical team here sees lots of local Afghan civilians, and children, who truly are the most  innocent victims of this war.  Helping them is just as important as killing the bad guys, as that is what we need to do for long-term success in winning the hearts of the people.  Whenever we are here and we can assist them, we do what we can.  Often if kids are brought in, we’ll give them whatever toys or candy we have….

From J G
I cannot start to thank you for what you are doing for the troops and for my morale and the others deployed with me.

Well the Operating base here in Northern Afghanistan is very rural to say the least.  Tents and a hot shower once a week if you are the first 20 in line.

Thank you any for the letter and hope to get more.

The website will show you the what the environment looks like (Colorado)  and what the mission we are conducting here.  We are trying to update the website with new pictures and stories some of them are dated, but will give you any idea of what we are doing.

Thank you again.  Anything you could send would be greatly appriciated.

We will be on deployment until March 2009.

From John S.

Most of us here in Afghanistan are in remote areas that make it difficult to obtain even some basic items, let alone books.

Thanks for all your work.

From J W

I assist in the running of a combat stress clinic, first at Camp Victory Iraq then at Camp Anaconda, and now here. The soldiers who come to the clinic are so grateful for the literature I am able to give them. Thank you for providing the means.

From P W
Thank you so, so much for arranging for the magazines to be sent to our convoy support team from “Books for Soldiers”!  We were able to pick up mail for the first time today and we received a huge box of magazines from Wisconsin.  The magazines will be a huge help to the convoys.  They are a hit already.

They will be a huge help, because we have a lot of convoys traveling through our CST (on their way home!) in the next few weeks/months the soldiers on the convoys will appreciate the magazines very, very much.

Your support is very much appreciated.  On behalf of our team THANK YOU!

From A S

I am a soldier who really doesn’t get a chance to get on the internet.  I
just wanted to tell everyone that works with you and the things that you do for us, some of the soldiers don’t get much packages but thanks to you guys they do.

It really lights up their day and they talk about the things that was sent to them.  So again thank you for helping some of these young soldiers who really don’t have families and becoming part of their lives.

You do make a difference to our lives everyday.

From J R

Everyone has a pretty good support system from home; we get packages almost everyday of candy and granola bars, that are usually consumed by the next day.

We’re an Aviation unit, so everyone stuffs the pockets of their flight suit with goodies to munch on during long flights.  We fly CH-47 Chinook helicopters, which are the Army’s heavy lifters.

My company really loves booksforsoldiers.com, in fact, the guy who is sitting next to me as I type this uses the site and its generous members to get books for the remote learning college courses he’s taking.  I might have to get in on the college, but being a Platoon Leader is keeping me pretty busy for now.

Well, it looks like someone’s about to nuke some Peeps in the company microwave, better go make sure they don’t explode.

Thanks so much for all you do!

From J C

I am a Virginia National Guardsman. I am a truck driver, a Gun Truck Driver, to be specific. I’m stationed in Iraq.

I heard about BFS about the time we got settled in and I looked over the site. I thought this must be something small, a few grandmothers, Girl Scout troops perhaps, nothing special, but I wrote to them anyway.

In 2003 I was deployed for a few months, during which time my wife of three years left me, and ran me into the poor house. So when I deployed this year I didn’t really have much at home, my dad was occupied with personal matters, and my mother is in poor health.

I didn’t expect a lot of mail, to be plain about it. After writing to BFS I forgot about it actually. Then one day I had a letter in the mail, the clerk had to catch me walking around to tell me, cause I never checked it. The next day another letter, then three, then a box. Then the e-mail started pouring in. Grandmothers? Yes, a few. But also soccer moms, NASCAR dads, middle school kids, a girl in her junior year of college. A little boy named Donnie sent me a crayon drawing of me, GI Joe. More people than I could ever have imagined writing a complete stranger. These true patriots, true Americans supporting me. Some sent just one letter, some have sent four or five boxes. I try to write them all in between missions, but I cant keep up. They send me their love and kindness, they soften the hard edge of the desert for me. They show me what I am really over here fighting for. I know that I will never be able to repay all the kindness they have sent to me, but I hope I have served them well while I could.

That is what BFS means to me.

From B T

Let me first start by saying thank you for your support to the men and women in the U.S. Military.  Whether you know it or not, it means a GREAT deal to us.

The reasons that we initially join are as numerous as the stars, but somewhere in those reasons is a desire to serve.  To know that we are appreciated by the very people that we have chosen to serve, regardless of the current political climate or “cause” of the day provides motivation and pride beyond measure.  So again, your Marines say thanks to you, your organization and all of those across the country like you.

I received the Art of War on CD and a paperback copy.  I am looking forward to reading it and will share it with my Marines.  I have read it before, but it is worth reading again and it is also on the Commandants Reading List (required reading for Sergeants and above) as part of our Professional Military Education program.

As you probably know by my address, we are in Kuwait not in Iraq.

Many of my Marines have done previous combat tours in Iraq so this is a welcomed break for them, while others are itching to go up north so they are a bit disappointed, but their morale is high and they understand the value of what they provide to the mission as a whole.

Overall we are all doing well and morale is high.  Mail is not a problem.  We get plenty of care packages from individual family members and from other organizations.

I have actually never listened to an audio book, and not sure how well I would do with it.  I am definitely a visual learner.  I will give it a try with the Art of War CD.

From R T

I signed up for the “Books for Soldiers” program when I first deployed to Iraq in November. Immediately, I began receiving packages from thoughtful people. My battle buddies were envious of all the packages I received, and I encouraged them to sign up for the program as well. I can’t tell you how much joy “Books for Soldiers” has brought us here in Iraq. We are working in a very high-stress environment, and I have had many a bad day that was brightened simply by receiving a package from a “Books for Soldiers” member.

I wanted to thank you for your kindness, and for making us feel appreciated. I want to thank you on behalf of the soldiers in 66 MI CO, 3 ACR, and also want you to know that we intend on volunteering for “Books for Soldiers” when we return to the U.S. because we know what it feels like to be on the receiving end of getting the packages, and how much it means.

From G G

Yes, this will be my last letter as we should be packing things up and waiting for our ride home by the time you get this letter.  I would like to thank all the BFS supporters for all they have done.  The Marines and I enjoyed the books, games, and snacks that everyone has sent.  I can honestly say that in my eight deployments, fourth one here in Iraq, that you and the supporters of BFS made a huge impact in our daily lives here.  Morale has never been higher and I thank you for that…

…Take care and keep up the important work that all of you do.  It means a lot to all of us to know we are not forgotten.  America needs all of us, together we can’t be stopped.

From K S

Thank you for Wilbur Smiths “Birds of Prey”. I just received it , well yesterday I did. Can’t wait to start it. He is an excellent author and have enjoyed reading all that he has written, or at least all that I have gotten my hands on. Great way to escape the reality a little bit at a time.

Books for Soldiers has been a great site, and i really do appreciate what people like you do to send up a book here and there. Can’t wait to finish the book I’m on now, another Tom Clancy Op-center book, (I think I’ve read it before, maybe on my last deployment- but am still reading until i can remember whether or not I have read it) and will jump right into Wilbur.

Thanks for this, when I’m done, I’ll drop it to another reader over here.

From J S

I would like to say that I appreciate everything that you all are doing for us military men and women. We go through very hard times, times when it doesn’t feel like what we are doing matters, but its people like you (God bless) that help us soldiers keep on keeping on. People like you to show us that we haven’t been forgotten about and we aren’t fighting in vain. Thank you for everything that you do to help us overseas!

From R D

Thank you …..  It means a lot to get something from someone.  Life is pretty boring over here, in between rocket attacks. …  It makes me feel proud to be an American when I get letters and things from people.  We live in a great country and we might not always be right all the time but our intentions are always for good reasons.  God bless you and tell all your friends we do what we do for them.

From J K

Thank you so much for the Steven Pressfield book and for participating in “Books for Soldiers”. I received your package yesterday and it seems it got here in record time. It usually takes two to three weeks for our mail to come from the States, and being at an isolated outpost in Northeastern Afghanistan makes it even more challenging.

I currently serving in Afghanistan with the 173d Airborne Brigade Combat Team. We have been in Afghanistan for a little over ten months, and are scheduled to re-deploy back to our home station around the August/September time frame. We are based in Vicenza, Italy and are all looking forward to getting back. It has already been a long, hard road.

Just so you know, I couldn’t put the book down last night after working for about 18 hours. I finished about a third of it already. Reading has been my escape from here, and definitely regulates my sanity.

I am thankful for your caring, generosity, and patriotism. Thank you for supporting this great program and for supporting me and my fellow service members.

As some of you may know, I founded Books For Soldiers, a 501(c)(3) non-profit that sends books, DVDs and other care package items to any US Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine – for free of course.

Here is how it works.

Troops can go to BooksForSoldiers.com and fill out the form and one of our volunteers will see if they have the book on their shelf and they will then pack it up and ship it off to the soldier.

I got the idea back during the first Gulf war when friends of mine from college were sent off to Saudi Arabia. After the 4 day war, most were stuck in the desert for months on end with nothing to do. I rounded up all my sci-fi books that were collecting dust and then raided my civilian friend’s book collections and sent them to an Army hospital in Riyadh where my military pals were stationed. They then handed out the books to the soldiers on the base. I was receiving letters from strangers a year later, thanking me for the books. They were a good break from the boredom.

When the War On Terror started, I figured our troops would be home in a matter of weeks after Baghdad fell. I erroneously thought the Pentagon had an exit strategy and Books For Soldiers would be a nice six week project then on to something else. I knew I had to reach more people than I did during the first Gulf War – I just couldn’t do it all myself. So I put together a self-serve website and BFS was born.

Due to the cluster fuck now known as Iraq, BFS celebrated our 5th year anniversary this past Spring.

The economy has been rough this year for charities. Local food banks are reducing services, women’s shelters are closing – those 1000 Points Of Light that Bush Sr. proudly yapped about are being hit hard by the crushing economy. Financial contributions to BFS this year disappeared almost completely. I think the reason is partially because of the economy and the other part is the lack of MSM coverage of the war in Iraq. I can track rises and falls of traffic on BFS directly to the amount of coverage the war gets. When the statue of Saddam fell, traffic started to tank. By the next day we lost 90% of out traffic and it took almost a year to build back up to the initial level.

Starting at the first of this year, BFS started a robust fundraising campaign here in North Carolina. We contacted small companies and some large companies you probably have heard of. To date, we have received a stack of letters that begin with “we deeply regret not being able to donate this year.” From our corporate donation campaign we have received a tad under thirty dollars from a philanthropy grants group in Winston Salem, NC. That was it, nothing else.

The BFS Board of Directors have discussed this problem for some time and have decided to have another go at fundraising. The Board set a goal of $70,000 to raise by November 1st of this year. If that amount is not raised, the site will close on December 31st, 2008.

If we cannot make the fundraising target, the Board will seek to sell the site to another qualified 501(c)(3) or close. We would also stop accepting new books requests from soldiers on December 1st, 2008.

Below are some ways of how you can help

1. Office party fundraiser – Coordinate a “Save BFS Day” at work and urge, beg, cajole your co-workers into coughing up something for BFS.
2. Have your company cough up some cash. We will send your company a formal donation request, just send us the company name, contact name and address and we will get it out right away. Send these requests to me personally (storm@booksforsoldiers.com).
3. Have your place of worship pass the plate (hat, kippah, whatever) for BFS. Consult with your church’s leader about holding a “Save BFS Offering” one day this month. Checks should be made out to “Books For Soldiers.” If they have any questions or concerns, please contact me directly to set up a call.
4. Visit our donation page and give what you can.

http://booksforsoldiers.com/donate.php

or by check

Books For Soldiers
2008 Fund Drive
353 Jonestown Rd #123
Winston Salem, NC 27104

Shmuel Rosner, Chief U.S. Correspondent for Ha’aretz, the liberal Israeli newspaper, posted these interesting (annotated) news tidbits on a recent overview of issues affecting the American election and Americans per se. Rosner is strangely a right wing conservative by any standard in spite of his association with the leftward Ha’aretz newspaper. The links to further information are in the original article.
Rosner’s Blog

Blame the Israel Lobby for Clinton’s loss asks: Was Clinton losing the primary election because she wanted to satisfy the Israel Lobby?

Some people think she did. Here is John Judis of TNR (i.e., The New Republic, a right wing conservative rag founded by the Uber-Neocon Irving Kristol, now owned and edited by Martin Peretz and other right wing pro-Israel Likudniks):

…her refusal to apologize for the October 2002 war resolution, her vote on Kyl-Lieberman (the Iranian Republican Guard is a terrorist organization) may have stemmed from her ignoring the primary and thinking about the general election, or–as Helene Cooper suggested in The New York Times–it might have been an attempt to win support from “the pro-Israel lobby,” which strongly backed the resolution. Whatever the case, her vote was a political disaster. It confirmed the worst fears of anti-war Democrats about her foreign policy inclinations. Her rivals denounced her vote, and she had to answer for it in ads, mailings, and debates through early January. It gave Obama an enormous push at a time when he seemed to be floundering and laid the groundwork for his success in fund-raising and in the Iowa caucuses.

Needless to say, Hillary has been in a fight with John McCain, who has Lieberman in his corner, to take the most rightward position on Israel, which has pushed her into other sorts of anti-Palestinian propaganda, like the pushing legislation on the floor of the Senate to condemn “Palestinian textbooks” that allegedly teach Palestinian children terrorism. Hillary’s effort was subsequently shown to be a theatrical fiasco based on falsity.

Why Obama needs Florida Jews

If you want to know why Obama is making this extra effort with Florida Jews (The NYT made this issue its leading story this morning), take a look at the polls from Florida, where McCain is leading by more than 8 points.

Here is the Times:

Jews, of course, are just one of the many constituencies Mr. Obama must persuade: Latinos, women, working-class whites and independents are vital as well. Thanks in part to enthusiasm from younger Jews, he won 45 percent of the Jewish vote in the primaries (not counting the disputed ones in Florida and Michigan), a respectable showing against a New York senator, Hillary Rodham Clinton.

But in recent presidential elections, Jews have drifted somewhat to the right. Because Mr. Obama is relatively new on the national stage, his résumé of Senate votes in support of Israel is short, as is his list of high-profile visits to synagogues and delis. So far, his overtures to Jews have been limited; aside from a few speeches and interviews, he has left most of it to surrogates.

And Clinton is trying to woo Florida in other ways. The people of Florida, she said, “refused to accept their assigned place as second-class citizens”.

This gambit by Clinton is simply an attempt to steal the nomination. It’s obviously not going to work, because Democratic superdelegates don’t want to commit suicide. But this episode is very revealing about Clinton’s character. I try not to make moralistic characterological judgments about politicians, because all politicians compromise their ideals in the pursuit of power. There are no angels in this business. Clinton’s gambit, however, truly is breathtaking.

Well, that’s not exactly what we are all hearing. Obama has now made the mistake of taking a right wing position on Israel, like the unification of Jerusalem, completely ignoring East Jerusalem as the capital of a Palestinian state, and supporting the nullificaiton of the right of return of Palestinians (UN Resolution 194) ethnically cleansed from over 470 villages and towns in 1948, to their homes. One can hardly be more rightward on human rights and still be considered a Democrat.

Did Bush help Israel?

This is going to be an interesting debate. According to Jim Besser of the JWeek, Obama will argue that Bush was hurting Israel more than he was helping it:

Bush’s attack has convinced the Obama campaign to take a more aggressive stance on foreign policy, rather than tiptoeing around sensitive national security and foreign policy questions. This includes arguing more forcefully to Jewish voters that the war in Iraq has hurt Israel and that the Bush administration, for all its tough talk about Iran, has failed to slow that country’s nuclear program or its support for anti-Israel terrorists

“Terrorists?” Is this Hillary talking or has Obama taken up the Israeli propaganda effort to cast Palestinians as terrorists and Israel as the victim (See the documentary, Peace, Propaganda, & The Promised Land, if you have any doubts about the twisted reality that now characterizes the Israeli-Palestinian conflict). Hope not.

And finally,

Will Seattle divest from Israel?

South African Apartheid was eventually taken down by the efforts of American industries (not our government under Reagan, of course) and those of other western nations to divest economically from the South African government.

Seattle Divest From War and Occupation, a citizens group, is angling to get an initiative on the ballot that would mandate city pension funds to divest from businesses that profit from the Iraq War, as well as from Israel’s occupation of the Palestinian territories. Since late March, when initiative I-97 was approved for petition circulation by the City Attorney’s Office, local Seattle Jewish groups have coalesced to beat back the nascent effort.

There are already numerous drives to divest from Israel in Canada and various European countries and the number of efforts grow each year.

At least Israelis are coming to realize that not all Americans approve of Israel’s military occupation of the Palestinian people, while it continues to confiscate and colonize their lands. Indeed, when it is understood that liberal elements in American society cannot abide by this ongoing human rights injustice, which is totally contrary to American principles of freedom and self-determination, Israelis may come to understand why Israel is the primary source of anti-Americanism in the Middle East. It is anti-American. How can Americans support a regime that perpetuates an Apartheid system internally, and late age nationalist colonialism in the Palestinian territories?

It cannot. And as more and more Americans breakthrough the censorship and propaganda that characterizes reporting about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, fewer and fewer of them will continue to believe that Israel is the victim of terrorism, when it in fact perpetuates state terrorism against a people fighting for its freedom.

It seems everyone is in uproar over Hillary Clinton’s remarks about her staying in the race for the Democratic nomination to run for president through the month of June, and her ill-chosen example of Bobby Kennedy–the senator and brother of John F. Kennedy who, like his presidential sibling, was assassinated. The remarks were, of course, in the poorest of taste and they have received all the scorn they deserve. But are the commotions raised by those remarks, the sheer outrage and disgust, for the right reasons?

Clinton could just as easily been talking about herself, and the potential threat of assassination to her own person, as about her rival for the nomination, Barack Obama. That few, if any, seem to realize this is yet another attack on her for all the wrong reasons. Yes, it was insensitive and divisive, hurtful and potentially dangerous, for Clinton to invoke the trauma of Bobby Kennedy’s murder in 1968 in making the case that she must remain in contention for the nomination to run for president.
Hillary Clinton’s poor judgment is grounds for pushing her out. Consider her recent threat to obliterate Iran. No, the threat was not a direct one, being as it was merely a loaded response to an equally loaded question put to her by an interviewer. But that Clinton would even take the bait–knowing full well that the National Intelligence Estimate on Iran stated flat out that Tehran is not pursuing nuclear weapons; that it abandoned any attempts to do so as long as five years ago; that its nuclear ambitions really do seem geared more toward energy production (at least for the time being); and that even if it were making weapons it would still be nearly a decade before even one successful bomb would be made–shows her willingness to be manipulated by the far right into saying and doing potentially very destructive things.

And who can forget her teary-eyed display of selfish egomania right before the New Hampshire primary, wherein she implied, so very condescendingly, that Americans are too stupid to realize how much they need her to be president–right before segueing into an attack on her chief rival’s readiness that was worthy of Karl Rove himself? These examples paint a clear portrait of someone so bent on pursuing a crown, so egotistical, that her stability (indeed, her very integrity) as a leader must be called into question. For these reasons, more than anything else and for the sake of honor, Mrs. Clinton should drop out now.

But the reasons for pressuring her to abandon her pursuit of the presidency go far beyond her moral vacuum, her willingness to say and do anything in order to be crowned president. And they have nothing to do with delegate math; Mrs. Clinton is in a far better position to win the nomination at convention than any of her underdog predecessors of the past thirty years. No one in the media pressured Ted Kennedy, Gary Hart, or Jesse Jackson to drop out of presidential races before convention–at least, not on the level pundits who have called for Clinton’s departure have done. Nor do the reasons have to do with the false allegations of racism that have plagued both Hillary and her husband, Bill, since the campaign began heating up. Indeed, if any of the presidential candidates from either political party have exploited race in a negative fashion, it is Barack Obama with his insistence on distancing himself from any and all hints of Black resentment at how this subsection of our society has been treated through America’s history.

The reasons for calling for an end to the Clinton campaign stem, I think, from an irrational hatred of the woman that runs far deeper than it has any right to. Had a man said half the things she has said, he might be allowed to slide–especially if that “man” happens to be a Republican, such as John McCain (the presumptive nominee of his party this year). What is behind this hatred? I can only guess; certainly, Americans are justifiably wary at the prospect of going twenty or more years with either a Bush or a Clinton occupying the White House. But we’ve had political dynasties before, to one degree or another, with nary a peep from the press or the public.

Could it be, in the end, the prospect of having a woman in power who truly, unlike any “First Lady” since Eleanor Roosevelt, dared to be more than presidential arm candy? There appears to be some justification for this theory; the intense opposition to her attempt to reform the health care system during her husband’s presidency sparked chauvinistic indignation that a woman would involve herself in presidential-level policy-making. But, again, this doesn’t really hold up, for after the public and very final defeat of Hillary’s effort to change the health insurance system, she sold out to the industry and became little more than the caricature of a “First Lady” her opponents wanted her to be. Her public involvement in Bill’s policy-making seemed to go away. She was, or so many believed, properly chastened for being uppity enough to think she could be more than a pretty face.

This hatred of Hillary Clinton is much more personal, and I don’t know why. Nor, I suspect, do those who have so relentlessly attacked her.

Including the ones who happen not to be heterosexual. The Frontlines, a blog by the Servicemembers Legal Defense Fund, has a tribute to a gay soldier who lost his life protecting others.

Memorial Day is a special time for Americans who have lost loved ones to the service of our country. The families and friends of the more than 4,000 American service members killed in Iraq since 2003 share a special bond rooted equally in grief and pride, emotions we will share as we mark Memorial Day once again this year.

This Memorial Day is particularly salient for me this year as I remember the life of my friend and colleague, Major Alan Rogers. As many people now know, Alan was killed in Iraq by an IED on January 27, 2008. According to his commander, he shielded two others from the blast, who likely would have been killed were it not for Alan’s bravery. Alan was laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery on March 14th, 2008, in the presence of more than two hundred grieving but proud friends, fellow soldiers, and family members.

I wonder how the army would have proved that Major Alan Rogers was a threat to troop readiness or morale.

Once again Veterans are living with the apathy of the country they served!

Remember Agent Orange or the many other ailments and Government using Military Personal to test the effects from Nuclear Explosions and Drugs, probably not!

Look them up, or search out the Vets, using this technology, who are still trying to Educate you too!

Remember the 1st Gulf War?

How about the Veterans from, with questions about, their rapidly deteriorating health after serving, many having died since, coming under the obscure name of ‘Gulf War Syndrom’, look that one up as well!

Veterans groups have been fighting for the VA to recognize ALS

Veterans with ALS in race against time

Afflicted with Lou Gehrig’s disease, they fight for military benefits as science hunts the cause
“The mind stays strong, but the body…” says Anthony Averella, 53, who served in the Army and National Guard and suffers from deadly Lou Gehrig’s disease. He has lost more than 50 pounds in the past year. (Sun photo by Chiaki Kawajiri / May 16, 2008)

The first time he fell, Army Sgt. 1st Class Anthony Averella was strolling on a military base in Afghanistan. He got up, collected himself and brushed aside the concerns of fellow soldiers. Within months, Averella was stumbling regularly, and his hands began inexplicably clenching into fists.

At first, tests revealed nothing. Three years ago, the Maryland soldier found out what was afflicting him: Lou Gehrig’s disease.

Well some, once again, are seeking the answers. But how much does the country care?

Military veterans such as Averella are the subject of a Duke University study that will attempt to solve a mystery: Why are soldiers more likely than the general population to suffer from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS?

Early this decade, the Veterans Affairs and Defense departments released a study showing that veterans of the 1991 Persian Gulf War were twice as likely as other soldiers to get ALS, and the federal government extended disability compensation. Now, some veterans and advocates, including members of Congress, are pushing the VA to extend those benefits to all veterans with the disease.

How many of you know what’s going on, have even thought about these Vets, are willing to Pay to not only find out but to Care For them? I do know there are still deniers of the effects of our spraying Defoliants in Vietnam and the damage done not only to our Military Troops but the Vietnamesse People!

Testifying before a congressional committee last summer, retired Air Force Brig. Gen. Thomas R. Mikolajcik, who has ALS, said the government has not done enough research on potential causes and might be exposing service members now in Iraq to an elevated risk of the disease.

“If we know that it happened in the first Gulf War, and now we’re exposing millions more, why aren’t we doing more, and how are you going to answer those people in three, five, 10 years that come down with this disease?” Mikolajcik said in an interview.

Given the incidence rate of ALS among veterans, Mikolajcik said, the VA should not differentiate between those who served in the Gulf War and those who did not.

“Why should my comrades in arms that were in Somalia, Grenada, Panama, Vietnam, Korea or anywhere else around the world get less than those of us that served in the Gulf War?” he asked.

Study Links Gulf War Service with Lou Gehrig’s Disease (ALS)

September 26, 2003

Veterans who served in the Persian Gulf in 1990 and 1991 have a nearly
twofold risk of Lou Gehrig’s disease compared to veterans of the same era
who did not serve in the Gulf, according to research funded by VA and the
Department of Defense.

2003 Sep 23; 61(6): 742-9. Occurrence of
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis among Gulf War veterans. – Abstract

Read this full Report
on ALS & Military – PDF

A study published in the January 11, 2005
edition of Neurology, found that men with any history of military service in
the last century are
at a nearly 60% greater risk of ALS than men who did not serve in the
military. Conducted
by epidemiologists at Harvard University’s School of Public Health, the
study concluded
that “Military personnel have an increased risk of ALS. This increase
appeared to be largely
independent of the branch of service and the time period served.”

Initial Symptoms of the Disease

At the onset of ALS the symptoms may be so slight that they are frequently
overlooked. With regard to the appearance of symptoms and the progression of
the illness, the course of the disease may include the following:

* muscle weakness in one or more of the following: hands, arms, legs
or the muscles of speech, swallowing or breathing

* twitching (fasciculation) and cramping of muscles, especially those
in the hands and feet

• impairment of the use of the arms and legs
• “thick speech” and difficulty in projecting the voice
• in more advanced stages, shortness of breath, difficulty in

breathing and swallowing

National Registry of Veterans with ALS

The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has developd a nationwide registry
of living veterans who have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). This effort
was directed by the Epidemiologic Research and Information Center (ERIC) at
the VA Medical Center in Durham, NC, with cooperation from the VA Medical
Center in Lexington, KY. The ALS Association advised the study leaders. The
National Registry of Veterans with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis stopped
enrollment of new patients as of September 30, 2007.

And why is it most of the mention of ‘Gulf War Syndrom’ comes from Overseas?

Fighting for those who can’t

MEET a lawyer who battles for the rights of servicemen and women – a role that has made her an Inspiring Women finalist.

HILARY Meredith remembers every soldier and widow she’s ever worked with.

Hilary’s tasks in the courts include campaigning for compensation for widows whose husbands have been killed in service, fighting for awareness of Gulf War syndrome and, now, trying to improve medical care for injured soldiers returning from duty.

Insecticides in pet shampoo may trigger autism

Meanwhile, another study suggests that exposure to organophosphate insecticides double the risk of developmental disorders, including autism. Organophosphates have previously been linked to Gulf War syndrome.

There are other reports that slowly come through, once again most coming from overseas, the reporting and research of what may have caused the suffering those who served in the 1st Gulf war are experiancing.

And our present conflicts are already getting the silent treatment of the possible problems, health wise, that many are starting to experiance, not only the military personal but the citizens of the countries we invaded and occupy.

Afghans to probe whether U.S. used depleted uranium

The Afghan government plans to investigate whether the United States used depleted uranium during its invasion of Afghanistan in 2001 and if it might be linked to malformed babies born afterwards.

Kakar said he would like to see the study done as soon as possible, but the Afghan government, which largely relies on Western aid and troops, needed to find ways of funding it.

And once again almost total silence from the American Public as to those they send into, and cheer on, these Wars Of Choice when they return.

Few voice outrage over the Highly Paid Mercenary Army this country supports, few complain about the No-Bid Contracts, and the corruption from, of the Private Companies of Wall Street, few ask Questions as to exactly where the Supplemetal Funding for Wars go let alone where the Monies for the DoD ever increasing Budget go……………………..!!

But when anything is mentioned about returning Veterans of our Conflicts and Occupations the Public Embraces the Spin created to Silence those seeking Help and their Advocates!

A regular visitor at Pen and Sword posited last week that a naval blockade of Iran wouldn’t be an act of war if the UN sanctioned it.  I replied that no, acts of war aren’t defined by whether or not the UN or any other international organization sanction them.  Dropping a nuke on Tehran would be an act of war even if the UN, the Catholic Church and Oprah Winfrey combined sanctioned it.

That led me to thinking that Memorial Day 2008 would be a good time for a short study of war in the age of American hegemony. War can be a dry subject, but I’ll do my best to keep the discourse lively. I would promise you that the next several hundred words will be more entertaining by far than any lecture you’d ever hear from any professor at any war college in the country, but that promise is so easy to keep it’s not worth the trouble of making.
You and Whose Army?

I read and listened to a lot of horse whinny in the course of pursuing my master’s degree in war more than a decade ago.  Today, Jeff Huber’s essential laws of armed conflict are few and simple.  First is that, like it or not, the history of humanity is the history of its wars, and the fundamental nature of war (and possibly humanity) hasn’t changed since smart apes first used sticks and bones to beat the monkey snot out of other apes and take their food away from them.  

Second, all you really need to remember about the law of armed conflict is that Herman Goering and his pals wouldn’t have stood trial at Nuremburg if Germany had won World War II.  In the 13th century, Thomas Aquinas cooked up the notion of “just war” which essentially stated it was okay to kill people in a war unless the pope said different.  In the 21st century, a “legal war” is whatever George W. Bush’s attorney general says it is.  

 I stole the third and final law from whoever first said that all wars are the same and they’re all different.  Anybody who tells you that we’re fighting a totally new kind of war today needs a good long stay in rehab.  There’s nothing about any of America’s wars–from our revolution to our world wars to our woebegone war on terrorism–that Thucydides didn’t cover when he wrote The History of the Peloponnesian War in 431 BC, and nothing he wrote about was new then either.  

Even so, General Thucydides would consider an exploding arrow shot from a mechanical bird controlled by a man sitting in a room on the opposite side of the world to be a miraculous feat that even his gods could never perform.  

From those three laws we can reliably define the nature of the war powers inherent in the office of the president of the United States.  The only extra-constitutional powers U.S. Presidents have in wartime–or in peacetime or anytime–are the ones the rest of us let them take.  

To make things even more unfathomable, these days we can’t agree on what is or isn’t an actual war.  

By Any Other Name

We have a war on drugs and a war on poverty and a war on an ism, yet for many years we called the little misunderstandings we had in Korea and Vietnam “conflicts” and even “police actions.” Congress doesn’t declare war any more; it grants the president the “authorization for use of armed force.”  If Congress won’t give this president authorization to send troops into combat, Mr. Bush just has one of his lawyers write up a “finding” for war and signs it, or he has the CIA fight the war in secret, or he just orders U.S. forces to start bombing things right out in the open–like he’s doing presently in Pakistan and Somalia–and dares anybody to say boo about it.  

Clausewitz famously said that war is “a true political instrument, a continuation of political activity by other means.”  Today, however, it’s difficult to identify where other political activities end and war begins.

Under the younger Bush’s stewardship, the Department of Defense has hijacked most of the State Department’s foreign policy functions, leaving our diplomatic force in charge of little more than bureaucratic matters like issuing visas and passports.  The Pentagon calls the shots in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan, and to address long standing issues on the African continent, the Bush administration established not a new diplomatic organization, but a new regional military command.  In November 2007, The Nation published an article by Danny Glover and Nicole C. Lee that called AFRICOM an “alarming step forward in the militarization of the African continent” and  “a dangerous continuation of US military expansion around the globe.”

Nations have traditionally used methods of leverage other than war to impose their will on other nations.  Sometimes other means can lead to war; trade wars, for example, can lead to shoves and then to blows rather handily.  Nonetheless, a “trade war” is not really a war, mainly because neither nation in a bi-lateral trade war is a) using physical force to impose its will on the other nation or b) violating the other nation’s sovereignty.  National sovereignty does not include the inalienable right to make someone else trade with you, just as individual sovereignty doesn’t mean the other kids have to give you their lunch money.

“Use of physical force” can be a nebulous concept.  In our definition of hegemon era war, “use” of force includes the imminent and real threat of using it.  A naval blockade, for example, may turn out to be effective without the imposing naval forces ever having to stop and board a vessel or fire upon it, especially if the target nation chooses not to challenge the blockade.  But if you’re conducting a blockade and the time comes to shoot at another vessel, you need to shoot; otherwise you’ve just shot yourself in the sex organ.

A blockade also infringes on the other nation’s sovereignty in ways that aren’t as obvious as the way invasions or air strikes do.  A comprehensive diagram of the logic behind sovereignty theory would involve more wire than it takes to light up Manhattan.  Let’s just say that national sovereignty derives from individual sovereignty and it’s about granting autonomy and social compacts and everybody’s right to exist and pursue their self-interests as long as they don’t forget how to play nice and so on.  Part of national sovereignty allows you to have access to international waters, and when I deny you that access, I’m committing an act of war against you.  

The tricky part of this sovereignty distinction between war and peace in the American hegemon age is that the sovereignty model is crumbling.  That phenomenon has been the same in previous hegemonic eras.  When one nation decisively dominates all others, balance of power moderations erode and individual as well as national sovereignty (of nations other than the hegemon, of course) become quaint notions, and as liberal republics approach hegemony, they also become tyrannical. The Roman Empire and Napoleon’s France are two of the more obvious examples of this.  

American hegemony has followed a similar pattern.  The neoconservative Bush executive branch has displayed an increasing disregard for international laws and treaty agreements and consistently resists any check on executive power by the legislative and judicial branches.  Individual rights of U.S. citizens have been summarily dismissed in the name of what should be a global police action against the crime of terrorism that the administration chooses to call a war.  As America’s relationships with other nations have taken an increasingly “my way or the highway” tone, even tools of statecraft like diplomacy, information sharing and economic leverage take on the nature of warlike measures.    

One fervently hopes that a change of regime come November can reverse America’s vector toward Orwellian dystopia, but one must also keep in mind Jeff Huber’s one and only law of American politics:

Lord John Acton did not say that, “Absolute power tends to corrupt Republicans.”

Commander Jeff Huber, U.S. Navy (Retired) writes at Pen and Sword .  Jeff’s novel Bathtub Admirals (Kunati Books) is on sale now.

We must truly be moving into general election mode with Count Novakula coming out with a serious hit piece on Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius. Nice to see that the Catholic Church can’t help but attack all pro-choice Catholic politicians.

Archbishop Joseph F. Naumann, whose Roman Catholic archdiocese covers northeast Kansas, on May 9 called on Gov. Kathleen Sebelius to stop taking Communion until she disowns her support for the “serious moral evil” of abortion. That put the church in conflict with a rising star of the Democratic Party who is often described as a “moderate” and is perhaps the leading prospect to become Barack Obama’s running mate.

Naumann also took Sebelius to task for her veto April 21 of a bill, passed by 2 to 1 margins in both houses of the Kansas Legislature, that would strengthen the state’s ban on late-term abortions by authorizing private lawsuits against providers. Last year, she vetoed a bill requiring explicit medical reasons for a late abortion, and she vetoed other abortion legislation in 2006, 2005 and 2003.

The rest of Novak’s piece just gets nastier with insinuations and guilt by association and distortions. Par for the course from the right. You know when I’ll be impressed with the Catholic Church’s moral political leadership? When they start denying Communion to people that carry out the Death Penalty or support torturing people, then I’ll be impressed. Until then, it seems horribly partisan to go after only Democratic candidates. There’s a good chance we’d have a Catholic president right now if the Church hadn’t refused to treat John Kerry as a member in good standing.

I kinda want to watch HBO’s show tonight about the 2000 recount, but I just can’t subject myself to that. Now that we know the consequences, it’s just too painful to sit through.

America would never be able to spread its values all over the planet without those men and women who volunteer to make it happen.
Yet another Memorial Day is upon us, and our president sez: “No group has ever done more to defend liberty than the men and women of the United States armed forces.” This simple reality presents me with a genuine conundrum. How in the world can I pick which indomitable defenders of liberty to honor this year?

Perhaps I can spend my day in quiet contemplation of those valiant heroes who unselfishly risk the agony of carpal tunnel syndrome as they push the buttons and/or computer keys to launch those cruise missiles into crowded Third World cities. The same goes for America’s many courageous snipers and fearless bomber pilots…all of them using their fingers and eyes to preserve our way of life.

I owe my liberty to them…

Of course, I could instead dedicate myself to worshipping the gallant warriors who put their feet and toes on the line each time they repeatedly kick a prone, chained, and blindfolded prisoner at Gitmo. (Oops, did I say “prisoner”? I mean “enemy combatant,” of course.) These resolute patriots also expose their vocal cords to excruciating injury when they engage in the selfless daily practice of screaming at such evildoers. One can only imagine the mental strain of coming up with new epithets each and every day-day and day, year after year.

Thanks to them, I am free…

Then again, the epic exploits of America’s latest generation are nothing new. This country was built on centuries of similar deeds and efforts. Remember: America would never be able to spread its values all over the planet without those men and women who volunteer to make it happen. Could you imagine what life on Earth would be without the pervasiveness of American values?

Mickey Z. is the author of the upcoming novel, CPR for Dummies, and his blog can be found here.