"And what if the Romney kids suddenly enlisted? Would that suddenly be service? Or would it be just another ploy to get daddy elected?"

If his sons became grunts and drove Humvees along mined roads, that'd be a helluva ploy. And if his sons, like other soldiers, had their tours extended and were then recalled in this endless, Republican, 1984 war, that'd be a jaw-dropping ploy. What is likely is that one would enlist and bunker in the Green Zone, swaddled by the sacrifices of soldiers from working class families.

Maybenot, I once had a friend say, "It's not that the rich lack compassion. They lack understanding."

That was a compassionate and cogent observation. Let's use Bush as an example. He hasn't attended a single soldier's funeral. He's had time to clear brush and time to jibber-jabber to hand-picked croweds, but he apparently doesn't have time to gaze at the remains of a burned face or to take a stump in his hand because that soldier can't offer a handshake or to even think, "I hate the smell of bedsores in the morning."

Bush, Romney, Limbaugh, Coulter, and the other chickenhawks doen't comprehend sacrifice. They ask for it, but they're above and beyond it. They tell us that we're fighting WWIII, but they behave as if it were VietnamII and they defer, once again, service to others. If you want war, you need to comprehend war. Hell, I'd even accept this: every night, at the White House, when the prez and Laura dine on French food, let them be sandwiched by vets mutilated by war. Vets without eyes, without hands, without faces. And also seat some Iraqis mutilitated by war. War is an abstraction to these folks. It's a prop. It's used to suggest that they have spines. What matters to them are money, power, and their kin, which is why their kin won't fight.

And they're not even decent enough to admit why their Johnny won't fight.

"do republican fathers have some special right to send their sons into the military?"

You misphrased it. It should read, "Do republican fathers have some special obligation to send their sons into the military?"

Yep. And their daughters too. And their grandsons and granddaughters. If you voted for a president who chooses endless war, then he and his imperialism are your responsibility. W wouldn't be prez if 50 million Americans didn't vote for him. The 50 million are responsible for him. Freedom ain't free, honey. The 50 million need to pony up responsibility. And sons. And their sons' eyes. And their daughters' arms. To expect someone else's child to risk mutilation and death for their choice of president is vile. Republicans allege that they believe in personal responsibility. Well, here's the ultimate test for the chickenhawks and those who cower with their kin in their home theaters, watching make-believe films about the glory of war, have failed it.

"It's not my special calling." is repugnant. If you vote for warmongering candidates, then war is your very special calling.

The neocons and their pundits assert that this is WWIII.

Now, let's mosey back to WWII. Movies stars enlisted. Jimmy Stewart flew bombing missions over Germany. FDR's 4 sons enlisted and FDR made sure that they were all put in peril, because that's what a righteous leader of a righteous war does. And so on and on. Those men put their eyes and arms and lives on the line because it was a World War. They also did it because they had integrity, because they didn't expect someone else's sons and daughters to be citizens. Also, in 1944, 30,000 people a day died in the war. That's the equivalent of 20 World Trade Towers falling every day. That's what World War is. That's the scale. Anyone who asserts that this is a World War dishonors the sacrifices of our fathers and grandfathers and their families.

how many fundy sons and the daughters of country club Republicans will suddenly be gay?

I'd love to drag the chickenhawks into the places I've served: V.A. hospitals and soup kitchens, which serve a disproportionate number of vets. I want them to smell the stink of rotting flesh and colostomy bags. Chickenhawks need to empty colostomy bags and stare into eyes emptied of sight. The chickenhawks are afraid to fight, but there's no physical danger in a V.A. ward. Or they can just sit across from a vet, whose pants stink because they're soiled with feces.

And those alleged Christians who fill the ranks of the military, who rushed into the wrong country to avenge the horror of 9-11, can also tell me why they didn't turn the other cheek and why they're immune from the 5th Commandment: thou shalt not murder.

And Romney is ready to perpetuate the murdering in my name and like Bush, he won't even do it with my money, my tax dollars, because this is our first war funded by a foreign power. Not only is Romney unwilling to risk his kin, but he won't risk his wealth. He'll continue borrowing from the Chinese and let a coming generation pay for his murdering.

I assume you voted for the Constitution-gutting Bush.

And now you're hiding behind the Constitution, as if it were mama's skirt?

Blah. Blech. I'll tell you what a "typical liberal" is: someone who cares about the Constitution all the time.