"Fred Stone" <fstone69@earthling.com> wrote

She Does Not Speak for Me
My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.

He should speak to some idiot son-of-a-***** by the
name of "Fred Stone." According to this "Fred," his
son did die in vain.

His son's life was thrown away because the Iraqi
people are somehow more deserving of a democracy
they never fought for than the many billions of people
currently living most anywhere else on the globe.

The people of Saudi Arabia? Nope, no democracy there.

Venezuela? Funny, they DO have a democracy and Bush
has invested billions trying to destabilize it, overthrow
it.

Haiti? Bush *Did* destabilize & topple the democratic
government there, installing his very own hand-picked
man.

So Bush has successfully toppled one democracy, he
has tirelessly labored to topple a second, and we are
supposed to believe that all the lives & money thrown
away in Iraq was out of love for democracy?

Please. That's insulting.

"Fred Stone" <fstone69@earthling.com> wrote in message
news:1124370763.de1cf302d4d88165ddffcff56fb8b1a4@teranews...

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007122

She Does Not Speak for Me
My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.

BY RONALD R. GRIFFIN
Thursday, August 18, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.

I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure
of the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his
service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and
those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen
soldiers.

The fallen heroes, until now, have enjoyed virtually no
individuality. They have been treated as a monolith, a mere number.
Now Mrs. Sheehan, with adept public relations tactics, has succeeded
in elevating herself above the rest of us. Sen. Bill Nelson of
Florida declared that Mrs. Sheehan is now the symbol for all parents
who have lost children in Iraq. Sorry, senator. Not for me.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a
distraught mom standing heroically outside the guarded gates of the
most powerful and inhumane man on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is
so moved by Mrs. Sheehan's plight that she bestowed upon her and all
grieving parents the title of "absolute moral authority." That
characterization epitomizes the arrogance and condescension of anyone
who would presume to understand and speak for all of us. How can we
all possess "absolute moral authority" when we hold so many different
perspectives?

I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.

Although we all walk the same sad road of sorrow and agony, we walk
it as individuals with all the refreshing uniqueness of our own
thoughts shaped in large measure by the life and death of our own
fallen hero. Over the past few days I have reached out to other
parents and loved ones of fallen heroes in an attempt to find out
their reactions to all the attention Mrs. Sheehan has attracted. What
emerges from those conversations is an empathy for Mrs. Sheehan's
suffering but a fundamental disagreement with her politics.

Ann and Dale Hampton lost their only child, Capt. Kimberly Hampton,
on Jan. 2, 2004, while she was flying her Kiowa helicopter. She was a
member of the 82nd Airborne and the company commander. She had
already served in Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq. Ann
Hampton wrote, "My grief sometimes seems unbearable, but I cannot add
the additional baggage of anger. Mrs. Sheehan has every right to
protest . . . but I cannot do that. I would be protesting the very
thing that Kimberly believed in and died for."

Marine Capt. Benjamin Sammis was Stacey Sammis's husband. Ben died on
April 4, 2003, while flying his Super Cobra helicopter. Listen to
Stacey and she will tell you that she is just beginning to understand
the enormousness of the character of soldiers who knowingly put their
lives at risk to defend our country. She will tell you that one of
her deepest regrets is that the world did not have the honor of
experiencing for a much longer time this outstanding Marine she so
deeply loved.

Speak to Joan Curtin, whose son, Cpl. Michael Curtin, was an
infantryman with the 2-7th 3rd ID, and her words are passionately
ambivalent. She says she has no room for bitterness. She has a life
to lead and a family to nurture. She spoke of that part of her that
never heals, for that is where Michael resides. She can go on, always
knowing there will be that pain.

Karen Long is the mother of Spc. Zachariah Long, who died with my son
Kyle on May 30, 2003. Zack and Kyle were inseparable friends as only
soldiers can be, and Karen and I have become inseparable friends
since their deaths. Karen's view is that what Mrs. Sheehan is doing
she has every right to do, but she is dishonoring all soldiers,
including Karen's son, Zack. Karen cannot comprehend why Mrs. Sheehan
cannot seem to come to grips with the idea that her own son, Casey,
was a soldier like Zack who had a mission to complete. Karen will
tell you over and over again that Zack is not here and no one, but no
one will dishonor her son.

My wife, Robin, has a different take on Mrs. Sheehan. She told me, "I
don't care what she says or does. She is no more important than any
other mother."...

This fellow's essay bothers me, based as it is in utter denial of the
fact that his son died enforcing a political agenda and not "defending
his country" as he puts it.

Moreover, it maliciously attributes
"public relations tactics" to someone who is nothing but a
grief-stricken mom.

Of course, this guy is supporting the side that shows its "support for
the troops" by pulverizing crosses with the names of the dead on them
with a pick up truck, so I suppose it's not too surprising.

Having served in both active and reserve forces for nearly all of my
adult life through both Desert Storm and the current Iraq war, I can
honestly say that this woman does not dishonor any soldier or what
they stand for. I can't speak for all of us, but all of us took an
oath to "support and defend" the Constitution of the United States.
To me, that oath is the guiding principle for all public servants, be
they soldiers or members of the civilian government. That oath also
compels those of us who take it to obey the officers appointed over
us. That means we have to follow orders. It does not mean we have to
agree with them, or that we support the policies of the governing
body. Our only tool with which we can voice an opinion is the vote.

Don't get me wrong. Saddam is a criminal, and the world may indeed be
a better place without him in power. However, this is merely a happy
side-effect to what was billed as a war to end an imminent threat to
American peace and security. We were told there were large stockpiles
of chemical weapons. We were told Saddam was very close to
reconstituting his nuclear program. We were told about mobile
chemical weapons labs and remote control aircraft for delivery (a la
the predator type). We based this on (according to the
administration) shoddy intelligence work. Funny thing, the same intel
agencies were responsible for taking pictures during the Cuban Missile
Crisis that were so accurate they could see the unit patches on the
enemy soldiers' uniforms. Compare this to the grainy, Kodak
throw-away pictures used to sell the weapons cache theory. I guess we
are to believe that 30+ years of technological advancement actually
made gathering intel harder.

We joined to defend a nation, not push some neo-conservative agenda.
I don't mind fighting to defend my country or my fellow soldiers. I
don't mind taking orders. What I mind is being lied to. I mind that
many of my friends are still over there now, performing honorably,
doing a job they've been trained to do and doing it well, but at the
behest of a liar (and the congressional pussies who abdicated their
authority to him) who has absolutely no personal stake in the war at
all. Of course many soldiers believe they are doing the right thing.
Could you possibly function in that kind of environment if you didn't
believe that? You have to believe you are doing the right thing as a
soldier. Otherwise, you break down.

Mr. Stone's mistake is thinking that people who argue against war are
somehow arguing against the soldiers. This is not the case at all.

Most of us recognize the painful sacrifices paid by these soldiers and
their families, and we thank them for their stalwart willingness to
continue to pay the price. What we object to is the dishonesty and
moral bankruptcy of an administration who would put people in harms
way for a lie. Yes, even many of us in the military.

We support the troops, our brothers and sisters, but abhor Mr. Bush
and Co..

Mrs. Sheehan is a grieving mother. She is not some liberal democrat
pundit out to ruin the presidency,

seeking to elevate herself above the masses.

She is angry. She is doing exactly what I would do if
someone sent my daughter into harms way for an apparent lie. I would
want to know why. After all the b.s. we were fed during the run-up to
the war, only to find out it wasn't really the truth would make me
want to ask "why" of the man who gave the order.

Just because you
choose not to do the same doesn't make her position wrong, or you
better people.

It is interesting to see how blind Bush acolytes refuse to see the
reality of the Iraq war.

1. Saddam and Iraq had NO supportive connection with Al Qaeda, Osama
bin Laden or the 9/11 attacks.

2. Iraq was NO - NADA threat to the United States or anyone else. NON
- NADA of Iraq's neighbors were willing to participate with the United
States in its attack on Iraq because they did not consider Iraq a
significant military threat.
In sum, Iraq was NO significant threat to anyone. It was only a minor
threat to Israel.

3. Iraq's military was largely made up of obsolete equipment from the
Soviet Union era. It had NO blue water Navy, NO long range bombers or
missiles. It only had a small quantity of inaccurate missiles with a
range of less than 118 miles.

4. Iraq is more violent today than it was before the war.

Bush thought that Iraq was a push over that he could conquer and
control in a few weeks of military action and it would make him a
conquering hero.

Bush gained so much praise and stature from his handling of the 9/11
attack and his war in Afghanistan that he thought Iraq would add more
to his political stature and power.

Iraq was a serious blunder that has cost over 1800 American lives,
over 14,000 American seriously wounded and over 50,000 Iraqi lives and
continuing.

It has cost American tax payers over $200 BILLION so far and the
rampant costs are continuing.

Iraq was a serious mistake but Bush won't admit it.

Listen to Stacey
and she will tell you that she is just beginning to understand the
enormousness of the character of soldiers who knowingly put their
lives at risk to defend our country.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:12:38 GMT, Fred Stone <fstone69@earthling.com>
wrote:
:

My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.

:

Listen to Stacey
and she will tell you that she is just beginning to understand the
enormousness of the character of soldiers who knowingly put their

at risk to defend our country.

WHAT!!!?!?!
Just how deluded and gullible can you get?
"defend our country"?
Oh, she thinks that Saddam did 9/11.

Or Allah, or someone who looks Iraqi.
Or someone with a moustache.
Or black hair, perhaps.

She will tell you that one of her deepest
regrets is that the world did not have the honor of experiencing for a
much longer time this outstanding Marine she so deeply loved.

You will all note how she commences with: "it was not in vain", but
then completely side-skirts the exact, (or even vague), reasons as to
why she makes that astounding claim that her daughter died defending
her country.
(I think I am correct in assuming that her daughter was not an Iraqi
national)

As though it is an article of "Bush Faith", that must be held
irrespective of reality.
Not a little bit like the response generated by the indoctrination of
religion, for that matter.

Funny, that.

On Thu, 18 Aug 2005 13:12:38 GMT, Fred Stone <fstone69@earthling.com>
wrote:

http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110007122

She Does Not Speak for Me
My son died in Iraq--and it was not in vain.

BY RONALD R. GRIFFIN
Thursday, August 18, 2005 12:01 a.m. EDT

I lost a son in Iraq and Cindy Sheehan does not speak for me.

I grieve with Mrs. Sheehan, for all too well I know the full measure
of the agony she is forever going to endure. I honor her son for his
service and sacrifice. However, I abhor all that she represents and
those who would cast her as the symbol for parents of our fallen
soldiers.

The fallen heroes, until now, have enjoyed virtually no individuality.
They have been treated as a monolith, a mere number. Now Mrs. Sheehan,
with adept public relations tactics, has succeeded in elevating
herself above the rest of us.

Ahem - I suppose that those who decided to weave this war from whole
cloth lies haven't put themselves, or their own interests, above the
world's population. <puke>

Now, maybe if it was really a justified war of defense against real
attackers it would be different.

Sen. Bill Nelson of Florida declared that Mrs.
Sheehan is now the symbol for all parents who have lost children in
Iraq. Sorry, senator. Not for me.

Maureen Dowd of the New York Times portrays Mrs. Sheehan as a
distraught mom standing heroically outside the guarded gates of the
most powerful and inhumane man on earth, President Bush. Ms. Dowd is
so moved by Mrs. Sheehan's plight that she bestowed upon her and all
grieving parents the title of "absolute moral authority." That
characterization epitomizes the arrogance and condescension of anyone
who would presume to understand and speak for all of us. How can we
all possess "absolute moral authority" when we hold so many different
perspectives?

I guess only Dubya and his puppeteers possess that "absolute
moral authority".

He'll (they'll) put down the different perspectives.

So did Hitler. And Dubya has his unseen, un shown imaginary God to
hold over dumb voters to promote his will.

I don't want that title. I haven't earned that title.

I'm glad.

Although we all walk the same sad road of sorrow and agony, we walk it
as individuals with all the refreshing uniqueness of our own thoughts
shaped in large measure by the life and death of our own fallen hero.
Over the past few days I have reached out to other parents and loved
ones of fallen heroes in an attempt to find out their reactions to all
the attention Mrs. Sheehan has attracted. What emerges from those
conversations is an empathy for Mrs. Sheehan's suffering but a
fundamental disagreement with her politics.

Ann and Dale Hampton lost their only child, Capt. Kimberly Hampton, on
Jan. 2, 2004, while she was flying her Kiowa helicopter. She was a
member of the 82nd Airborne and the company commander. She had already
served in Afghanistan before being deployed to Iraq. Ann Hampton
wrote, "My grief sometimes seems unbearable, but I cannot add the
additional baggage of anger. Mrs. Sheehan has every right to protest .
. . but I cannot do that. I would be protesting the very thing that
Kimberly believed in and died for."

Marine Capt. Benjamin Sammis was Stacey Sammis's husband. Ben died on
April 4, 2003, while flying his Super Cobra helicopter. Listen to
Stacey and she will tell you that she is just beginning to understand
the enormousness of the character of soldiers who knowingly put their
lives at risk to defend our country. She will tell you that one of her
deepest regrets is that the world did not have the honor of
experiencing for a much longer time this outstanding Marine she so
deeply loved.

Speak to Joan Curtin, whose son, Cpl. Michael Curtin, was an
infantryman with the 2-7th 3rd ID, and her words are passionately
ambivalent. She says she has no room for bitterness. She has a life to
lead and a family to nurture. She spoke of that part of her that never
heals, for that is where Michael resides. She can go on, always
knowing there will be that pain.

Karen Long is the mother of Spc. Zachariah Long, who died with my son
Kyle on May 30, 2003. Zack and Kyle were inseparable friends as only
soldiers can be, and Karen and I have become inseparable friends since
their deaths. Karen's view is that what Mrs. Sheehan is doing she has
every right to do, but she is dishonoring all soldiers, including
Karen's son, Zack. Karen cannot comprehend why Mrs. Sheehan cannot
seem to come to grips with the idea that her own son, Casey, was a
soldier like Zack who had a mission to complete. Karen will tell you
over and over again that Zack is not here and no one, but no one will
dishonor her son.

My wife, Robin, has a different take on Mrs. Sheehan. She told me, "I
don't care what she says or does. She is no more important than any
other mother."...

Y'all have successfully executed your first amendment right of freedom
of speech. Mrs. Sheehan has, too. So have I. So have the other above
mentioned people.

Now, if we could get everyone onto the other part of the first
amendment, which keeps religion from running the government and vice
versa, maybe we wouldn't be killing people and bombing nations for oil
and paying close to $3.00 per gallon of god damned gas while Iraq
citizens pay $0.06 per gallon.