One of my amazing best friends is serving our country in the Guards in Baghdad. She sends us updates on her "travels" every now and then.

Since the idiot in chief tells me I'm supposed to be out shopping and eating dinner with my family (which I'm doing), but he can't golf, I wonder if he's taking some time to read this blog? If so, I'll post some quotes from her letters. Maybe that would give him a real clue as to what he's sending our brothers and sisters and sons and daughters and mothers and fathers and friends and neighbors out into. Keep in mind - this woman is leaving behind a 2 year old and a husband for an unknown amount of time.

?we might leave at midnight?, so we packed into 2 small tents. Some people got chairs others had cement floor. So for three more hours we waited and then at midnight they came and told us we weren?t leaving, so sleep if we could and wake up was at 5am. I was able to pull two chairs together and sleep on them. Finally being short pays off!!

We would be in the war zone in less than two hours. You could cut the tension with a knife. We all packed in like sardines, sat on the cargo net seating. With our gear on and our bag on our lap, we barely had enough room to blink. 90 minutes later and with our legs half asleep, we got of the plane.

I walked over, saw a cute little covered patio area that looked a little ?resorty?. I thought this wont be so bad. And then I opened the door to our room. My first thought??Mexican prison cell?

So we find out our room was an old maintenance bay that had some walls put up to be made into a room. The walls were dirty with cracks and holes. An inch of dust layered everything. The floors were cement with grease and paint stains. The window was broken, and boarded up. There was a dust covered miniature xmas tree on the window ledge. Sprayed on one wall was, ?2 angry Americans, 1 pissed off Mexican!? We had a hubcab for wall décor and a mortar shell for a table center piece. Let?s just say the Iraqi Feng shui representative must have not made it to our room yet.

I cant talk to them as much here, especially her, because the hours I call she is at daycare, unless its on the weekend. She doesn?t say too much on the phone, but I get a ?I love you, momma, I miss you, and a God bless you? out of her. And always at the end of the call she says good bye and ?peace out, momma?, its so cute but heartbreaking too

Votes: +2

Now Adam, lets not be too hasty. We just don't know what else he has given up. Perhaps fatty foods, maybe watching Jeopardy, maybe sex on Thursdays. Maybe for W, giving up golf was a really big deal. If Bill could feel your pain, maybe W has other "private" ways to support our troops.

I think it a misjudgement to suggest that W is out of touch with ordinary folks like us. You have to give a damn first----he does not and there is no evidence that he ever did. He just represents a faction of elitists that have been taking turns wrecking our country. We have no basis to criticize coyotes for eating sheep----that's just what coyotes do naturally. On the other hand, we should be smart enough to not give the coyotes a blank check. Votes: +2

Deb: The sacrifice the men and women in the armed services make is amazing. We owe it to our brothers and sisters in the military (including your friend) to give them a commander in chief who's smart enough to see past the end of his nose.

Big Jake: Are you suggesting that when we vote for people like George Bush, John McAngry and John Hoeven, we actually ARE getting "The Change We Deserve"???

Votes: +1

I forgot a footnote. 3 Bush quotes:

"My administration has been calling upon all th leader in the----in the Middle East to do everything they can to stop the violence, to tell the different parties involved that peace will never happen."
Crawford, Texas; August 13, 2001

"These people don't have tanks. They don't have ships. They hide in caves.
They send suiciders out."

Speaking about terrorists; Portsmouth, New Hampshire; November 1, 2002

"Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we."

Washington, DC; August , 2004

Votes: +1

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/200...ning_style
Check this out, McSame think it will take till 2013 to win the war in Iraq. I thought W proclaimed "Mission Accomplished" 5 years ago. To me that should have meant the war was won then and now JM says it will take 5 more years to win the war. No wonder this country is in the shape its in, with these fine Repubs in power. Votes: +2

This article I found in the Jamestown paper this morning, I almost had to laugh. You will have to read this, but its almost as if this guy thinks Obama was born in a foreign country, well maybe Hawaii is a foreign country to some of us that have not been there yet. Read what Josh Fry's comment is as to why he is voting for McAngery. I bet when Josh gets divorced the courts will still grant his ex-wife to still be his sister after the papers are signed! True ignorance is showing through in this kind of thinking! Damn, how lucky the Republican party can be? Be proud of them there southern boys you got voting for you McAngery! (ok a little jabbing there on the last sentence, but not much.)

http://www.jamestownsun.com/articles/index.cfm?id=66164&section=Opinion

Votes: +1

The survey question today in the fargo forum:

Did Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty make the right decision when he vetoed legislation to raise the minimum wage?

there we go another republican helping keep the working class trying to make it from paycheck to paycheck. Then again he has a state credit card for his gas. Votes: +1

Pretty dead for a Friday p.m. I think the term "idiot" is incorrect. The correct term is "buffoon." However, neither term expresses the callousness and disrespect in which POTUS holds the Constitution and citizenry. Votes: +1

Chet,

Should anyone who has voted for Bush expect anything different than what we got? I do have some problem with those who say we were mistaken in our intelligence and that's why we went to war. Far too many democrats hide behind that notion. Make no mistake about it---Bush knew that the premise was a lie---not a misinterpretation. I knew it as did many others. Those who believe without knowing are incapable of leading. The Republic needs information---knowledge----to advance the cause of liberty.

There, I feel better now. Votes: +3

Please Big Jake elaborate to the rest of us how you knew so much. Votes: +1

We have a volunteer military. Someone very close to me is in Iraq. Yet I know it was a personal choice and consequences must be lived with. Does that mean I'm not angry about the poor care, the nickel and diming on bonuses, and the other issues surrounding the war in Iraq? No. But war is always controversial.

There's another side to the Iraq story that hasn't been getting much media play. Grateful Iraqis who greet the soldiers with handshakes and thank you's. Most of the people genuinely want our soldiers there. They don't want to revert to the Sadam Hussein reign of terror regime. They want to be able to roam their streets and feel safe and secure like Americans do. They want the terrorists eradicated and a fair and stable government. I know because this is what I hear from my friend. My friend believes in the mission. Personally, I was just as outraged that rulers like Saddam Hussein were allowed to terrorize as long as they did. Where was the rest of the world when this was happening? So, even if most don't agree with the decisions made by Bush and think he's an idiot, some may believe he made a tough decision at a time unprecendented in American history, and he believed he was doing the right thing. Did he do it based on false pretenses or bad information? Will we ever know for sure? Votes: +1

Bush has shown his true committment to our troops with this magnanimous effort of refusing to play golf. It doesn't matter he's played golf twice since making this most honorable of pledges, it's the thought that counts.

I don't think we should consider his lack of committment to returning veterans needing necessary health care or other benefits. Our troops understand why we must provide them with inadequate care, rat infested medical facilities, less time at home between deployments, stop loss measures, and other cutbacks in services and benefits. The returning veterans who served our country in Iraq and resorted to class action lawsuits against the United States government to obtain medical treatment and benefits are just not playing fair. They should simply not play golf, it's the patriotic thing to do.

Since Bush has not been playing golf, we have not once.. NOT ONCE!.. been attacked by terrorists. This may well be the greatest national security measure he has undertaken.

All of us should take this pledge as patriots - No golf, not even watching golf on tv til our troops return. It's so much easier than calling our elected representatives to share out thoughts on supporting the troops.

GO GOLF! Votes: +2

To Truth,

First, receive anything from this administration with maximum skepticism. Read a lot. Prior to the 2000 election, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Pearle, and other neo-cons were meeting regularly to plan a war with Iraq---get rid of Saddam at any cost. Meetings also included a variety of th Zionist Isralie faction. Once the 2000 election was stolen, and the overwhelming need to take the White House played a role in the theft. Once in power, the war drums beat louder. 9/11 was the trigger. The intelligence was made up(check old CIA sites) Afghanistan was really of minor importance. The subsequent record supports that.
READ: Wilkerson, Zinni, John Dean, Kevin Philips, Chalmers Johnson
Old archives from Frontline

Colin Powell resisted, but not nearly enough. Bush LIED in a State of the Union address regading uranium in Africa. Wilson and his wife Valerie are examples of just how important was the war to Bush. The list is endless. Bush wave the flag and Congress got in line. Afraid of looking unpatriotic. The National Guard was moblized to secure support from the countryside---can't speak out with out sons and daughters going to war. NOT THE REGULAR ARMY!!!!!

Just connect the dots. They have all relied on our unwillingness to call them liars and it worked. No evidence exists whatsoever, that Iraq posed any threat to us or even to other neighboring states. As you know, we the U.S. financed and provided chemical and biological weapons to Iraq in the U.S. promoted war against Iran.

For certain, we want the oil and the control of the oil in the region. An Israeli faction wants geo-political power and domination and some want more territory.

History records that these Neo-cons began their march into power with Nixon and continued with Ford. They were the dominant influence in Reagan and Bush 1. They have virtual control of Bush 2. The torture, the contractors(Blackwater, et. al.) , the elimination of Generals who opposed both the war and its conduct, the flag waving and constant beating of the war drums is all part of the plan----a damn good plan---and it has worked. Now McCain can continue to carry the water for them with Hillary a close second. Obama poses a real threat---an unknown----a wild card that at this point is not beholden to these political/money interests.

They have created an Empire without the people catching on----and we are still in disbelief. Franklin, Madison, Jefferson all told us of the necessity to challenge our government and to avoid empire. It remains true today. Votes: +1

You may have had me but your line about the 2000 election being stolen showed me your true colors and I read the rest with skepticism. Votes: +0

To Truth,

The stolen election is not a political opinion. Gore screwed himself when he did not demand a complete recount. Read the dissenting Supreme Court opinion. If Gore had balls, the Supreme Court would not have been involved and in spite of that,they had NO business in the decision. The Constitution provides the remedy but Bush could not take that chance---so the Court performed on que. An indication of just how much Bush needed to win. The game plan could not work minus the White House.

This is not a partisan issue although the Dems could have stood up and failed to do so. Skepticism is healthy but facts are facts---we have had an illegitimate presidency that has usurped the power, abrogated the Constitution and expanded the empire. Denial is the easy way out---and the country has yet to find the courage to stand up. The failure to impeach is a terrible legacy for the nation's future. Votes: +1

The fact that you can't get over the election and refer to is a stolen is where I don't put much stock in everything else you have to say. We don't have an illegitimate president, he was elected in 2004. Votes: -1

To Truth,

I don't give a damn about either the 2000 or the 2004 elections. It is not something to get over. It should serve as a lesson. I think it was Stalin who said something to the effect of not caring about elections---just about who counts the ballots.

Whether the Pres. is legitimate or not is not relevant and has not been since he took the oath of office. The oath is. It is what he has done since moving into the White House. In my observation and study of history, no other administration even comes close to doing damage to the nation, or the constitution as Bush. The neo-cons got a war, the military industrial complex has gained riches beyond imagination, corporate America has been busy raping the country, big oil has just begun on their mission of greed. Some 4000 of our soldiers have given their lives and countless more have been wounded while Bush/McCain reduce or try to reduce veterans benefits. I think I'll stop now as the more I think, the longer the list grows.

So toTruth, just how much did you get back from the Bush tax cuts? Or perhaps you really believe that some low wage TSA worker confiscating old lady's shampoo is making us safer? How about $4.00 gas? Maybe that will force us to conserve. Or the presciption drug deal---really helps our seniors but doesn't give the drug crowd just what they want--right? I'll bet your one of the people who say "I don't care if they listen to my phone calls or my e-mails or my financial affairs--I ain't got nutting to hide". Check with me later---I have some stock in the old bridge over the Missouri that I'll cut you in on at a really good price. Oh wait a while, I'll beat up on the Democrats for having balls the size of little peas during the first 6 years of Bush--growing a little in the last 2. Votes: +2

Your mention of the 2000 election shows me you are not over it and the rest seems like sour grapes to me.

As for the $4.00 gas - ask the Democrats, they all campaigned on the fact that if they were elected in 2006 they would bring gas prices down, well they have gone up almost two fold. They have to includes old lady's bags in the random checks because the Dems and the ACLU will cry profiling - so to be fair everyone has to be included. Votes: -2