Letters to the Editor
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Incidentally, the troop are not some hopeless children.
They are in a better position to end this war than anyone else, as described in this William Blum piece: http://www.counterpunch.com/blum09122007.html
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If they don't choose mutiny, they can at least vote in the Dems
Here's a thecarpetbaggerreport.com story on that:
Military contributions shift — away from the GOP
Posted September 13th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Washington Monthly ran a fascinating series of pieces a couple of months ago with the perspectives of active and retired U.S. troops explaining what they’re looking for from Democrats. Most of those featured seemed less than enthralled by the Republican Party — which assumes it “owns” the military vote — but there was some lingering hesitation about Dems.
The conventional wisdom suggests it’ll be a while, a long while, until Dems are drawing considerable support from those in uniform. But if contribution patterns are any indication, it may not be that long after all. (via Time)
Assessed favorably this week by the war’s lead general, the presence of U.S. troops in Iraq appears to be causing a surge of another sort — and one that’s not positive for President Bush or the Republican Party. Since the start of the Iraq war in 2003, members of the U.S. military have dramatically increased their political contributions to Democrats, marching sharply away from the party they’ve long supported. […]
“People are saying now enough is enough,” said Lt. Col. Joyce Griggs, an intelligence officer who said she spent two months in Baghdad earlier this year, speaking for herself and not the Army. “If you’re a soldier, you’re going to do your job, do what you’re commanded to do. But that sentiment is wide and deep.”
The shift is more than just a few percentage points. In 2002, the last full cycle before Bush launched the Iraqi invasion, the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics found that 23% of military members’ contributions went to Democrats. So far in 2007, that number is 40%.
More specifically, the drop-off for Republican support within the Army is striking. Before the war, 71% of Army campaign contributions went to the GOP. This year, that number is down to 51%. So, the GOP’s advantage went from more than 2-to-1 before the war, to near-parity now.
Just as surprising is which candidates are benefiting from this shift.
[Barack] Obama, who has never served in the military, has brought in more contributions from uniformed service members — about $27,000 — than any other presidential hopeful, Democrat or Republican. “I feel that he’s the most progressive candidate and he stands for change,” Griggs said. “I believe he is that breath of fresh air that we need to get this country back on course.”
Among GOP candidates, Ron Paul, the only Republican who opposes the war, has brought in the biggest haul from the military since the start of the 2008 election cycle in January — at least $19,250. Republican John McCain, a Vietnam War prisoner who backs the administration’s policy in Iraq, has raised $18,600. Paul, who was a flight surgeon in the Air Force, got nearly twice as much from servicemen and women in the campaign’s first six months as GOP fundraising front-runner Mitt Romney and four times more than better-known candidate Rudy Giuliani.
“If you’re a Republican partisan, but opposed to the war, it is not surprising that you’d find Paul somewhat attractive,” said Ronald Krebs, a political scientist at the University of Minnesota who studies the sociology of war and military service.
The truth is, the very idea of the “military vote” has always been a mistake. Members of the Armed Forces generally reflect the diversity of the country. “This shows that the military does not quite fit the stereotype of this Republican monolith,” said Joyce Raezer, chief operating officer of the National Military Family Association. “The military in a lot of ways reflects the country. It’s diverse in a lot of ways. It’s not a surprise you’d see people exercising their ability to support a variety of candidates.”
True, but the perception, buoyed by some data, has been that the troops tend to vote Republican. These contribution changes may indicate a broader shift about the relationship between the Democratic Party and the military.
Interesting, isn’t it?
http://www.thecarpetbaggerreport.com/archives/12874.html
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50 Iraq vets lead march; 189 take protest to higher level in our Nation's capitol
I guess it takes getting arrested to get attention unlike the peaceful war protest I attended in a big city suburb where only cars driving by paid any attention.
Heartening to see the number of Iraq veterans who led the D. C. protest.
As Thousands March to Capitol to Protest Iraq Conflict, 189 Arrested; War Supporters Take on 'Vocal Minority'
By Michelle Boorstein, V. Dion Haynes and Allison Klein
Washington Post Staff Writers, Sunday, September 16, 2007; Page A08
A march by thousands of protesters demanding an end to the Iraq war turned chaotic yesterday afternoon near the Capitol, where hundreds sprawled on the ground in a symbolic "die-in." Police arrested 189 people, including 10 who organizers said were veterans of the war.
The march opposing the war was led by about 50 veterans who served in Iraq, according to Iraq Veterans Against the War. Many wore fatigues as the crowd marched down Pennsylvania Avenue, where several blocks were lined with war supporters. At times, back-and-forth shouting grew confrontational and obscene.
March organizers said Iraq war veterans were more involved and visible at yesterday's protest than in any other similar demonstration since the conflict began. Activists said they are planning "a week of action" meant to push the antiwar movement to a more confrontational stage.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/15/AR2007091500826.html?hpid%3Dtopnews&sub=AR
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iraq, iran, and the al quida context of american history
america's republic (not democracy) was founded by economic elites and written to insure that a small percentage of already elites this new nation for the benefit of themselves. senatators were appointed ... not elected. they act as the blockade to change cause everything has to pass thru them to get anywhere.
the appearance of 'democracy' went with the elections that were also difficult to qualify for as well. property owners of some specified volume of land. no womans vote, no black vote ... good ole chattel property rules ... that 99% of the unwashed masses would never qualify to vote under. chattel property rules lived into the 50's (1950'S) in many states and california tried to bring it back so they could send parents of wrong-doing-children off to jail for the uncontrollable acts of the children they begot about 20-years ago !
The conservatives are about going back to the good ole days of chattel property, slaves, and indentured servirtude. they want to know that there's no liberal thinking around ... which is why americans inventiveness is largely a myth. henry ford was a communist because he sought mass market by selling his products at a price his assembly line workers could afford to own. this is not the foundation of conservative capitolism that the elite understood. their ideas of capitolism is an elite squashing competition using the legal tools setup in the federalist government to make it happen.
American history for at least the last 150 years has been the life and times of a continuation of the seafaring Pirates that take the wealth of others, certainly not by working to create wealth. It was much easier to flash-some-powder and take the wealth of commodites and take control by leaving behind a fake corruption of government that was rewarded as long as it ruled as the proxy of the Usa and harshly punished for failing to deliver the goods.
Wealth is created by those who produce real tangible goods. Look at the Rising Tiger states japan, korea, china, etc that produce 'american name brands at a higher cost than producing in america (production costs, including labor)because of product recalls for lead, and antifreeze addatives in toothpasts and 40 other products, melamine in many products... added to the shipping expense that need not apply to products natively produced. Central production in slauder houses houses insures massive losses annually from the product recalls whenever there is contaminaton that outweigh the benefits of distributed of these activites to contain the e-coli to smaller batches and the active push to produce more faster by management lowers the daily decontaminated needed to confine the loss to lower numbers ... taking the gamble that no
one will discover they are the source of illness and death.
This is all a war against the consumers they require for their wealth generation ... just for principal of it ... even if it does actually decrease profits to it this way. They are trying to to kill the Goose that lays their golden egg. They will not be content that they are winners until there is virtually but the elite that can pay for their products.
The really great thing about the Neo-cons is that they are really political philosphers ... worshiping the republic described by socrates and plato ... unaware that they would we slaves themselves in the conditions they want to revert all goverment to. Be also aware that their idea of regime change isn't change of leadership ... it's about changing the government of all countries to comply with American Dominance globally. These people have no alliagence to the USA or any country. They truly believe in a one-world-goverment ruled by their regime.
95% of the selling price of merchandise in the USA goes to the professional illusionest, professional liars, The advertising business !!! GWB is using the same advertising principals to sell the wars he has brought to us. and yet to come, i do believe. These are things both the demos and repubs subscribe to. They are largely professional liars with no knowledge of law, constitution, ... only the power of selling by repeating the lie for 30 days in the co-opted, corporate owned mass media that runs both shows (MM and politcal elite) funding the
propagandab machines called 'think tanks' which is just a holding pen for proven 'creators of professional lies' like the laughable laffer curve that RONNIE REGAN tried to sell to america. His best role still BEDTIME FOR BONZO.
Why all this garbage of days gone by? Because it the culmination of an internal not so secret ... but easily lost in the day to day struggle to get ahead in a game that is rigged for the house, and the senate, and the supreme court.
If you don't put current problems in the context of the long history of our evolving psuedo democracy and assume that all this BAD will go away with GWB ... you are not being realistic about the USA'S endless war to take over the world since our MANIFEST DESTINY was spelled out more about 150 years ago. The rest of the globe doesn't hate us for our freedoms ... they hate us for our endless wars across the globe. They are aware of our history, because many of them have seen our true nature 1st hand. You may not know that the american goverment maintains that we are still Offically at war since declared with the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Probably unaware that GWB grandfather, a congressman censored for his assistance in financing the Nazi regime, but not really punished because the USA was feeding both sides of the conflict in our best political game of DIVIDE AND CONQUER ... that is used at home and abroad to deflect attention away from the unspoken agenda that is the real purpose: Our manifest destiny.