Stacked on Pallets, Left on Tarmac: Honored War Dead Become Air Freight

[johnfunk]

Via First Draft:

My friend and I then drove to Ramstein Air Base, 15 minutes north of Landstuhl. After going through security, we went upstairs and saw several cargo planes and a commercially leased jetliner on the tarmac. As we were trying to determine which planes were C-5s and which were C-141s, a retired veteran approached us and said, under his breath, that there had been several casualties brought in that day. He complained that the caskets hadn’t even been met by an Honor Guard but rather, were unceremoniously stacked on pallets and left on the tarmac to be redirected elsewhere. Just then, the man’s MAC flight was called, and he left us before we could talk to him further.

More here.

Someone, please tell me: where is the outrage? Where are demands that this practice be ended and ended now -- especially from the preening poseur patriots at Free Republic?

Oh, right -- Dear Leader has issues a quiet edict that our honored dead are not to be seen, photographed, publicized. Wouldn't be good for the crony capitalists at Broen & Root or the oil companies using Iraq to drain our treasury.

I don't know about you, but I'm dropping a line to my local newspaper...

[seemslikeadream]

1. UNDER THE DARKNESS

http://ericblumrich.com/year.html WATCH THIS VIDEO



Enveloped in a sentiment,
a sound that rushes over me.
Engage an impulse to pretend
I have a faith as pure.
Not forgetting what it means to dream.
Indulging everything.
Entertaining thoughts that I've the strength
of those I yearn to be.
Cheers and tribute greet the saviours.
Reckless thoughts survive.
Anachronistic and impulsive.

And what will happen?
Will I dream?
I am too scared to close my eyes.
For a second please hold me.
None can change in me these things that I believe.
But I don't know what happens now.
I am too scared to close my eyes.

--VNVNATION

[Benhurst]

2. Life is cheap in BushAmerica. Unfortunately,

you'd better get used to it.

[johnfunk]

3. Angry, outraged BUMP

Everyone -- drop a line to your newspapers. That includes YOU, Freep lurkers.

[madfloridian]

4. "Cargo" a flash movie. Very moving.

http://www.musicforamerica.org/node/view/65496

George W. Bush doesn't want us to know how many of our
soldiers have died in Iraq. He even went as far as forbidding the
armed services from allowing photographs of returning coffins.

But a brave woman in the service distributed one of her photos
to a newspaper, and the result was that she was fired.
Then Russ Kick at TheMemoryHole.org was able to get a whole CD of images
via a Freedom Of Information Act (FIOA) request.

When I saw these images, I cried.
Then I got angry.
Then I wrote the song "Cargo".

I've just finished turning the song into a Flash Movie that anyone with a
soundcard in their computer can watch. It includes images from the Veterans
for Peace "Vigil for the Fallen", which I played in New York. I also included
images from "War President" from amleft.blogspot.org.

http://LaramieCrocker.com/cargo.html

[johnfunk]

5. BUMP. Remember our honored dead on Thanksgiving.