I need to vent:

[babylonsister]

Why, in a community like DU, can a thread garner over 300 replies about smoking in public, while this one sinks like a stone. It upset me terribly and I don't understand why this isn't infuriating people. The source is Kos which I know isn't all that popular over here, and Cindy Sheehan is involved; maybe people are tired of her?
I realize this isn't about Kerry, but I had to rant somewhere; thanks. :cry: :cry: :banghead: :banghead:


http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x91667

[Dr Ron]

1. It made the greatest list

It made the greatest list, so it didn't really "sink like a stone."

There's no saying why some threads get far more replies. It is partially chance, time of day, etc. In this case there is no controversy. If there were pro and anti Cindy Sheehan people here for some reason, there would be far more to argue about and there might be more responses. Also, with the original at Daily Kos, it is possible that many DU people already read it and saw no reason to comment here.

[babylonsister]

3. Thanks, Dr Ron. I just feel so frustrated! I

had no idea soldiers were being treated that way; this was really news to me, and I'm outraged.

[rox63]

2. It's ok, you can safely rant here

We all find DU infuriating at times. And you're among friends here. :grouphug:

[babylonsister]

4. Thanks, rox63. I do feel among friends here even

though I don't post all that often. :grouphug:

[TayTay]

5. Honey, you are always among friends here.

We have a history. (You designed those cards. You're in the DU JK Forum history books. I mean, really.

I read that and have no idea what to add. These evil, stupid and blind bastards who are running the country hav broken the military. There are millions of voices in the country screaming this at the top of their lungs. The proof that this is getting through is the number of parents who are locking calls from the military from getting to their kids. (This is a vey damning statement. It actually upsets me a great deal. I have generations of people in my family who served honorably in the military. I would never let a recruiter talk to my son. I don't trust this group of people at all and would never let them near my son. And I am a military-friendly person. So are a lot of us. We want our troops to be treated right, well-supplied and not lied to by the chain of command. We also want them to have the benefits they were promised when they get out. I don't trust this bunch in DC to do that. OMG! That hurts.)

Love the troops, can't stand their leaders. What else can you say? This was said to my Congressman last week. He agreed, the military is breaking.

[babylonsister]

6. Thanks, TayTay. My husband, 2 brothers, and my uncle

have all retired from the service. Maybe that's why this struck such a chord with me.
I'm just so disgusted that this is going on, our soldiers could be starving,
Halliburton is raking it in, and those who support the war are none the wiser. I
sincerely wish the pro-war faction would read this and really understand how their
government is 'supporting the troops'.
So, I do love the troops, and hate what their/our government is doing to them.
What will these young people think when and if they get home? How can they ever
adjust to the treatment they received? It breaks my heart. :(

[TayTay]

8. It's a nightmare.

I caught some of the Jim Moran/Jack Murtha Town Hall forum on Iraq on C-Span. It was like the forum I went to in my area. The absolute scariest moment of that night was when Rep. Meehan talked about the people coming home and the services that are NOT there for them. (The money is not there, the commitment is not there and so forth.) We have good people at the VA, but they are over-worked and under-supplied. I am scared to death about this. Meehan specifically said (and I heard this on the C-Span Town Hall too) that the Pentagon is punting on PTSD. This is a nightmare.

We have a moral obligation as a country to the people we ask to go to war for us. We cannot abandon them. It is reprehensible and foolish. If our people come home and have problems, they will affect our communities and stress our social services and such. (And it's a moral outrage. I cannot stress that enough.) OMG! I am ashamed of this Admin and how they don't support the troops. Isn't that just shameful. (But hey, they want another $50-70 Billion tax cut for the rich. Where are our national priorities? This is an outrage and a deep betrayal of trust.)

Of course I love the troops. They are us. They are the kids my daughter went to school with and that I saw at her graduation. They are my Dad who served in the Navy, my uncle who served in two theaters of war as a medic, my Uncle who was a SeeBee and so forth. (My first trip to DC, my Dad asked that I take a picture of the SeeBee Memorial at Arlington National Cemetary. He had seen some of the other Memorials in DC, but not that one and his brother was a SeeBee. It about respect and honoring that service.)

Okay, I think we can see this is yet another button with me. It's also a huge, huge reason why I have voted for John Kerry for years. Damn, but he knows this stuff. I can see it in his face when he talks about it.

[babylonsister]

9. I did watch the Murtha/Moran town hall meeting. It was

positively refreshing to see an open meeting where people could air their views (pros and cons), instead of the canned stuff we see with the blivet.
Another personal issue I forgot to mention is my b-i-l. He was a tunnel rat in VN for one year. It had such a devastating impact on him that, almost 40 years later, he's not over it. He lost his teaching position due to PTSD-flashbacks, and he's getting hassled by the VA. He was deemed to be 100% disabled, and now they're trying to lessen that. My sister doesn't share much, but I know they've had a stressful time of it.
I agree, the way these soldiers, then and now, are treated is unconscionable. They are being treated worse than used kleenex.
I also agree that Senator Kerry would have been 1000% better for this country, in so many ways.
Sigh...
I do feel better this morning, and want to thank everyone who let me get this out.

[_dynamicdems]

7. Thank you for posting this. Note: it now has 23 recommendations. n/t

[karynnj]

10. Thanks for posting this here - I skipped it because of the title

I do respect Sheehan, but I assumed (as others may have) that this was a quote from a rant at a rally and something that I had heard before, agreed with - but didn't need to read.

This is really disgusting. Those who voter "BUSH" to support the troops were sadly deceived.

[beachmom]

11. It was actually a right winger who I always quote re: Sheehan

I saw this military guy who works at Fox News on Book TV. He was totally a right winger and a Republican, but somebody asked a question complaining about Sheehan (it was largely a right wing audience). The General (I think he was that high up) said that Cindy Sheehan was a Gold Star Mom, and therefore had the right to rant and scream and yell as long and as much as she wanted. She EARNED that right when her son died. He said soldiers are and will always be underpaid (do you know any other job where there's a good chance you could be killed?). He did take issue with some left wing groups that showed up after she was already camped out in Crawford, but he said he will never criticize her, because by losing her son, she made the ultimate sacrifice, and is free to say whatever she likes and should never be condemned for it. I have to say, I really like that somebody from so far to the right was able to tell this truth. What annoys us the most, is the Republicans' attack politics and vilification of anyone who disagrees. With Murtha, I think it really backfired which is why they backtracked on it. Once they softened the rhetoric, a real discussion could take place. In fact, why didn't * just copy what JK said (as in, the REAL president) -- I highly respect him but I don't agree. The answer is Karl Rove -- since their ideas, in pure form, are unsellable, you've got to attack, attack, attack . . .

Thanks for posting, BabylonSister.

[ginnyinWI]

12. maybe it is partly due to a bit of "war fatigue" n/t