After Pat's Birthday by Kevin Tillman.

[jhuth at work]

"Somehow back at home, support for the soldiers meant having a five-year-old kindergartener scribble a picture with crayons and send it overseas, or slapping stickers on cars, or lobbying Congress for an extra pad in a helmet. It’s interesting that a soldier on his third or fourth tour should care about a drawing from a five-year-old; or a faded sticker on a car as his friends die around him; or an extra pad in a helmet, as if it will protect him when an IED throws his vehicle 50 feet into the air as his body comes apart and his skin melts to the seat.

Somehow the more soldiers that die, the more legitimate the illegal invasion becomes.

Somehow American leadership, whose only credit is lying to its people and illegally invading a nation, has been allowed to steal the courage, virtue and honor of its soldiers on the ground.

Somehow those afraid to fight an illegal invasion decades ago are allowed to send soldiers to die for an illegal invasion they started.

Somehow faking character, virtue and strength is tolerated.

Somehow profiting from tragedy and horror is tolerated.

Somehow the death of tens, if not hundreds, of thousands of people is tolerated.

Somehow subversion of the Bill of Rights and The Constitution is tolerated.

Somehow suspension of Habeas Corpus is supposed to keep this country safe.

Somehow torture is tolerated.

Somehow lying is tolerated.

Somehow reason is being discarded for faith, dogma, and nonsense.

Somehow American leadership managed to create a more dangerous world.

Somehow a narrative is more important than reality.

Somehow America has become a country that projects everything that it is not and condemns everything that it is.

Somehow the most reasonable, trusted and respected country in the world has become one of the most irrational, belligerent, feared, and distrusted countries in the world.

Somehow being politically informed, diligent, and skeptical has been replaced by apathy through active ignorance.

Somehow the same incompetent, narcissistic, virtueless, vacuous, malicious criminals are still in charge of this country.

Somehow this is tolerated.

Somehow nobody is accountable for this."

http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/200601019_after_pats_birthday/


Somehow Kevin is thinking exactly what I have been thinking for a long time. We have a duty as Democrats to enlighten and guide the American people back to reality. Bush and his army of pundits and spokesman have collectively allowed Bin Laden to get exactly what he wanted: America is disgraced, divided, and bankrupt. We ALL know who took us down this path.

Comparing Democrats to Osama Bin Laden is not going to work anymore, that comparison is unintelligent, misleading, and unAmerican. The GOP is ruthless, and they will do anything to win. If they put half effort into the "War on Terror" as they did the "War on Americans to Win Elections", the war on terror would be a success, rather than a failure. We all need to work hard to make the GOP a Dumbosaurus, an extinct political Dinosaur.

Is Kevin Tillman "comforting terrorists"?

[Tanuki]

1. k&r nt

[wicket]

2. kick for Pat

:kick:

[quiet.american]

3. This needed to be said by every Dem during 2004 campaign.

Powerful, amazing statement.

[RedEarth]

4. Powerful letter..........

[CANDO]

5. That is truly an AMAZING piece!

I went to the link and copy and pasted it to an e-mail which I sent to all family and friends in my address book, regardless of political stripe. It is a must read for all Americans, present and future.

[cal04]

6. Mike Malloy is reading this

wow
:kick:

[Number9Dream]

7. repukes will begin "swiftboating" Kevin Tillman

The repukes will immediately begin "swiftboating" Kevin Tillman.
Thanks, Mr. Tillman, for the courage and simple eloquence in your writing.

[brentspeak]

8. There's no question Pat Tillman would have been an important

future public leader had he not been killed. I feel both sick to my stomach and sad when I think about the loss of the 2500+ troops, not to mention the unknown thousands of permanantly disabled Iraq War vets.

[Maat]

9. Thank you for the post, and thanks to Kevin Tillman.

I, also, have sent this on to my friends and family. What simple eloquence.