Gold Star Mom Speaks Out

The Dead Soldiers of Arlington Cemetery & Congressman Trent Franks

2011-07-19T21:03:00.000-07:00

Congressman Trent Franks (R-AZ) comments about the economy pissed me off tonight. He said:

“There are people lying out in Arlington National Cemetery tonight and I wonder what their perspective would be If they could come back among us for just few moments. I would suggest to you they didn’t die so that we could spend our country into bankruptcy so that we could weaken our nation on all fronts simply because we weren’t fiscally responsible. And they didn’t die so we could put ourselves so deeply in debt so that we sent tens of thousands for each little child born today so that they would have to carry that (debt) the rest of their lives.”

Congressman Franks, what the hell? What does my dead son and more than 6100 other dead members of the military have to do with the economy? Unless you are talking about the $3 trillion cost of the wars that you voted for and refused to pay for and has been a major cause of the current state of our economy.

And really, why wonder what my son would think about the economy, when you voted to send him there. Do you feel responsible for his death? You should.

Congressman Franks, do not ever use the death of my son to justify your selfish and self-centered politics. Do not ever imagine what my son would say about the economics of the day- do not go there.

Former President Bush, Vice President Dick Cheney and the rest of that administration lied to put the US into an illegal war. Unfortunately, while you tout the sanctity of life on your website, “Trent has worked tirelessly in an effort to protect the innocent at every stage of life.” you forgot to protect the members of the military when you voted to send so many of them to their certain death. Look to that administration for the reckless spending on the reckless wars and that is when “we sent tens of thousands for each little child born today so that they would have to carry that for the rest of their lives.”

So, Congressman Franks, leave my dead son to lie in peace at Arlington National Cemetery and I won’t wonder what your children, Joshua and Emily think about any given subject.

"We got him" Osama bin Laden is dead.

2011-05-01T23:40:00.000-07:00

The email I got from my son when Saddam Hussein was killed back in December 2003 said "We got him". Ken had been in Iraq for 7 months by then. I wish I could have received the same email this evening, referring to Osama bin Laden, but tonight I am missing my son who was killed in Iaq on May 30, 2004.

I am not joyful to hear of the death of Osama bin Laden, I am relieved. Much as I was relieved when the administration of George W Bush ended in January 2009. Okay, I guess I was a little joyful watching George & Laura boarded the helicopter at the White House that would take them back to Crawford, TX.

I can't help miss the contrast of announcements on May 1, 2003 when then President Bush announced "Mission Accomplished" and eight years later on May 1, 2011 when President Barack Obama announced that "Osama bin Laden is Dead". Was finding Osama bin Laden a priority of the Bush administration?

The attack on the Twin Towers on 9/11/2001 was not just a loss for New Yorkers, it was a loss for our country and eventually, a loss for our way of life. Laws changed, our freedoms were restricted and terror became the word of the early 21st century. My son was a senior in college that day back in 2001. He called me that September morning and we watched TV together, he in Tennessee, me in California, as the 2nd tower was attacked. The next day, Ken wrote this in his journal:

Terror came to this nation on the 11th. The question of how runs through the mind of many and shock set in as we watch with horror the events unfolding before us. Anger fills many hearts and minds. Once that anger is focused, God help us then. The nation wants blood, but do they understand that in spilling their blood, ours will flow too? When this war does start, I should be back on the front lines. I really hope that I will make the right choices and keep those people under me alive.

Ken was 24 at the time. How did he know he truth when so many others refused to go down that path?

No one under Ken's command died during his 384 days in Iraq.

More than $1 trillion has been spent, more than 6000 US military died, countless were wounded and that is just Americans. How do we count the deaths of civilians in Iraq and Afghanistan? I hope that our country will learn the lesson that war isn't the answer when something goes wrong in the world. Diplomacy and good intelligence are essential parts of any country's foreign policy.

Terrorism has not ended, of course, but we can turn this page on Osama bin Laden. His reign of terror is now over.

As one of my friends said tonite- "Raise your glasses to those you fought for this moment for the last 10 years. Pour some for those who passed too." Remember also those who were left behind to learn how to live without their loved ones.

It's None of Their Business

2011-03-24T00:52:00.000-07:00

It's not as if the government doesn't already know a ridiculous amount of information about us anyway. The information that they've got comes from our income taxes, our jobs, our credit cards. I'm sure they have quite a dossier on all of us already. Some people say they aren't worried about that because they don't have anything to hide, but that theory really only goes so far.

The State Department has announced a formal notification to allow 60 days for public comment about a proposed new form DS-5513 , a Biographical Questionnaire that would be incorporated into the process for securing a US Passport. The applicant is asked for all addresses since birth; lifetime employment history including employers’ and supervisors names, addresses, and telephone numbers; personal details of all siblings; all schools attended both in the US and overseas; mother’s address one year prior to your birth; any “religious ceremony” around the time of birth; and other intrusive and personal information

According to the questionnaire, an estimated 74,000 applicants will complete the form. In 2010, approximately 14 million US passports were issued, so that works out to 1 in 200 applicants who will be required to complete the form. Neither the DS-5513 form or the announcement reveal where that number came from or who qualifies to be one of the special 74,000 applicants.

If you are one of those 74,000, please note that “failure to provide the information requested may result in … the denial of your U.S. passport application.” and "Providing the information requested on this form, including your social security number, is voluntary, but failure to provide the information requested may result in processing delays or the denial of your U.S. passport application." That doesn't give you many options if you want a US Passport.

It is rare that the average citizen is made aware of a public comment period relating to a government proposal, but this is your lucky day because there are about another 30 days to submit comments. If you think that this is a ridiculous waste of time as well as a terrible intrusion of privacy, it's your turn to sound off to the State Department. I recommend you let the State Department know your feelings regardless if you would be directly affected. You know that once the questionnaire is put in effect, we will ALL be affected.

You may submit comments by any of the following methods:

E-mail: GarciaAA@state.gov. Show citation box
Mail (paper, disk, or CD-ROM submissions): Alexys Garcia, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box
Fax: 202-736-9202.Show citation box
Hand Delivery or Courier: Alexys Garcia, U.S. Department of State, 2100 Pennsylvania Ave., NW., Room 3031, Washington, DC 20037.Show citation box

You must include the DS form number (if applicable), information collection title, and OMB control number in any correspondence.

I'd love to hear your comments.

Battle of the Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairs

2011-02-02T00:23:00.000-08:00

Those of us who watch how members of Congress deal with Veterans issues and how they treat veterans themselves, would do well to keep an eye on the actions and actual voting record of newly appointed GOP chairman of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, Congressman Jeff Miller (R-FL), who promised a thorough review of spending for veterans' programs.

I support a thorough review of any DC committee's budget, but I am concerned when it feels like there may be a hidden, or not so hidden agenda. Congressman Miller said he thinks veterans understand why fiscal responsibility is necessary. "I think it's fair to say the veterans in this country have sacrificed in their service to our nation, but they are willing to do what's necessary to help get this country's fiscal house in order". Wait, let's back up a minute. Vets are "willing to do what's necessary to help get this country's fiscal house in order"? No, NO and NO WAY! With 1% of our population carrying 100% of the burdens of these wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, why don't we make sure that our military members and our vets have their own fiscal houses in order? THAT is what I want the 112th session of Congress to do.

GOP Speaker of the House, John Boehner said he "can’t think of anyone in the House more capable to serve as the Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs than Jeff Miller" as he announced Miller's election as Chairman of the House VA Committee, he went on to say

““Jeff’s efforts for veterans are well documented and his credentials as a conservative leader are without question. Jeff will continue to work to ensure that all of our nation’s heroes receive the proper respect and care that they earned.”

A quick review of Miller's website brags about how much he supports Veterans issues with such statements from the Congressman as:

“I am humbled by the opportunity to serve the more than 22 million veterans who have so proudly served this great nation,” “I will work to ensure that we meet our veterans’ needs.”

I hope so, but not so fast, Congressman Miller. In October 2010, IAVA, a well known and well regarded veterans advocacy organization published their Congressional Report Card on how members of Congress voted on Veterans issues. Sadly, Congressman Miller came out with a D, so it doesn't matter how pretty his website is, or how many nice things he says, remember how he voted on the issues when it comes to voting for your Congressional Representative.

Fortunately, Miller's newly appointed counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray, said she will be watching Republicans "like a hawk" to ensure veterans get their financial due. Note: Senator Murray received a B from IAVA.

As the 112th session of Congress starts working on issues, let's see who really supports veterans and their issues and who doesn't. We'll be watching!

Oprah & the Bravest Families in America

2011-02-01T23:00:00.000-08:00

Oprah Winfrey had an "ah-ha moment" of her own on her show about military families today. She admitted that she was one of the people in this country who did not know anyone serving in the military, or as Tom Brokaw calls them "one of the people who really doesn't care about the war or the men and women who are fighting it". That didn't surprise me at all. It also didn't surprise me that Oprah didn't know what a Blue Star family was until the First Lady, Michelle Obama explained to Oprah that it described a family who had a family member actively serving in the military. Mrs Obama had already explained that a Gold Star family was one who had lost a loved one who had been serving in the military.

It didn't surprise me that Oprah didn't know anyone serving, but it does surprise me when I meet someone and I am the first Gold Star mom that they have met. I guess that goes to point that less than 1% of the country is carrying 100% of the burden of these wars. As people have told me "there have been so few casualties". Don't say that to one of the 5892 families who have buried a loved one from these current wars; any number more than zero is too many casualties.

Tom Brokaw said "the struggles ought not to be left to these families alone" and that our military families just want to know that the public is aware of what's going on as we live in our own war zone.

Gold Star mom, Terry Arciola was shown visiting her son at Arlington National Cemetery in Section 60 where many of our loved ones who were killed in Afghanistan and Iraq are buried. I have not met Terry, but I know her son's story from a mutual friend who helped both of us through the very early days of our grief. LTC Cathy Huley, who worked with Casualty Affairs picked me up when I was so broken and guided me through the bureaucracy to bury my only child at Arlington after he was killed in Iraq. Cathy was also assigned to the Arciola family for the same task a few months after Ken was buried. I'm sure that Casualty Affairs bond with some families more than others. I consider Cathy to be a good friend of our family and I am glad I see her and her family every year on Memorial Day when we celebrate Ken's life at Arlington and mark another anniversary of his death.

When asked if Terry felt that people have forgotten about the wars and the sacrifice, she said said yes, she thought many people had. She referred to her son Michael when she said, "If people will forget about his sacrifice.....they did it for us. If people don't remember that, it's like they didn't exist" I don't think you will find a Gold Star Mom that would disagree.

Oprah promised that "we will not forget Michael (Arciola) sacrifice, nor any of the soldiers". I hope not and we can hold her to it. As the head of her own network, and with her powerful voice, she owes it to us.

Regarding the wars, "our country is suffering from an epidemic of disconnection" Bob Woodward explained. The conversation continued with him asking Oprah "What do we owe these people? Everything. What are we giving them? Not enough. We haven't figured out how to re-engage the country in these wars. People have got to be informed- countries get in trouble when they don't pay attention." Mr Woodward went on to say that military families "feel we have been isolated by the country". He got that right, too, especially the part about disconnection and isolation. Honestly, I would not wish this life on anyone; no one should ever have to bury a child, especially as a result of war.

If someone had only watched this Oprah show, and none other, they might believe that she had never done any shows regarding the military or that she had never interacted with members of the military. Sadly, that is not true. When Oprah was in DC for President Obama's inauguration in January 2009, she made a trip to Walter Reed Army Hospital to visit wounded troops. If a visit to Walter Reed did not have an impact on what these wars are doing to our young service members and to our country, what else would? I wonder if it was the power of Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodward, who suggested the subject for this show to Oprah, that finally made her face our reality, our new normal.

In October 2010, Oprah did a show on Homeless Female Veterans. How did that not become an "ah-ha" moment for her regarding military needs.

I'm glad Oprah got her wake-up call and has said she is now thinking about what she can do to help. My question to Oprah is what took you so long? These wars have been going on for nearly 10 years and it is disappointing that this is the first time that she did a show like this about military families. Why did these wars not become a part of Oprah's consciousness until now?

Thank you, Oprah for doing the show, we'll be waiting for your next step. Thank you, Tom Brokaw and Bob Woodward for standing up for our military families and making sure our stories were told.

Antrel Rolle is a Big, Dumb Animal

2010-12-03T00:50:00.000-08:00

I don't know anything about Antrel Rolle, until tonight I had never heard his name. There is one thing I know for sure is that Antrel Rolle is a big dumb animal who gets paid too much money to play a game. A game that is not war.

I've kind of lost my interest in football since my son was killed in Iraq 6 1/2 years ago. I do not, however, begrudge the time and money people spend following NFL games; it's just not that interesting to me anymore.

Some people seem to have lost their perspective on what is important in life and their comments show it.

From the NY Daily News

In an attempt to defend ripping Giants fans Tuesday for booing the team, Rolle said: "They want to make it that guys paid this much money for a ticket. Yeah, I understand that, I understand completely. We risk ourselves out there on the field each and every day also. When soldiers come home from Iraq you don't boo them. I look at it the same way. I take my job seriously."

I'm glad Mr Rolle takes his job seriously; he should, for a salary of $37 million dollars for a 5 year contract for playing football for the NY Giants. Unless you have sworn an oath, put on a uniform and walked in those boots, you cannot compare yourself with a soldier. Ever. Hearing Rolle's comments, I suspect Rolle does not personally know anyone who has served in the military. I also suspect, despite his self-aggrandizing, that given the chance to actually serve in the military, Mr Rolle would not have the courage or fortitude to even complete basic training. My son, 1Lt Ken Ballard who was KIA 5.30.2004 will always be a better man than Antrel Rolle will ever be

Although the apology offered by Rolle seemed sincere, he needs to filter what comes out of his mouth and then an apology would not be necessary. Unfortunately, there are plenty of reasons to believe what comes out of ones mouth is true. Until Rolle puts on those boots, he needs to keep his mouth shut.

Although Rolle admits he is not a politically correct guy, he blames that on his mother, he needs to understand that the military is currently at war and a little respect for the job that our military does is required from others who are not willing to step up for their country.

Nearly 6000 members of the military have been killed in these wars, 5 times as many have been seriously wounded.in the last 9 years since fighting began in Afghanistan and Iraq. One final bit of wisdom to Antrel Rolle. What he plays is a game, and war is not a game. It's never a game. He needs to remember that when he puts on his uniform this Sunday.

October Baseball- Go Giants!

2010-10-18T01:58:00.000-07:00

I had forgotten everything I liked about baseball, or maybe I had just tucked it away for the last 6 1/2 years. Everything changed the day my son was killed in Iraq on May 30, 2004 and baseball just wasn't that important after that day.

Ken was my baseball buddy as he grew up. As a single mom, I was the scorekeeper or the team mom during his Little League days. Ironically, Ken chose the Los Angeles Dodgers as his team even though I was a San Francisco Giants fan. God knows how he made that decision, but maybe he came by it naturally. My brother, Tim and my sister, Shannon are Dodger's fans. My grandfather was a Giants fan and I found it hard to believe that I was raising a Dodgers fan. It caused some amount of friendly tension as we attended Giants games.

Ken and I attended lots of Giants games with our circle of baseball friends, mostly at Candlestick Park. There were the Padres, Diamondbacks, Cubs, Reds and the Mets, but the most memories came from Dodger games. Gary, Mary, Mike and Celeste were the core group and they saw Ken grow up over the years at so many tailgate parties Those were the days. Ken and I had Giants season tickets for a couple of years and one year we flew to San Diego for a baseball weekend with tickets courtesy of one of the owners who was a high school friend of mine. For that trip we sat in the owner's box and also in the owner's seats right behind home plate. It was nice to see how the other half lived.

To say baseball was an important part of my son's and my life would be a fair statement. When Ken joined the Army, I lost my baseball date, but I continued to attend games with friends and watched the Giants play on TV. When Ken came home on leave from the military, we would attend games as his schedule allowed. If he wasn't physically in California, we would often watch games on TV while talking on the phone, life was good.

When Ken left for Iraq in May of 2003, I knew he would miss the whole baseball season that year, but that was the least of my worries. I also knew that we would celebrate his return by attending a game or two when he came home from his deployment. Of course, it didn't work out that way and since 2004 I was lucky if I attended one or two baseball games a year. I enjoyed myself and the company of my friends, but it wasn't the same; that baseball magic was gone.

Fast forward to the Giants against the Braves in the playoffs last week. The buzz around the Bay Area was loud enough to capture my attention. I don't know that I would have watched the game/s on tv because I hadn't even attended one game this year and I hadn't a clue who the current players were or what the team dynamics were. One of my friends at work, Carolyn, had an extra ticket and offered it to me, so I jumped at the chance to attend a playoff game. I bought my sunflower seeds and my diet coke, and I was ready. Carolyn filled me in on all the players, and I came up to speed pretty quickly. In a stroke of luck, Mike & Celeste were within shouting distance in the next section over. I can't tell you when that old baseball magic came back, but that night, under the lights at AT&T park in San Francisco, it did and I was happy.

It was bittersweet, of course. Ken should have been there, and he was - in my heart. The Giants lost that night, but it didn't matter; baseball is different in October and I was happy to be there. For the first time in 6 1/2 years, I watched baseball on tv this weekend. We're 1-1 against the Phillies and the Giants are coming back to play on their home turf. I'll be watching those games on tv, too. Go Giants!

War is not a Game- MOH, the battle continues

2010-10-18T00:02:00.000-07:00

Clearly, gamers, especially those who play violent war games, get their panties in a knot when they feel a game is at risk of not being published. There was much ado about the Taliban shooting US soldiers option available on Electronic Art's just released video game, Medal of Honor. The Taliban shooting US soldiers option caused the game to be banned from AAFES outlets on 300 bases worldwide and in turn, Gamestop also said they would not stock the game on their outlets on military bases. Less than a week before the game was released, the kerfuffle caused EA to pull the Taliban option of the multi-player game in honor of soldiers, but for $59.95 you, too, can now sit in the comfort of your living room and shoot and kill US soldiers for fun, you know, as in "it's just a game".

I have discovered a few things in these past several weeks about video games, gamers and the culture they live in, and it isn't pretty. Apparently the First Amendment applies to gamers, but not to me when I expressed my opinion that I wanted MOH to be pulled. I still want Electronic Arts to pull the game because it is a tasteless, violent, disrespectful game that in no way honors the troops as they suggest it does, regardless of any proclamations to the contrary. Greg Goodrich, the Executive Producer of Medal of Honor said in a statement, that after hearing from military families,

"because of this, and because the heartbeat of Medal of Honor has always resided in the reverence for American and Allied soldiers, we have decided to rename the opposing team in Medal of Honor multiplayer from Taliban to Opposing Force.

While this change should not directly affect gamers, as it does not fundamentally alter the gameplay, we are making this change for the men and women serving in the military and for the families of those who have paid the ultimate sacrifice - this franchise will never willfully disrespect, intentionally or otherwise, your memory and service.

To all who serve - we appreciate you, we thank you, and we do not take you for granted. And to the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Marines currently serving overseas, stay safe and come home soon."

Except, Greg Goodrich also missed the point. It wasn't the Taliban option that was disturbing. It was that MOH allows gamers to virtually shoot at US soldiers. It doesn't matter that other games allow the same options. That MOH takes place in a current Afghanistan setting while real US soldiers are really dying, does not make EA any better than the rest of companies who do the same. And it shows the wide divide in this country between those who serve their country and those who don't.

I have found that when you don't have a good marketing plan that you are sure of and one that considers all scenarios, because you can't or shouldn't make it up as you go along. Jeff Brown knows what I'm talking about because he came off looking patronizing, arrogant, stupid and unprofessional, but so did many other spokespeople for EA. Note to Jeff, if you write a letter to a grieving mother, you really should acknowledge the loss or don't bother writing at all, because if you don't, you missed that point, too.

I learned that when someone sends you an email and you respond, that doesn't mean it's an interview, regardless of what they say. Especially, when I noted "I definitely do not take your questions the wrong way, I am always happy have a discussion with someone who appears to be reasonable. What you do with my response, may be another issue. I hope you will respect me and will use my words as intended. " They didn't do either and that will never give you an ounce of credibility; you know who you are, Anthony, and you should be ashamed of yourself. The video game website, Beefsteak will never be the professionals that they purport yourselves to be.

As for all of the responses that were sent to me via Facebook, through this blog and other ways; it doesn't matter how horrible or juvenile or hateful the comments were; they were only words. I have already had the worst day of my life, so your words did nothing to hurt me or to sway me. I published every post on this blog, regardless of the level of intelligence or profanity, and yes, I acknowledge that there were some responses that were thoughtful.

Hard core gamers should have figured out that I don't care what gamers (and I do mean that in a pejorative way) think about the game, Medal of Honor, or what they think about my opinion of the game, or about how other games are the same, or worse, and why I am picking on Electronic Arts? I don't care how gamers think I am impeding Freedom of Speech, or how my soldier son was fighting for the gamers freedom to play violent, objectionable video games, or how I am depriving US soldiers their ability to purchase MOH. I don't care if you are 17 years old or 50 and that you waste your time playing violent First Person Shooter video games and therefore that makes it, what? Right? Because for all of the talk about Freedom of Speech, people seem to have overlooked the fact that I agree that EA has the freedom to release this game, I just think they shouldn't have.

And finally, I wish that people would stop saying that Fox News exploited me when they invited me on their show to talk about MOH the day after the "Taliban shooting US soldiers" option was revealed, or leaked. I am perfectly aware of how this media game is played. I wouldn't have appeared on the show if I didn't know what I was doing or why I was doing it. Fox gave me the platform and I thank them for the opportunity.

If gamers think I am the only person who doesn't like the game, MOH or other first person shooter games, then they are sorely mistaken. Nearly all the people I spoke to about this genre of games were shocked and disturbed about the options available on these so-called games. Sadly, we are not the demographic that the gaming industry cares about, but if this controversy caused people to have a conversation about this game and this industry, then everything was worth it. But mostly I do not think the final chapter has been written about this controversial game.

Hall of Shame- 3 New York Mets players

2010-09-14T18:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a while since I named anyone and shamed 'em, but 3 baseball players from the NY Mets made the list due to a recent no show when the team went to Walter Reed Hospital to visit some wounded warriors. Only 3 players of the 33 man squad couldn't find it in themselves to show up, Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez.

Luis Castillo said he was too squeamish."You see people with no legs and with no arms, being in a hospital like that, I don't like to see that". Really? How about donning some body armor and join these troops that are in harms way serving this country? 162 games in a season that starts in April and ends in September, or October, if you are lucky, doesn't compare in any way to multiple deployments, daily combat and time away from their loved ones. Squeamish? People like Castillo make me sick! Castillo also said. "We didn't go because we didn't like to see that." Castillo needs to grow up.

Perez declined to discuss the matter at all, only stating "I don't answer anything about outside the stadium."

We are paying these jerks, who play a game for a living, a combined $36.5 million for next season and they don't have the common courtesy to pay respect to those men and women who have been injured while serving their country? They are part of the 99% of this country that never have to think about the ongoing, endless wars. 1% of the people, the military and their families carry the heavy burden of these wars every day; they cannot walk away, they cannot put the war out of their mind.

Castillo, Perez and Beltran give baseball a bad name, and it's a good thing these 3 don't represent all of baseball or even all Met's players. Met's right-hander R.A. Dickey said when asked about the no-shows. "In our own way, it's a way we can pay personal tribute to people who we take so for granted every day. "To have the empathy and to be in the moment enough to know that there are people in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting for the freedom that I'm able to enjoy ... To be able to look a guy in the eye who doesn't have arms or legs and say, 'Thank you,' that's a big deal. I take it personally."

Congratulations to this year's nominee's for the Baseball Hall of Shame- Carlos Beltran, Luis Castillo, and Oliver Perez.

Welcome to Hell, David Brooks, war profiteer

2010-09-14T17:38:00.000-07:00

It's nice when karma comes around and bites someone in the butt; someone who thought they were too good to get caught and too good to play by the rules. This is true in the case of David Brooks, #1 War Profiteer, at least that is how I described him back in October 2007. While it took 3 years for this dirty dog to be found guilty, at least this day has finally come.

According to TPM Muckraker, David H. Brooks, a former contractor who supplied the military with body armor, was found guilty today on 17 counts, including fraud and insider trading, after allegedly stealing millions of dollars from his company and bilking his shareholders.

Might I remind you what got Mr Brooks in trouble in the first place:
His indictment charged him with manipulating DHB’s financial records to increase earnings and profit margins, in that way inflating the price of DHB’s stock. Beyond the $10 million bat mitzvah for his daughter, a sampling of the charges authorities say Brooks concealed from shareholders and the IRS:

$7,900 for a facelift for Brooks' wife
more than $1 million for expenses related to his 100 trotting and breeding horses
$101,190 for a belt buckle studded with diamonds, rubies and sapphires
$101,500 for an armored vehicle for his family's use
more than $1 million for numerous family vacations, including frequent stays at the Bellagio in Las Vegas and various Caribbean and European villas
$31,802 to transport one of his daughters and her college friends to Halloween parties in Madison, Wisconsin, using a private jet
hundreds of thousands of dollars in bonus checks drawn on a DHB bank account handed out by Brooks at a company Christmas party to non-DHB personnel, including his horse trainer
and of course the predictable $10,000 here, $5,000 there for purchases at Luis Vuitton, Gucci, Gianni Versace, and Prada boutiques around the world

The 71-page indictment (PDF) tells the whole ugly story.

The good people at Corpwatch, who investigates and exposes corporate violations had this to say about war profiteering at the time of the indictments.

Today the victors of modern wars no longer rape and pillage as their predecessors did, instead they make extraordinary profits by giving contracts to their favorite companies to rebuild what they have destroyed and then hand the bill to local taxpayers to pay.

There is a special place in hell for people and corporations who profit off of war. Welcome to hell, Mr Brooks!

War is Not a Game- Medal of Honor version

2010-08-25T03:48:00.000-07:00

Electronics Arts will be releasing a new version of their video game Medal of Honor in October. By all accounts Medal of Honor is a pretty popular game. According to Wikipedia, Medal of Honor was first developed by DreamWorks Interactive and published by Electronic Arts in 1999. The series, originally based on WWII, was created by filmmaker, Steven Spielberg.

The newest reboot of the game, set in current day Afghanistan, allows a player to take the role of the Taliban and shoot US soldiers in the multi-player part of the game. No problem, says EA's Amanda Taggart "Medal of Honor is set in today's war, putting players in the boots of today's solder. We give gamers the opportunity to play both sides. Most of having been doing this since we were seven. If someone's the cop, someone gotta be the robber, someone's gotta be the pirate and someone's gotta be the alien. In Medal of Honor multiplayer, someone's gotta be the Taliban." The game is a problem to me; my only child, 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed in combat in Iraq in 2004..

Last week, when I heard about the details of this game and the ability to be the Taliban and shoot US soldiers, I was shocked at the insensitivity to releasing this game as our members of the military fight and die in Iraq and Afghanistan. This game trivializes the training and the service of members of the military. Not surprisingly, a quick review of the executives at EA reveals none have served in the military. Most important, the release of the newest version of Medal of Honor at this time shows how far removed EA and the other 99% of our country is from the 1%, the military and their families who carry the heavy burdens of these wars. We, who have been affected by the war think about the war every day versus those who never (have to) give the war a thought.

Although I am not advocating for a ban of this game, First Amendment and all, I would be satisfied if MOH is pulled. This is not without precedence. In 2004, Sony pulled a game called "Shock and Awe", apologizing and calling it "an exercise of regrettable bad judgment." In 2009, Konami Games pulled their support of a game being developed by Atomic Games, called "Six Days in Fallujah", based on the one of the bloodiest battles in Iraq for both Americans and Iraqi civilians. If my speaking out causes people to think about the war, I'm okay with that. If my speaking out causes people to question the intentions of these type of games or to question their values in playing such games, I'm okay with that, too.

Gamers are a surly lot when they feel threatened about their choice of video games. They feel entitled to graphically and vocally express their opinion, although my opposing opinion has frequently been called ignorant, just talking crazy, stupid, and disgusting and worse; the testosterone is palpable. I have also been instructed to "shoot myself in the head over and over", "Kill myself" and "If she doesn't like the game she should not play it". To be fair there are a few enlightened and empathetic voices, but they are the minority. It makes you wonder who plays these first person shooter games.

The hate and nasty name calling that has been directed at me is interesting and disturbing at the same time. I might remind the gamers that I have already had the worst day of my life, so these sticks and stones cannot and do not hurt me. It just validates the level of and lack of maturity.

Let's lay out some facts, so that if anyone feels inclined to dismiss my opinion, they won't need to use these as their argument.

My son, 1Lt Ken Ballard did volunteer to serve his country in the Army and did so with honor
I will never get over his death
My son was killed in Iraq, not Afghanistan
I do not play video games, especially those that involve killing- anyone.
I will not be buying or playing Medal of Honor or any game that involves killing- anyone.
I believe in the First Amendment, the Freedom of Speech
I do not want Medal of Honor banned
I have watched the trailer for MOH

The gaming industry is trying to put their medium on the same level of books and movies and with the same respect. From the EA web site one day “software worthy of the minds who use it” would be more important than traditional media like films and television. They suggest that all mediums are for entertainment, but I would argue that books and movies can be informational, and not entertainment. Books and movies have a finite ending, the same characters die at the same time, the same happy or sad ending occurs, regardless of the number of times you view or read. Video games offer different endings depending on how the game is played. A player can pause the game, they can start over and replay, replay and replay, all of which are not available in the harsh reality of war.

My message to the executives of Electronic Arts is not a request to ban the game. It is a request to understand and acknowledge the controversy and hurt they have caused to the many families of the fallen. The cavalier responses from their PR staff are patronizing and arrogant, not in line with their stated values of "Think of Consumers First" and listening and responding. The values page on Electronics Arts website also asks “What must we do to be our best?” If Medal of Honor is EA’s best, then they have failed. EPIC fail!

I have respectfully requested a meeting with Electronic Arts. Although I am not hopeful for a response, just in case, I'll let you know.

Welcome Home!

2010-08-10T23:21:00.000-07:00

A young man by the name of Goobig Qp posted this video on his Facebook page. I don't know Goobig, but I know he's got a big heart. His video is a 10 minute montage of military welcome home reunions. It is worth 10 minutes of your time to see the joy in the faces of the families, friends and even of the returning members of the military. I wish everyone in the country and I do mean every one, would watch this video and see the faces of these children. Because in that minute of recognition, in that second, every fear was gone, every bad dream had faded and the world that they had been living in had changed- Daddy/Mommy is home!.

Of course many of us did not have that reunion that we dreamed of and that sustained us during the time our loved ones were deployed. Instead, we welcomed home a flag covered casket. But that is another story and I only mention it to remind you that there are other "Welcome Home" scenarios.

Enjoy these reunions, and while you watch, remember the military children. They did not enlist but they endure and experience numerous deployments in their own way, just as their parents do. I wonder what will become of these children? What are we doing to these children and their future? They, too are the cost of war.

Before you hit the start button, grab the tissue and settle in.

Thanks for sharing, Goobig!

Arlington National Cemetery, Section 60, May 28, 2010

2010-05-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

I wasn't sure I would be able to visit Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery before Memorial Day this year, but I just came from there.

I was taking a cab to my hotel in Crystal City from the American Gold Star Mother's headquarters over near some embassies. On a whim, I asked my cab driver to stop at ANC. I have a pass, so it's easy to drive onto the grounds; the guards pass you right through, because they know that people who have a pass earned it the hard way by having a loved one buried at our national cemetery. The cab driver seemed overwhelmed with Arlington, at the massive size and number of white stones so symmetrically arranged; he had never visited. I realized I had never been to Ken's grave alone, so this visit was special to me, too.

Section 60 was fairly empty, much different than it will be on Monday. The flag-in ceremonies had taken place on Thursday, in preparation of this oh so important American holiday, a small American flag waving proudly in front of each headstone. The humidity was stifling and memories of Ken overwhelmed me. Why was his name on a headstone? WHY? It's been 6 years and you would think that I would get used to it, but I haven't. I know for certain I never will, no matter how many years pass.

The irony of Ken's death on Memorial Day isn't lost on me; it could have happened any other day. 1Lt Ken Ballard loved being a soldier serving his country. I hope those who knew Ken or who learned about him since his death, will take a minute on Memorial Day, to remember Ken and honor his service, as well as those who fell before him.

The Fairy Tales of Laura Bush, "Spoken from the Heart"

2010-04-29T00:39:00.000-07:00

I'm not a fan of Laura Bush so I haven't been following her since she left the White House with George in tow and mercifully landed in Dallas and off the national stage. I wasn't too surprised to read that the lovely Miss Laura has written a book of her memoirs " Spoken from the Heart". Nor was I surprised at the contents. This memoir covers Laura's early years growing up in Midland, TX, her tragic automobile accident at age 17, caused by her, that resulted in the death of one of her classmates, life as the First Lady of Texas and then onto the White House. I'm not so interested in the early years. although I empathize with the accident that clearly shaped her life. No money of mine will go to support the Bush family, so I will make my comments from book reviewers who get paid to read fairy tales and lies for a living.

Amazon doesn't present much in the way of Laura Bush's biography, "Laura Bush was First Lady of the United States from 2001 to 2009. She founded both the National Book Festival and the Texas Book Festival." Those don't sound like bragging rights for anyone, let alone an 8 year First Lady. The reviewer for Amazon seems to be quite a fan of the former first Lady using words like "heart wrenching", "beautifully rendered" and "her uncommon willingness to bare her heart".

The Texas and White House years finds Laura Bush standing by her man, admonishing his critics and even suggestions of a suspected case of poisoning on the way to the G8 conference in 2007. The book echoes the theme of the wonderful Bush years as other books from former members of the administration. Once again, if we were expecting any apologies or acknowledgment of mistakes from the Bush 43 administration, this is not the book to find them.

Lauren Frayer at aol.news writes that the book reveals details of the 1963 car accident that have been kept from the public.

The accident occurred when 17-year-old Laura Welch (Bush's maiden name) was behind the wheel of her father's Chevy Impala, driving with her girlfriend, Judy Dykes, to the movies. As the girls were chit-chatting, the future Mrs. Bush blew a stop sign at an intersection and hit Welch's car at 50 miles per hour.

"In those awful seconds, the car door must have been flung open by the impact and my body rose in the air until gravity took over and I was pulled, hard and fast, back to earth," she writes. "The whole time ... I was praying that the person in the other car was alive. In my mind, I was calling 'Please, God. Please, God. Please, God,' over and over and over again."

Bush writes that afterward, she lost her faith in God for "many, many years."

"It was the first time that I had prayed to God for something, begged him for something, not the simple childhood wishing on a star but humbly begging for another human life. And it was as if no one heard," she writes. "My begging, to my 17-year-old mind, had made no difference. The only answer was the sound of Mrs. Douglas' sobs on the other side of that thin emergency room curtain."

While Laura Bush writes of her visits with U.S. troops and their loved ones, and of her empathy for and immense gratitude to military families, it's too bad that with few exceptions, the visits didn't include families with differing political opinions. Laura Bush's insistence of standing by her man did not allow the embrace of families of the fallen who did not support her husband's policies. Apparently she never heard the sobs from our families; it's as if no one in Washington ever heard us at all.

Tiger Woods Comes Back

2010-04-12T03:19:00.000-07:00

Last Friday, all the news reports breathlessly reported Tiger Woods' performance on the golf course the day before as if his comeback was from tragic circumstances. Tiger Woods is back! OMG!

As charismatic as he may be, I don't care about Tiger Woods' comeback performance and I didn't care about his dalliance's that have been well documented 24x7 since late November. A lot of us learned more about sexual details that might never have occurred to us had we not been privy to Tiger's serial philandering via twitter, text or voicemail.

I don't care that he had an affair or many affairs, but I'm pretty sure his wife does. It's between them and it's none of our business. I don't care how this behavior and the ensuing fallout affected his golf game, but I'm sure his sponsors do. His contracts are between them and it's really none of our business who drops him and who keeps him.

I found the Nike ad uncomfortable on a few levels- I don't need or want to see a grown man being lectured by his dead father to sell overpriced shoes & clothing. But I guess it's all about money in the end; money for the sponsors and money for the media coverage and of course, money for Tiger.

What I do care about is the hypocrisy of Tiger Woods' perfect son/husband/golfer persona that he presented to the world. If he had been a "bad boy", the coverage of the sex scandal may have only lasted a news cycle or two.

I have little sympathy for the self inflicted predicament Tiger found himself in, when there are real people who have to overcome real physical and mental difficulties, whose victories we should be celebrating- think wounded soldiers, for instance. Golf is a just a game, entertainment.

Tiger Woods has to get out of bed in the monring and look at himself in the mirror and ask if he is the man he wants to be. If he is, that's okay with me, but I don't appreciate presenting someone who isn't really who he is. The media needs to get over themselves and move onto something more important than Tiger Woods winning his next golf game....or not.

Vote NO on the $30 billion Supplemental War Appropriations

2010-04-12T00:42:00.000-07:00

My letter to members of Congress requesting a NO vote on the $30 billion supplemental appropriations request.

I am writing to urge you, to beg you to vote NO to a $30 billion war supplemental requested by President Obama.

I KNOW that candidate Obama said that Afghanistan was the “right” war so I am not surprised, although I am terribly distressed with the increase in troop levels. I KNOW that candidate Obama said he would end emergency supplemental appropriations for war. I gave President Obama a pass when he submitted his first supplemental appropriations in April 2009 because I KNOW that a president finds out more information once he takes office.

However, on April 9, 2009, in the early years of his presidency, President Obama wrote a letter to the Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi requesting Congressional approval for a supplemental appropriations request totaling $83.4 billion.

As he made that request, he also wrote- As I noted when first I introduced my budget in February, this is the last planned war supplemental. Since September 2001, the Congress has passed 17 separate emergency funding bills totaling $822.1 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. After 7 years of war, the American people deserve an honest accounting of the cost of our involvement in our ongoing military operations.

We must break that recent tradition and include future military costs in the regular budget so that we have an honest, more accurate, and fiscally responsible estimate of Federal spending. And we should not label military costs as emergency funds so as to avoid our responsibility to abide by the spending limitations set forth by the Congress.

When will the requests for supplemental appropriations for death and killing end? When will Congress and our President be honest with the American people and the parents of those who send their son’s and daughter’s to war?

With all the uproar surrounding the passage of the Healthcare bill, and with thousands of hours spent discussing the costs of Healthcare, I am begging you to spend the same time considering the financial costs of these 2 quagmires, these “long wars” as the former administration described them.

But finally, I urge you from the bottom of my mother’s heart to please consider the human cost of these wars. My son, 1Lt Ken Ballard was the 818^th US casualty in Iraq. When Ken was killed in 2004 I could not imagine that we would still be fighting these wars 6 years later. I couldn’t imagine that our country would suffer 4000 more casualties and that Iraqis would suffer countless more. If you vote yes, I cannot imagine how many more families will hear the words “On behalf of the President of the United States, I regret to inform you…”

PLEASE VOTE NO! Please fund the swift and safe withdrawal of all of our troops, and de-fund the continuation and escalation of these wars!

Karen Meredith
Gold Star Mother

I Am Angry

2010-03-15T23:58:00.000-07:00

I'm going to lend my soapbox to John Cory today. I wish I had written this.

If you agree with this essay, please sign the petition. Please make sure people in Washington know how you feel- both Dems and Republicans. If we don't speak out and speak up, they will think we are okay with all this, and I dare say folks who are reading this blog are not okay with any of this. Thanks John Cory!

am angry.

I'm tired of pundits and know-nothing media gasbags. I'm tired of snarky "inside politics" programming. I am sick of the bigotry and hatred of "birthers" and faux patriotic cranks and their GOP puppet masters. And I'm really pissed at the Democratic Party that confuses having a plate of limp noodles with having a spine.

I'm going to vomit if I hear the word "bipartisanship" one more time.

It was "bipartisanship" that gave us this activist conservative Supreme Court. A Supreme Court that says money is free speech and corporations are persons except when real people try to hold them accountable for their greed and poisonous ways.

"Bipartisanship" gave us the Patriot Act and FISA and illegal wiretaps and two wars and "free speech zones" and "no fly" lists. God bless bipartisan America.

I get nauseated every time the Senate explains how it takes a super majority to do anything for the American people. Tell you what Senate Bozos, if it takes 60 votes to pass legislation then it should take 60% of the popular vote to get you elected.

When some Tea Party crank says, "I want my country back," I respond, "No madam, you want your country backward."

When a deficit-mongering politician says, "How do we pay for this?" Why not ask, "What did you Republicans do with the surplus we Democrats left you?"

When a compassionate conservative says, "Healthcare reform is socialism," why not answer, "No, sir it is the moral and American way to care for people."

Yes, I can hear it now: "You are naïve and simplistic. These are complicated matters and require sophisticated solutions. Democrats are a big tent and strive for balance. But Republicans block our path at every turn. We are thinking and considering new ways to work in harmony with everyone."

Bite me.

The only thing you get with "harmony" is a Barbershop Quartet.

Democrats stop being Republican Lite. Stop whining about that mean GOP and their nasty messaging. Grow a pair, get a message, get a bumper sticker and hang it out there. Get some strong vivid talking points.

G-O-P = Greed Over People.

Greed Kills - jobs, people and the economy.

Terrorism is Viagra for Republicans: The more fear - the more excited they get.

When a soldier dies for America, who dares ask if they were gay or straight?

Don't act so shocked, Democratic Party. Have you looked around lately?

You're losing the young vote that showed up to elect Obama. You're losing those old enough to remember real Democrats. Why? Because you don't talk to them any more than you talk to me. You talk at me. You talk around me. You talk down to me. You talk about me. You don't talk with me. And you don't inspire and you don't champion and without that you are nothing more than an arbitrator of compromise and abdication.

You are facing a bully. Deal with it!

Republicans want the country backwards. They champion superstition over science because it entrenches ignorance and bigotry and captures the easily frightened.

Republicans treat the Constitution the way they treat the Bible, with selective interpretation and selective application to others while exempting themselves from judgment and accountability.

Republicans preach the gospel of fear because fear is darkness and darkness covers their theft of civil liberties and Constitutional principles.

For thirty years the Republican Party has claimed the mantle of law and order but now quake in dread of the American judicial system when putting terrorists on trial. How criminal is that?

Torture is illegal. Period. John Wayne and Jack Bauer were not our Founding Fathers - only in the make-believe world of Republican drugstore-patriots.

DADT needs to be repealed. Now. It is unconscionable, immoral, and disgusting.

Empathy, compassion and equality are not pejoratives. They are American values proven again and again throughout our history.

Republicans believe that bake-sales and cookies for chemotherapy best determine the value of life and healthcare because life is a pre-existing condition and the "free market" should not have to take on such a high risk - after all, no one gets out alive, so why should the corporation be left holding the bag? Unless of course the price is right.

Republicans believe that government should keep its hands off healthcare but should put its hands inside a woman's body.

Republicans believe in small government - small enough to hold the "right" people and small enough to be owned and operated by the "right" people. And who are the "right" people? Them. Not you.

Democratic Party, DNC, DLCC, DSCC or whatever your acronym - I have only one question for you: Really?

You can't win against these guys? You can't get your message out against these guys? You can't give America leadership against these guys?

Really?

Shocking! Anti-gay Republican State Senator reveals he is gay!

2010-03-09T23:04:00.000-08:00

Roy Ashburn is a California State Senator "proudly serving the 18th District of California", the largest in California, encompassing Kern, Tulare, Inyo, and San Bernardino counties. That is about the most conservative part of our great state, not that there is anything wrong with that. That Ashburn is known as an anti-gay politician is not a surprise knowing the district he represents. Ashburn's record according to the Fresno Bee

Ashburn, who is in his last year representing a bedrock conservative region that includes most of Tulare County, organized a Traditional Values Coalition rally in Bakersfield in 2005 to support a proposed constitutional amendment that year to prohibit gay marriage.

At a 2004 rally in Fresno, Ashburn criticized Democrat Jim Costa for supporting domestic partnerships. The two were squaring off in a congressional race that Costa ended up winning.

Ashburn also touted his support for Proposition 22, a ballot initiative that defined marriage as between a man and a woman, calling himself a co-sponsor of the 2000 measure.
Equality California, a gay rights group, gave Ashburn a "zero percent" for his 2009 voting record.
Ashburn voted against bills that included expanding California's mental health services for gay youth and measures to protect gay prisoners from violence -- which won some GOP votes -- and creating a day to honor slain gay activist Harvey Milk.

Ashburn has said he didn't believe he had been a staunch anti-gay activist, insisting the way he had voted on social issues reflected his constituents' views. Ah, and therein lies the rub.

Ashburn was arrested on drunk driving charges while driving his state-issued vehicle and while leaving a gay bar in Sacramento. He immediately took a few days leave to reflect and upon his return, revealed that he was a homosexual. The LA Times reported that Ashburn said "I am gay," "Those are the words that have been so difficult for me for so long. But I am gay. But it is something that is personal and . . . I felt with my heart that being gay didn't affect -- wouldn't affect -- how I did my job.

I emphatically agree with West Sacramento Mayor Christopher Cabaldon, an openly gay Democrat, when he said "I don't think it's a scandal for an elected official to be gay, I do think it is hypocritical to know that you are gay and pretend that you are straight. It has to be difficult, period. But especially when you are a public servant, where is the trust when the truth is revealed?

I understand that the Senator is not running for re-election and that's probably just as well. I imagine he has some very serious conversations in front of him with his family and friends. Roy Ashburn says that he felt with his heart that being gay did not or would not affect how he did his job, but he was wrong. Who you are, regardless of race, creed, gender, or culture will affect everything in your life. Every vote he made against human rights, every time he spoke out against gay rights had to have a visceral affect on him. The bottom line, though, is would his district have elected him had they known his sexual preference? I think we know the answer to that and I think Roy Ashburn did too.

Repealing the Anti-Trust Exemption for Health Insurance Companies

2010-02-24T22:45:00.000-08:00

I'm tired of the hypocrisy of so many Republican members of Congress who have put party over people, in general, but specifically since President Obama's inauguration just more than a year ago. The data is clear when you look at any votes on a House Resolution or Senate Bill and all No's have an "R" beside them. I call 'em as I see 'em.

Today, much to my surprise, the vote on H.R.4626: To restore the application of the Federal antitrust laws to the business of health insurance to protect competition and consumers was overwhelmingly passed in the House with 406 voting aye, and 19 voting no. It didn't surprise me that all that the No's were from Republicans or the party of "NO", so let's "Name Them and Shame Them".

Rep. Todd Akin [R, MO-2]
Rep. John Boehner [R, OH-8]
Rep. Kevin Brady [R, TX-8]
Rep. Paul Broun [R, GA-10]
Rep. Stephen Buyer [R, IN-4]
Rep. Trent Franks [R, AZ-2]
Rep. Scott Garrett [R, NJ-5]
Rep. Lynn Jenkins [R, KS-2]
Rep. Jim Jordan [R, OH-4]
Rep. Steve King [R, IA-5]
Rep. Doug Lamborn [R, CO-5]
Rep. John Linder [R, GA-7]
Rep. Jerry Moran [R, KS-1]
Rep. Ronald Paul [R, TX-14]
Rep. Tom Price [R, GA-6]
Rep. Paul Ryan [R, WI-1]
Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R, WI-5]
Rep. Todd Tiahrt [R, KS-4]
Rep. Lynn Westmoreland [R, GA-3]

Conversely, if your representative is not on this list, thank them for supporting the Bill. The Senate has not said when or if they will take up the bill, preferring to pass an overall Health Care bill. It is no surprise that AHIP America's Health Insurance Plans was against the bill and so was the Chamber of Commerce

The Statement of Support from the administration is as follows:

STATEMENT OF ADMINISTRATION POLICY
H.R. 4626 — Health Insurance Industry Fair Competition Act
(Rep. Perriello, D-Virginia, and 65 cosponsors)
The Administration strongly supports House passage of H.R. 4626. The repeal of the antitrust exemption in the McCarran-Ferguson Act as it applies to the health insurance industry would give American families and businesses, big and small, more control over their own health care choices by promoting greater insurance competition. The repeal also will outlaw existing, anti-competitive health insurance practices like price fixing, bid rigging, and market allocation that drive up costs for all Americans. Health insurance reform should be built on a strong commitment to competition in all health care markets, including health insurance. This bill will benefit the American health care consumer by ensuring that competition has a prominent role in reforming health insurance markets throughout the Nation.

It is well past time that the cosumers get a win in Healthcare reform. The anti trust exemption has outlived it's benefits, if there ever were any to begin with. Congratulations to the House!

1000 US Casualties in Afghanistan

2010-02-22T12:57:00.000-08:00

Numbers take on different significance to different people. A number, afterall is relative. To some, $100 could be their Starbucks budget for the month, to others, $100 could mean they feed their children everyday, or not.

Milestone numbers are also relative and are especially hard for those directly involved. If you had a loved one deployed to Iraq or Afghanistan since October 2001, 1000 US deaths in Afghanistan is significant, if not, this news will not likely land on your radar. The deployments are minutes and days and weeks and months of worry. Those whose loved ones came home, they may think "by the grace of God my loved one came home". For those of us whose loved one did not come home, it doesn't matter if it is the 1000th death, or the 1st or the 818th. Each announced casualty is painful as we relive the day we received our news.

Some will point out that the 1000th US casualty didn't occur in Iraq until 18 months after the March 2003 invasion. In comparison, it has taken 9 and 1/2 years in Afghanistan. Some will say, "neither number is very big, look at how many died in WWII or Vietnam." But ask any family member or friend of the nearly 5400 US casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan, and I suspect, an answer often heard would be "any number more than zero was too many". For that matter, ask any of the loved ones of the Coalition casualties or the Iraqi or Afghanistan civilian casualties. If you've lost a loved one to war, especially a war that you didn't support, 1 is really the only number that matters; 1 is the significant number.

I am not far from 6 years when I got the knock on the door. I am nearly 6 years away from the initial shock and numbness from receiving the news that my only child was never coming home. I wouldn't wish this unimaginable life on anyone. For those families who are getting the devastating news now, my thoughts are with them. How their lives will turn upside down and inside out in one second. The second before the knock on the door, life was normal. They were baking, or working, or getting ready to go to bed or starting their day and that knock changes everything. Everything! Today, as icasualties.org posted the 1000th US casualty in Afghanistan, we are painfully aware that another family has received the news.

This traumatic event will result in some family members suffering from PTSD or secondary PTSD and we will suffer the sleeplessness and the nightmares and feelings of intense distress. Our trauma is, of course, different than those in combat, but we will suffer, too. Burying a child is not what nature intended, the concept so foreign that there is not a word for a parent whose child has died. Children who lose their parents are orphans, husbands who lose their wives are widowers, and wives who lose their husbands are called widows. And losing a child is too painful to even assign a word.

On the eve of this terrible milestone death, Bloomberg reported that General David Petraeus, the top U.S. commander in the Middle East and Central Asia, said U.S. losses in Afghanistan will be “tough” and the U.S. presence there is necessary to prevent terrorist attacks. I wonder what "tough" means in numbers.

At this 1000 casualty milestone, take a minute to think of the parents and the siblings, the children, and the friends. Each one of these young men and women was loved, every life unfulfilled, every promise for the future is dashed. But mostly, these young men and women stepped forward to serve their country at a time when so many others choose to stay behind. Regardless of your feelings about these wars, we must never forget the sacrifice and we must never forget the human cost of war.

1000 was too many in Iraq and 1000 is too many in Afghanistan. It's time to bring the troops home.

Military Family Suicides

2010-01-14T02:26:00.000-08:00

When the military talks out loud about suicides in the military, it's a good thing. This week in Washington DC 1,000 people are attending a four-day Suicide Prevention Conference sponsored by the Department of Defense and the Veterans Administration. Admiral Mike Mullen, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki were among many military leaders and medical experts in attendance. The highest level of leadership and the array of experts should indicate that the military is looking for solutions to solve this terrible trending problem of suicides in the military.

I have attended numerous meetings discussing veterans issues where one of the topics is military suicides. I have always been amazed that a military representative always acknowledges military suicides as an pressing issue but cannot figure out why. I'm no expert, but let's try this short list. Repeated deployments, shortened dwell times, or time at home, stop loss, PTSD. I could go on, but that's a whole other story. So, I was glad to read that Admiral Mullen told the audience at the conference "I know at this point in time, there does not appear to be any scientific correlation between the number of deployments and those who are at risk, but I'm just hard-pressed to believe that's not the case," Admiral Mullen said. "I know we are and hope to continue to look (at deployments) first to peel back the causes to get to the root of this."

Deborah Mullen, Admiral Mullen's wife, accompanies him to many events that are military family related. I met both the Admiral & Mrs Mullen at Arlington National Cemetery on Memorial Day 2009 where I was makring the 5th anniversary of my son's death. They were both walking through Section 60, where more than 800 members of the military who were killed in Iraq & Afghanistan are buried. They were offering condolences to family members and friends, they offered hugs or a hand in friendship, so it was no surprise that Mrs Mullen attended the Suicide Prevention Conference. SFGate reports her message to the attendees:

Don't forget the spouses.
Deborah Mullen said Army leaders told her that they lack the ability to track suicide attempts by family members of Army personnel. "I was stunned when I was told there are too many to track," Mullen said, speaking on stage at a military suicide prevention conference next to her husband, Adm. Mike Mullen.
She urged the military to get a better handle on the problem and implement prevention measures with spouses in mind.

"There's another side to this and that's family members who commit suicide," Mrs. Mullen said. "It's our responsibility. These are our family members."
Military-wide, she said, it's not clear exactly how many military family members killed themselves last year. Some military spouses, Mrs. Mullen said, are reluctant to seek mental health help because it still carries an unfortunate stigma.
"Spouses tell me all the time that they want to get mental health assistance," she said. "As incorrect as this is, they really do believe if they seek help it will have a negative impact on their spouse's military career."

Mrs Mullen's message is spot on altough I would add one more thing. Don't forget the parents.

I'm pretty sure that most parents who get that knock on the door consider suicide as one of their options, if only briefly, during those difficult days after they receive the terrible news of the death of their child. I know of too many parents who want to crawl inside at the first view of the flag covered coffin. One more hug, one more embrace. If only they could trade their life for their child's.

Please do not forget the Gold Star parents!

Name Them and Shame Them- Veteran's Charity (again)

2010-01-12T01:16:00.000-08:00

There is not much that pisses me off more than a charity that sets themselves up as one who takes care of Veteran's but in reality only take care of themself. If that doesn't piss you off too, then you just aren't paying attention. As a rule, I think many Americans want to donate some of their hard earned money to support the troops and Veteran's issues. Since most people aren't touched by the war/s, it's one way that people can feel that they are involved and that they "Support the Troops". The downside is, it seems that someone can form a non-profit, slap either "troops" or "Veteran's" in the name of the charity and they can be off and running with well intentioned donor's money. So, when people take advantage of the good nature and good intentions of others, it kind of pisses me off.

It's not that Roger Chapin is new to this scam; he's been at it for 4 decades and the mere fact that he has been at it for 4 decades puts him in the Hall of Shame for Charities. Back in January 2008, I wrote in this blog about Chapin's reluctance to testify to Congress about his charities, Help Hospitalized Veterans (HHV) and the Coalition to Salute America's Heroes Foundation. 25% of the money donated went to the charities; the balance went into the pocket of the administrator's. At the time, The Army Times reported that lawmakers pushed Chapin and two executives of fundraising companies on the question of whether solicitations should disclose information about the percentage of donations that a group spends on fundraising. By far, the best exchange of the 3 hour hearing was this response to that question. "If we disclose, we'd be out of business," Chapin said. "Your words are wonderful, because if the public knew, they wouldn't donate," said Rep. Christopher Shays, R-Conn. Touche'! If you want to hear the testimony, go here.

Now, one year later, Chapin and his charity, the Coaliton to Salute America's Heroes Foundation is back in the spotlight again and I don't mean that in any good way. Forbes is reporting "on its Web site the Coalition to Salute America’s Heroes Foundation, the veterans charity run by controversial, self-described "nonprofit entrepreneur" Roger Chapin, says flatly that 75% of contributions received "goes directly to programs that help service members." But the Ossining, N.Y., nonprofit’s own data from its latest, just-filed financial statements--issued under penalty of perjury--tell a far different story. Thanks mainly to high fundraising costs from sending junk mail, the Coalition’s actual level of charitable commitment was just 51%. That’s one-third less than 75% and a percentage that leading charity watchdogs consider unacceptable. The average charitable commitment on the annual Forbes list of America’s 200 largest charities, which uses a slightly different methodology and includes different kinds of nonprofits, is 86%.

Roger Chapin is one of the bad guys, no doubt. This is his story, this is his life and if you believe in karma, he will get his, but he's not the only one. Do not be fooled by slick websites or shiny pamphlets. There are alot of good charities that do support the troops and veteran's issues and sadly, there are many bad ones, too. In the meantime, before you donate to any charity, please check them out. Charity Navigator is a good source to check out verifiable data on many charities, including those that "Support the Troops".

R.I.P. SSgt David Gutierrez

2010-01-08T01:50:00.000-08:00

3 little boys buried their Daddy today. Their mom buried her longtime love. A military funeral is heartbreaking on so many levels. The ceremony is made up of military traditions, the folding of the American flag that had recently covered the casket, the reading of the medal citations, the three gun volley, the Final Roll Call, the bagpipes, the presentation of the flag and the medals- "On behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation....".

Notwithstanding the obvious, the problem with military funerals that are occurring these days is the young age of the dead. Today he was 35 years old, but since October 2001, our military cemeteries have been filled with young men and women 18, 22, 26. No parent should bury a child and no one should die so young, but war brings that to a country and it's so sad.

Some days I wonder why I attend funerals of the fallen but one thing I know for sure is that one Gold Star family attended Ken's memorial and it was a tremendous help knowing that someone really, truly knew what my heart felt like that day.

Today, the city of Gilroy, California turned out to show their respect for Ssgt Gutierrez, who was killed in Afghanistan on Christmas Day. The schoolchildren lined the sidewalk waving small American flags as the hearse carried SSgt Gutierrez to his final resting place. Citizens took a moment from their day to stand and watch the funeral procession go by, to honor this young man, who they probably hadn't known, but they did know the right thing to do was to share in this families grief, even for a moment.

We who attended the funeral mass and the burial did share their grief today. The most heartwrenching moment of the day was hearing the sobs of the oldest son, Andrew as the flags were being presented to the family. How do you explain to your children that their daddy is never coming home?

My thoughts are with the family and friends of David Gutierrez during this difficult time. I am so sorry for your loss.

President Obama's Letters of Condolence to Families of the Fallen

2009-12-02T01:27:00.000-08:00

Shortly after President Obama took office earlier this year, we found out that he had taken a different tact in writing condolence letters to families of the fallen from Iraq & Afghanistan. President Barack Obama has asked staffers to gather details about troops killed in overseas operations so he can personalize condolence letters to their families, according to a report in the Washington Times this week. If Bush personally signed the letters (my own condolence letter from Bush appears to have been signed by an auto-pen), Bush's letters included nothing personal to make families feel as if their loss had been personally acknowledged by their loved one's Commander in Chief. Obama's approach to writing letters of condolence was a nice change.

When President Obama spoke at West Point about his new Afghanistan strategy called A New Way Forward, he said as President, I have signed a letter of condolence to the family of each American who gives their life in these wars. It's too bad that isn't true.

We learned recently that the White House has an unwritten policy of not sending letters of condolence to the families of troops who took their own lives. This is a harsh reality to families whose loved ones lives were lost from the invisible wounds of war. This policy is not new to the Obama administration and neither was the ban on media coverage at Dover AFB, as soldiers returned in flag covered caskets. Shortly after President Obama took office, he lifted the media ban. Obama should change this shameful White House policy that cruelly refuses to acknowledge the families tragic loss while their loved one served their country.

Troops who kill themselves on the battlefront or after they return to the homefront are casualties of war as surely as those who die in the field of battle. The Department of Defense is just coming around to acknowledging the terrible number of suicides as they ponder new policies to try to deal with this tragic consequence of war. While the military has yet to acknowledge the causes of these high number of suicides, it seems clear that 9 years of war and all of the physical and mental strains that exists in battle might be the first place to look.

The Las Vegas Sun wrote a fitting editorial about the family of Chancellor Keesling and their pursuit of receiving the "final honor", a letter of condolence from their son's Commander in Chief.

In November, the Army announced that 140 soliders had committed suicide this year, equaling the record number of Army suicides recorded for 2008. We are reminded of what then-Army Secretary Pete Geren said last year: “Army leaders are fully aware that repeated deployments have led to increased distress and anxiety for both soldiers and their families.”

The Army now tells soldiers that mental illness is not a condition of which they should be ashamed, and that seeking help will not stigmatize them. But that might be hard for them to believe when the families of their fellow soldiers who committed suicide do not receive letters of condolence from the president.

The president should send condolence letters to all casualties of war, no matter what the cause. We owe our troops this final honor.

Bad Plan for Afghanistan

2009-12-02T00:16:00.000-08:00

I am having deja' vu all over again and I don't mean that in a good way. I don't feel good about this new surge in Afghanistan. President Obama (or fill-in-the-president) announces 30,000 (or fill-in-the-number) troops to be sent to Afghanistan (or fill-in-the-country) with a goal of withdrawing forces in 2011(or fill-in the date). We've heard it before.

President Obama appeared at West Point to give his speech this evening. It seemed different than when former president Bush spoke surrounded by members of the US military wrapping himself in the flag to portray himself as one of the troops and not as their leader. Tonight, the Commander in Chief told the cadets "I owe you a mission that is clearly defined and worthy of your service". I wonder how many of those cadets, will return home in a flag covered casket from serving in Afghanistan. Will Obama go to Dover AFB to witness the dignified transfer of their remains as they return to their final resting place?

Obama tells us that General McChrystal finds condition in Afghanistan "more serious than he anticipated" and McChrystal's escalation is the path our new President has chosen. What about Ambassador to Afghanistan Karl Eikenberry's and other's serious reservations about deploying more troops to Afghanistan in the face of widespread corruption in Afghan President Hamid Karzai's government?

This Afghanistan strategy is not a "New Way Forward" as the White House tells us. This strategy is rolling back 9 years ago and starting over with the strategy we should have had in 2001- remember back in December 2001 when Bush spoke of bin Laden's capture and said he doesn't care how the suspect is brought to justice. "I don't care, dead or alive — either way," Bush said. "It doesn't matter to me." Apparently nothing in Afghanistan mattered to Bush. The U.S.squandered any opportunity to be successful in the pursuit of bin Laden and in fighting al Qaeda/ the Taliban in 2003, when the Bush administration took their eye of the ball and moved their little green army men over to Iraq. Troops in Afghanistan have carried a terrible burden of being the red-headed step child when they were abandoned, with the lack of troops to accomplish the original mission of capturing Osama bin Laden. While we have a new administration, I am not convinced that we haven't lost our opportunity for a military success in Afghanistan.

I believe that President Obama when he said I do not make this decision lightly. I opposed the war in Iraq precisely because I believe that we must exercise restraint in the use of military force, and always consider the long-term consequences of our actions. We have been at war now for eight years, at enormous cost in lives and resources. Years of debate over Iraq and terrorism have left our unity on national security issues in tatters, and created a highly polarized and partisan backdrop for this effort. I just believe that he made the wrong decision.

Our country has been at war for 9 years in Afghanistan or Iraq or both. My mind was not changed by Obama's speech describing his new strategy. I only have one question- How many more? How many more flag covered caskets? How many broken families; how many children who will endure much of their childhood without one parent or the other? How many new Gold Star families? How many more billions of dollars should be spent? How many needless deaths to support a corrupt, dysfunctional government? How many more wounded veterans and their families will go without care or without sufficient care when they return? How many multiple deployments must our military serve while so many Americans sit on the sidelines with no skin in the game?

HOW MANY MORE?

Thanksgiving 2009

2009-11-26T02:06:00.000-08:00

On Thursday, my family will once again have an empty chair at our Thanksgiving table. This will be the 6th Thanksgiving since my only child, 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq. As the holidays loom, so many Gold Star families are in a funk. Whether it has been 9 years or 9 months, the truth seems especially harsh at this time of year. "They are never coming home" repeats in our heads over and over again, they will never fight for the drumstick, or play football before dinner, or bound in with the energy of a puppy dog who just wants to love and love back. There will be no hugs and there will be no hands to hold. These seats are forever empty.

The other empty seats at Thanksgiving tables are those with loved ones who are serving their country in harm's way, 168,000 in Afghanistan, 115,000 in Iraq and so many others in places that do not make the news at all. Our wish for them is that their empty seats are only temporary and that there will be a quick and safe return for their loved ones

President Obama will spend the holiday with his family in tact, in the warmth, comfort and safety of the White House or Camp David, while thousands of military families from Fort Campbell, KY and Ft Drum, NY wait to hear the deployment plans of their loved ones. Rampant rumors are flying that Obama has finally decided on his strategy for Afghanistan. The plan calls for the deployment over a nine-month period beginning in March of three Army brigades from the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell, Ky., and the 10th Mountain Division at Fort Drum, N.Y., and a Marine brigade from Camp Lejeune, N.C., for as many as 23,000 additional combat and support troops.

I am thankful that our president has spent so much time deliberating this strategy; it is refreshing that he has taken the time to analyze the options, none of which is good- he was left with a hot mess and no one can argue any differently. But what will be the determining factor in this decision? Will it be politics?

Obama will be addressing the nation next week to announce/defend his plan. Americans remain divided about any troop increases with half of the people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corporation survey say they'd support such a decision, with 49 percent opposed. Americans oppose the war in Afghanistan 52 percent and 45 percent are in support. These are not pretty numbers from the President's point of view; his decision will still divide the country. But The Hill reports that the president said “My intention is to finish the job,” Obama said in comments from the White House. “I think once the American people hear a clear rationale for what we're doing there and how we intend to achieve our goals, they will be supportive,” Obama said. I'm not so sure.

I don't know what "finish the job" means. Our former president sent troops into Afghanistan 8 years ago hell bent on revenge and perhaps some would say misguided retribution. Once Bush was distracted by that shiny ball that was Iraq, Afghanistan was pretty much abandoned, leaving the troops understaffed, ill equipped and poorly trained in Middle East culture. The military in both countries has performed admirably and far exceeded everything we have asked of them with little support from the tax payers who have not had to pay a "war" tax. Apparently it's okay for their grandchildren to pay their bill.

ama also appeared to give a nod to weakening support for a war that, according to polls, is no longer though winnable by a majority of the public.

In our 9th year of combat operations in Afghanistan, 928 US troops have lost their lives and in 7 years of combat operations in Iraq, we have lost 4365 US members of the military. This doesn't count the number of suicides, the broken marriages and broken lives because those really aren't substantiated and besides, it doesn't affect most people, at least that's what they think.

I had hoped that Obama's trip to Dover AFB to see the dignified transfer of bodies as they come home from Iraq &Afghanistan would be meaningful as he saw the deeply grieving families as they welcome their loved ones home on that cold and windy tarmac. I had hoped that the trip to Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery would be meaningful as the President and Mrs Obama walked through those white stones at our national cemetery. As they spoke to the families and read the names on those headstones, I had hoped that the sacrifice would be palpable and would weigh heavily on this new President's shoulders because by now, he surely knows the human cost of war. But, what drives him? Is he another "war president"? As much as it pains me to think this, it seems so. If you haven't called or written to your member of Congress, you must let them know that continuing military operations is not what we want and the current foreign policy also must be be changed.

Early on this Thanksgiving 2009, I am thankful that I am with my my parents and 2 of my sisters. We have a roof over our heads and we will have a good meal. I am thankful that I have a job that I like and where I am respected. I am thankful for old friends and new ones. I am thankful for my Gold Star family friends and I wish for them a better day and a day full of memories that will warm their hearts. I'm not sure we will ever figure out how to live with this hole in our hearts, but we will get up tomorrow and the next day, and the next and we will speak our minds, because we have earned that right and becasue we know if we can't speak, another Gold Star family member will step forward.. I am thankful that we have a President who has actually attended the dignified transfer at Dover AFB and one who has walked through Section 60- neither of those were easy, but he did it anyway. I am thankful that President Obama lifted the media ban at Dover and now families can have the photograph of their loved one, the one I never got. Later today, we will remember who filled our empty chair and we will lift our glasses and toast to those who are not with us. We miss them today, especially today.

I hope each of you is exactly where you are supposed to be in mind, body and spirit.

Liz Cheney's version of President Obama's trip to Dover

2009-11-02T03:45:00.000-08:00

When I heard that Liz Cheney had a problem with President Obama's recent trip to Dover AFB to honor the 18 fallen soldiers and DEA employees as they made their final return home, I was insulted and disgusted that she felt she had an opinion to offer on the subject. Her opinion doesn't matter now and unless and until a loved one of Liz Cheney's is killed or wounded while serving their country, it never will and she should just keep her mouth shut.

Liz Cheney, daughter of former vice-president Dick Cheney, he of 5 deferrments to the draft during Viet Nam because he had other "priorities", doesn't get a vote on this one. As a Gold Star mother who lost my only child in Iraq in 2004, I don't need to be patronized by her platitudes of how a president should pay tribute to our fallen soldiers.

The Huffington Post posted an article about Liz Cheney's Fox interview with John Gibson: I think that clearly it is very important for our Commander in Chief whenever he can in whatever way possible to pay tribute to our fallen soldiers, our military folks but I think that what President Bush used to do is do it without the cameras. And I don't understand sort of showing up with the White House Press Pool with photographers and asking family members if you can take pictures. That's really hard for me to get my head around...It was a surprising way for the president to choose to do this."

See Liz, when you start thinking, that's when things start going south for you. Never one to let facts get in the way, she covers herself by saying "I think that what President Bush used to do is do it without the cameras". The fact is President Bush never went to Dover, and he never went to Section 60 at Arlington National Cemetery to walk among the white stones that mark the graves of the nearly 800 members of the military who were killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, his and Dick Cheney's wars of choice. Bush said the appropriate way to show his respect for war's cost was to meet with grieving military families in private. Unfortunately or fortunately, very few families met with former President Bush if they did not share his politics and support his war policy. Bush chose to meet with families who were pre-screened to meet the administration's criteria. When insulated that way, Bush could say that families told him to 'stay the course" and to not let their loved one's death be in vain. I would have told him to bring the troops home and to take care of them when they got home; he did neither.

Bush or Cheney would never have been photographed honoring the US dead because they continued the longstanding policy of banning media coverage at Dover AFB, the mortuary for the Department of Defense. Just because we never saw photographs, doesn't mean it happened. The media ban policy was a political move by the Bush administration to shield the country from the images of war. The Pentagon did not feel that US population could pass the Dover Test. Joint Chiefs Chairman Gen. Hugh Shelton, asked whether "the American public (is) prepared for the sight of our most precious resource coming home in flag-draped caskets.". In 1997 combat veteran and former Senator John Glenn describedthe Dover Test this way "It's easy to see the flags flying and the people go off to war, and the bands play and the flags fly. And it's not quite so easy when the flag is draped over a coffin coming home back through Dover, Delaware". President Obama, the Commander in Chief, took the Dover test on October 28; something neither Bush or Cheney ever did.

Kudos to Lawrence O'Donnell who, on Countdown on MSNBC, took exception to Liz Cheney's response with this message directly to her:

"Liz, don't let your dad do this to you. Don't let him parade you on to the stage to defend the indefensible. Let him suffer the full weight of the shame that we know he must feel when he watches Barack Obama do what he never had the decency to do."

Mark Shields at www.delmarva.com wrote a wonderful opinion piece called "Obama earns nation's thanks through 'Dover test'"

The scene at Dover is no ordinary picture. No, Dover is truly the portrait of sacrifice and of human loss. Statistics do not bleed. Real sons and real fathers -- and, yes, real sisters -- bleed. And they die. However any of us might feel about the wisdom of the decision to go to war or of how that war has been waged, all of us need to appreciate -- and to share -- the grief and pain of the human cost of war.

However Liz Cheney might feel about the wisdom of the decision to go to war, she has not earned the right to call out Obama on how he chooses to honor the fallen. Her words are irrelevant and we should treat them so.

President Obama's trip to Dover AFB

2009-11-02T02:23:00.000-08:00

The photos and videos from the solemn dignified transfer at Dover AFB with President Obama took my breath away.

Unlike many people who think it was a photo op staged by the White House for whatever reason they came up with, I appreciated that our President made that midnight trip to Dover, the mortuary for the US military, and paid his respects to these young men, returning from Afghanistan and their families.

Although only one soldier's family agreed to have his transfer photographed by the media, I'm pretty sure that the families could have cared less if the President or Osama bin Laden was on the tarmac as they saw their loved ones return in a flag covered casket. That moment when you see your loved one covered with the American flag being removed from the belly of a plane is one of the most gut wrenching sites you will ever experience. When my son's body was removed from the plane at San Francisco airport from that US Airways jet that carried him home to California from Dover, I could have crawled inside with Ken's body and never come out. The reality that my son was in that casket and would not live the rest of his life that we had dreamed for him was the most physical and emotional pain I have ever experienced. It was the worst day of my life.

I was not given the opportunity to witness Ken's "dignified transfer" at Dover AFB in Deleware; in fact, we were discouraged from and not allowed to attend his homecoming. That was the policy of the former Bush administration, presumably reinforced by Vice President Dick Cheney. In 1989 Dick Cheney, the Assistant Secretary of Defense during the George H.W. Bush administration implemented the "no media" at Dover policy that stayed in effect for 18 years.

Not only was I not invited or welcome at Dover back in 2004, I was not allowed a photograph of Ken's body returning to Dover. When I asked for that photograph on the day I was told of Ken's death, the Army told me I could not have that photograph because it was against Department of Defense policy and it was for the privacy of the families.

Lifting the media ban was something that I had been vocal about for nearly 5 years and I will always be grateful that during the first few months of his presidency, Obama changed the media policy at Dover. I know that some Gold Star families (we, who have lost a loved one who was serving in the military) did not agree with the lifting of the ban, but for those of us who would have wanted to witness this return home and share that images with our country, President Obama gave those families who came after us an opportunity that we did not have.

Nearly two thirds of families have agreed to have their loved one's return by photographed by the media, and even more have agreed to have photographs taken by the Pentagon. The change in policy did not result in any dire change of behavior by the media or political parties as some had suggested would happen. The photographs have shown the dignity and respect afforded to these members of the military on their final journey home.

MSNBC reported the President's comments after his trip to Dover : "It was a sobering reminder of the extraordinary sacrifices that our young men and women in uniform are engaging in every single day, not only our troops but their families as well," Obama said from the White House, reflecting briefly on his surprise middle-of-the-night trip to Dover Air Force Base to observe the return of the fallen Americans to the United States.Speaking softly and somewhat haltingly, Obama said losses such as these are "something that I think about each and every day."

I believe that President Obama does think about the war losses every day. On Memorial Day earlier this year, as a member of American Gold Star Mothers, I was among sevveral groups of veteran's service organizations who attended a breakfast with the President at the White House. President Obama sat with 6 Gold Star Mothers and 2 Gold Star fathers. I was told it was the first time that an administration invited veteran's service organizations to the White House on Memorial Day. In 2008, after former president Bush participated in the wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown at Arlington National Cemetery, he returned to the White House to honor the NCAA basketball champions. I still wonder if that ceremony might have waited a day to allow the president to continue to honor the military, but we were never a priority in his day or his administration.

In February 2009, Washington Times reporter, Christina Bellatoni wrote about President Obama's approach to the solemn task of writing offical letters of condolence to families of the fallen from Iraq & Afghanistan.

In his first few weeks in office, sometime between celebratory bill signings and phone calls from foreign leaders, President Obama sat in the Oval Office for the most somber task of his presidency - penning letters to families of troops killed in combat.
"This was real, it was personal, it was so important to us," said Thya Merz, whose son Marine Lance Cpl. Julian Brennan was killed Jan. 24 in Afghanistan.
The letter was signed "Barack," Ms. Merz told The Washington Times.
"Not 'president,' just his first name, and it just felt like, OK, my son has been acknowledged," she said.
Mr. Obama personalizes each letter, asking staffers to gather details about the service member, such as their hometown and where they were stationed, a White House aide said. The letters are sent to parents and spouses, and sometimes children of the fallen troops.
The president writes the notes by hand, then the letters are typed before he adds his signature.
Mr. Obama wrote the first few letters for troops who died in Iraq and Afghanistan while George W. Bush was president, and has written at least a dozen more since taking office.
The president told NBC News that the duty falls to him, though he did not initiate the wars and opposed the invasion of Iraq. In those moments of signing the letters, he said, "you realize every decision you make counts."

I believe President Obama thinks about the fighting men and women of the military in a way that George Bush never did. I hope that he keeps these sacrifices in mind when he makes his decision on whether the number of troops in Afghanistan will be increased or decreased. My vote is to bring them home NOW!

Ron Christie and his rose colored glasses

2009-10-27T01:14:00.000-07:00

Ron Christie, former Deputy Assistant to Vice President Dick Cheney was on Hardball on MSNBC this evening doing the bidding for his former boss. Do you have to be a d**k to work for one?

I am long over hearing Dick Cheney and other members of the Bush admnstration trying to rewrite the last 8 years. It seems like we've seen and heard him more of Dick Cheney since he left, or should have left DC, back in January when the 44th Presidency was over, than when he was actually in office.

But let's get back to Ron Christie on Hardball tonite. Chris Matthews, Willie Brown and Ron Christie were talking about the pushback that is being given to Dick Cheney's recent criticism of President Obama's current discussions & deliberations regarding troop levels and policy & strategy in Afghanistan. Cheney accuses Obama of "dithering" when it comes to makng a decison.

Matthews mentioned that Geroge Will, a conservative columnist suggested that "A bit of ditherng might have been in order before we went into Iraq n pursut of non-existent weapons of mass desetructon." and other members of the GOP seem to agree.

Christie accuses Obama of sitting on a report from his general (McChrystal) requesting a surge of up to 40,000 troops to "define victory in Afghanstan". Of course, there has been no redefintion of the mssion n Afghanstan, let alone a defniton of victory.

Christe goes on to accuse Obama of having "time to fly to Copenhagen and appear on Davd Letterman; and says that he and others wonders if this President is giving ths Afghanistan conflct resolution the time and attenton it deserves" How quickly he forgets the many fiddling vacations that Bush took while our country burned.

You don't go to war for a perceived threat as Christie described Iraq and went on to say that the UN Security Council along with the coalition of the willing "acted to preseve the integrity of the US and we acted to reserve the peace". I missed that peace in the Bush adminstration.

When Christie says this (decision about Afghanistan) shouldn't be political, he seems to forget that his former boss and the entire administration perfected making any subject politcal during the last 8 years. Christie goes on to suggest that the President should be "deliberate, methodical and thoughtful". That statement seems a bit ironic since the Bush adminstration was anything but deliberate, methodical and thoughtful about anything they did in their 8 years in office.

Unlike former President Bush, who treated the miltary as his own little green army men, Obama expressed his concern to members of the military today when speaking at Jacksonville Naval Air Station. "While I will never hesitate to use force to protect the American people or our vital interests, I also promise you this -- and this is very important as we consider our next steps in Afghanistan: I will never rush the solemn decision of sending you into harm's way," Obama said. "Because you deserve the strategy, the clear mission, the defined goals and the equipment and support you need to get the job done. That's the promise I make to you."

There is no weakness in a leader who will not rush a solemn decsion of sending troops into harm's way. Had there been any deliberate, methodical and thoughtful dscussions or even any dithering, prior to invading Iraq, 4351 US solders, including my son, and countless innocent Iraqis very well could still be alive.

Name Them and Shame Them- Joe Wilson (R-SC)

2009-09-09T19:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a long time since I've named anyone to shame them, but Rep Addison Graves Wilson, Sr aka Joe Wilson (R-SC) deserves to be taken behind the woodshed for a good whipping tonight. His disrespectful behavior at the televised Presidential speech to the joint session of Congress was embarrassing. When Obama said that his proposed health plan would not include coverage for illegal immigrants, Rep Wilson rudely shouted out "Lie!" Seriously? Take it to a teabag party, Joe; it doesn't work in DC.

Full disclosure, for reader's of this blog, it is no surprise that shouting at President GW Bush during his speeches kept me amused and also controlled my blood pressure during the 8 years of the Bush administration. I was equal opportunity in
my vocal response to varied members of the administration and "LIE" was a favorite for me. However, I am n0t an elected official who represents the good people of South Carolina (or any other state, for that matter). And while I'm at it, readers of this blog may find it hard to read that I am publicly stating my support for John McCain who said that Rep Wilson owes an apology for his behavior.

Addison Graves Wilson, Sr is no gentleman and he owes President Obama an apology. Apparently you can dress up this man, but you should never ever take him out.

Five Years Gone- R.I.P. 1Lt Ken Ballard

2009-05-30T02:23:00.000-07:00

I thought 5 years would be easier, but it's not. My friends marked 5 years without their son's, so I should have known, maybe I didn't really want to know. This hole in my heart will never heal; I know that for certain. I think of what I miss about Ken and what he missed and what we missed for his dying so soon and it all seems so hopeless on these milestone days.

These anniversary days are killers, and in 2009, I get 2 of them this week. Memorial Day is the day we found out that Ken was killed in Iraq, but the date he was killed was May 30 in 2004. When you get the knock on the door on Memorial Day, of all days, it's like a neon sign flashing, reminding people why we celebrate Memorial Day and what it is really about and I'm not talking a sale at the mall. When you get news like this on Memorial Day, there is nowhere to hide. Ken loved being a soldier, but for us to find out about his death on Memorial Day was a a bit of cruel irony.

I returned from DC this past Tuesday and barely hung on at work through Wednesday, Thursday and Friday, telling myself I just have to get through Saturday, through May and then, I tell myself, June will be better. I am seriously lucky to have friends and family who care for me and about me and that they remember Ken on this day. I am grateful for their kind words and their support and flowers, hugs, cards, phone calls, Facebook comments and their company. Their presence is what gets me through the day without totally wallowing in a pity party. Sharing their thoughts and memories tell me that Ken will not be forgotten and that is the best I can ask for on a milestone day like today.

Ken was killed about 6 weeks after 1st Armored Division had been extended. They had already turned in their weapons, shipped their personal items and were ready to come home when the news of the extension was announced. While Ken was deployed to Iraq, we had a pretty good CARE package system going, and with the extension, we were ramping back up to send more packages. I had sent Ken 2 packages the week before he was killed. On the customs document, I had marked the boxes to be "Abandoned" in case they could not be delivered; that was always the hardest part about completing the shipping paperwork. I never imagined that checking that the box would be meaningful, but for these 2 packages, it was. Despite my request to the Lt Colonel's wife after Ken was killed, that any CARE packages sent to Ken be distributed to his guys, who were the intended recipients of some of the items anyway, almost 6 weeks to the day after Ken was killed many of us arrived home to see that the CARE packages that we so lovingly had mailed to Ken, were sitting on our front porches. RTS- RETURN TO SENDER.

I couldn't bear to open the packages that I had sent but were then back in my possession; I didn't remember what they contained and I didn't care; they sat on a shelf in my office until today. How poignant to remember what was important to him, what I thought would provide comfort and remind him of home 5 years ago.

Ken's unit had planned "beach party", I don't remember why, but I knew at the time. I had sent some inflatable beach balls, some balloons for a water balloon fight, some silly string and some frisbees. I also had sent a DVD, "Stripes", Ken's favorite movie thinking he might have some down time for distraction and a few laughs. I had also sent him a new Hawaiian shirt, a la Hawkeye Pearce from M*A*S*H. As I opened the boxes today, the food that I sent was nasty and out of date, and the 4 bottles of Mountain Dew made it safely to Iraq and back again (no ma'am, there are no liquids in these boxes I am sending to Iraq, I always swore at the Post Office when sending Ken's packages)

Ken and his guys would have appreciated the goodies and the love that accompanied them, but today, 5 years later, it was time to move on and get rid of that reminder of such a painful time. Life isn't getting better as some promised me. Life is getting different for the most part, but the heavy aching in my heart is definitely not showing any signs of going away. I wouldn't wish this life on anyone.

General George Casey, Chief of Staff of the Army said on Tuesday, his planning envisions combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan for a decade as part of a sustained U.S. commitment to fighting extremism and terrorism in the Middle East. 10 more years of combat, 10 more years of more flag covered caskets returning to their grieving families.

Back in October 2002, Illinois State Senator Barack Obama told a crowd That’s what I’m opposed to. A dumb war. A rash war. A war based not on reason but on passion, not on principle but on politics. Although we have been offered many reasons for invading Iraq, many of them proven to be lies; we have not yet been provided a reason that is acceptable to the American public. If this was a dumb war in 2002, I want to know what changed so much to make it a smart war and one that needs to continue for another 10 years?

Map the Fallen

2009-05-28T23:33:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week as the nation marked Memorial Day and remembered the military who have died in service to their country, Map the Fallen was launched to honor post 9/11, US and Coalition forces fallen in Afghanistan and Iraq.

Sean Askay, a Google engineer, who has the coolest job in the world, has been working on a project for 4 years to map the casualties from Iraq & Afghanistan. He explains it this way:

For the past two years I've been working on the Google Earth Outreach team, aimed at helping non-profits and public benefit groups use Google Earth and Google Maps to further their cause. In that time I've worked on so many cool projects, from training indigenous communities in Brazil on the use of internet and mapping technologies, to helping with Google's disaster response mapping efforts for the San Diego fires and Cyclone Nargis, to even working with NASA to get a copy of Google Earth on the International Space Station (more on that later!). I'm also in charge of the Global Awareness layers in Google Earth and helped develop and polish many of those projects, including Crisis in Darfur and Appalachian Mountaintop Removal Coal Mining.

This Memorial Day I would like to share with you a personal project of mine that uses Google Earth to honor the more than 5,700 American and Coalition servicemen and women that have lost their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan. I have created a map for Google Earth that will connect you with each of their stories—you can see photos, learn about how they died, visit memorial websites with comments from friends and families, and explore the places they called home and where they died.

Sean contacted me a few weeks back asking for feedback on his soon to be released project. He was interested in hearing from Gold Star families. My first reaction when I got his sensitive email was to burst into tears. I was overwhelmed at the amount of work that went into the project and amazed that Sean had taken the time to gather so much information to honor the fallen in this way. As a self-described nerd, I was thrilled to see the melding of technology with these names, ages, hometowns, place of death to tell a remarkable story about each one of the casualties. Since I live in Google-town, it was easy to meet with Sean the same day that I received his email. I couldn't wait to express my thanks to him and to hear and see more about the project.

Please take the time to visit Map the Fallen and learn about the people behind the names and numbers on those stark lists of casualties. Go to my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard's hometown of Mountain View, CA and fly to Najaf, Iraq, where he died on May 30, 2004. Read his obituary from the San Jose Mercury News and read the Department of Defense announcement of his death. I would expect that you won't be able to stop at Ken's story. With 5679 stories, there is plenty to learn about these young men and women who stood up to serve their country. These stories will tell you that they lived and not just how they died.

I can never adequately express my thanks to Sean for all of the work he put into making this project come to life. And thanks to Google who allow their employees to work 20% of their time on personal projects; I hope they all have the impact that this one does.

Watch John King of CNN demonstrate Map The Fallen

CNN reports on Map the Fallen

McChrystal's assignment in Afghanistan is a nice reward for bad behavior.

2009-05-13T06:31:00.000-07:00

The news about the firing of Lieutenant General David McKiernan from the top spot in Afghanistan is troubling in that it demonstrates an escalation in the war. Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the decision in terse comments at the Pentagon, saying that "fresh eyes were needed" and that "a new approach was probably in our best interest." The new assignment for McCrystal is fine if you want more torture and cover-ups in a leader.

Matthew Rothchild from The Progressive states it clearly

By choosing Lt. Gen. Stanley McChrystal, Obama shows how indifferent he is to the serious allegations that have swirled around McChrystal, a darling of the Bush-Cheney regime.

It was McChrystal, after all, who approved a medal for Pat Tillman, the former NFL star, saying he fell under “devastating enemy fire.” But just a day later, McChrystal warned the White House that it might have been friendly fire, not enemy fire.

And, according to Seymour Hersh, McChrystal was the guy who was running Cheney’s assassination squads. From 2003-2008, McChrystal headed the Joint Special Operations Command, which Hersh called “an executive assassination wing” that reported directly to Cheney’s office.

What’s more, Esquire has reported that McChrystal authorized torture at a secret camp, where two detainees died under interrogation, and expressly prohibited the Red Cross from entering the camp, which would be a double violation of the Geneva Conventions.

McChrystal’s promotion mocks Obama’s rhetoric about making a clean break with the torture regime of Bush and Cheney.

The New York Times is effusive in their reporting of General McChrystal's career. “He’s lanky, smart, tough, a sneaky stealth soldier,” said Maj. Gen. William Nash, a retired officer. “He’s got all the Special Ops attributes, plus an intellect.”

But where are his ethics? Ethics define a leader and he gets a zero for that.

The San Jose Mercury News explains, in April 2004, McChrystal approved paperwork awarding Tillman a Silver Star after he was killed by enemy fire — even though he suspected the Ranger had died by fratricide, according to Pentagon testimony later obtained by the AP.

The testimony showed that McChrystal sent a memo to top generals imploring "our nation's leaders," specifically the president, to avoid cribbing the "devastating enemy fire" explanation from the award citation for their speeches.

It's no surprise Pat Tillman's family would have an immdeiate reaction to the news.

"I do believe that guy participated in a falsified homicide investigation," Pat Tillman Sr. said.

Separately, Mary Tillman called it "imperative" that McChrystal's record be carefully considered before he is confirmed.

Pentagon spokesman, Geoff Morrell said, "We feel terrible for what the Tillman family went through, but this matter has been investigated thoroughly by the Pentagon, by the Congress, by outside experts, and all of them have come to the same conclusion: that there was no wrongdoing by Gen. McChrystal,"

Mr Morrell seems to have conveniently forgotten that the Army overruled a Pentagon recommendation that McChrystal be held accountable for his "misleading" actions in 2007. Whoever "we" is, who feel terrible for what the Tillman family went through don't know the meaning of "feeling terrible" "Feeling terrible" does not come close to what the Tillman family continues to go through. If this has been so thoroughly investigated, why do we still not know the truth? Why was no one held accountable? Pat Tillman is dead and this assignment is another insult to his service.

McChrystal's assignment as the new top dog in Afghanistan? Nice reward for bad behavior.

Open letter to Richard Haass

2009-05-05T01:24:00.000-07:00

Richard Haass, former director of policy planning for the Bush administration published an essay in Newsweek this week called "The Dilemma of Dissent" It is the story of a former Bush aide looking back at his reasoning of why he stayed so long with the administration even when he felt he had little in common with his colleagues.

Mr Haass states that he "was 60–40 against initiating a war. My opposition was not stronger because of my assumption (derived from the available intelligence) that Iraq possessed both biological and chemical weapons." Naively, he also believed that if we went to war we would go about it in a way reminiscent of how we had waged the previous war with Iraq—that is, only with considerable international and domestic backing and only with enough troops and sensible plans.

I'm not sure if his essay was a way to explain his personal situation of sticking with an administration that diverged from his own opinion or to whether it was more of an essay about the dilemma of dissent.

My message to Mr Haass is this:

Mr. Haass- While it’s all well and good that you feel the need to spill your guts; it’s too many years too late and too many dead bodies gone for me to feel any sympathy for your purported tortured soul.

Dissent is not difficult if it is for the right reasons. You knew that blood would be shed; you knew that lives would be forever altered in the worst way and you stayed quiet. You were an enabler to possibly the worst administration this country has ever seen and you stayed quiet. Your misplaced loyalty was to a man and not the Constitution and that may have been your worst mistake.

Spare me your pity party. Go read your little essay at Arlington National Cemetery, in Section 60, where nearly 700 soldiers are buried as a result of their deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan-I wonder what those soldiers, Marines and airmen and their families would think of your confession. I don't have to wonder, I know.

There is no doubt at all that you participated in history and you definitely contributed to making history, although not in the way you had planned. The blood on your hands should leave a stain that will forever remind you that you did not do the right thing when it was time to make a stand for what may have been the most important decision you made in your life. Leaving the government partly for an attractive job removes any significance of your decision to leave at all. Your guilt for not leaving your position in the Bush administration sooner is obvious. Perhaps you should have kept your mouth shut and be thought a fool by association than to have opened it and removed all doubt.

In July 2002, while you were meeting with Condoleeza Rice, my son was still alive, but according to your essay, his death sentence was being written. On Memorial Day I will stand at his grave in Section 60 to mark the 5th anniversary of his death in Iraq. You owe us an apology not a confession.

Counting Lives Lost

2009-04-27T07:20:00.000-07:00

The campus was quiet on Saturday when I visited DeAnza College in Cupertino, CA. I purposefully went looking for this exhibit, "Counting Lives Lost", unlike the few passersby who were curiously and accidentally drawn into this breathtaking display of "an abstract measurement of Grief".

Kathleen Crocetti of Watsonville, a Blue Star mother, whose son serves the country in the Air Force is the artist behind the exhibit. The traveling sculpture installation, depicts the almost 4,274 American casualties and almost 99,000 Iraqi dead since the beginning of the war in Iraq, each represented by a five-inch clay figure placed in a base of tons of sand.

Ms Crocetti's artist statement at the first display of her exhibit on Memorial Day 2006

I find that when numbers get past a certain size they are just big numbers, and the abstractness of numbers numb us to the reality of the situation. I have made one small 4 inch figure for every person who has died in Iraq since we invaded.

At this point in time for every US troop member we have lost there have been 16 Iraqi. It is important to me that we as a nation recognize not just our loses, but the losses we have caused. At the same time, honoring our own and being respectful of them is paramount to my piece/peace.

I want people on both sides of the war debate to come see my work, it is a memorial. Each American figure has an American Flag across his/her chest and then 16 anonymous shadow figures standing behind. The shadow figures represent the 1:16 ratio of Iraqi dead to American dead. The 1:16 ratio is very conservative; we do not know exactly how many Iraqis have died. Of the 39,400 known Iraqi dead only 3,500 of them have been named, the other 90% are anonymous to us. They are certainly not anonymous to their families.

During the last two months I have gotten our community involved in catching up with the Iraqi body count. During these work parties while we were cutting out clay bodies we talked.

In the making and the talking we feel as if we are doing something. Grieving is an active process, not a passive one, and recovery is a choice. It is my belief that as a nation we are in denial and have not yet begun to mourn. We need to start the grieving process now, because it is painful and uncomfortable and the sooner we start acknowledging our culpability and responsibility the sooner we will stop inflicting grief upon others.

Memorials are usually held after someone has died. Honoring those who have died on both sides of the battle field while the battle continues to rage makes my work political. It is my aim to honor those who have died as respectfully as possible while making the growing abstract number visible and tangible. War is war; I am not interested in conversations about how and why we got into this situation.

I am in mourning; eventually as a nation we will need to mourn the dead, maybe the sooner we get started the sooner we will stop.

I am in mourning, too. 5 years ago on Memorial Day, I received that knock on the door that so many military families fear. I was told that my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard was coming home from Iraq in a flag covered casket.

To see the human cost of war displayed in such a bold way as is on display at DeAnza College, should draw visitors in, to at least, have an internal conversation with themselves to ask if this loss of life is okay with them. The war has been sanitized and the costs kept under cover so that the general population has not been affected. We, Gold Star Families, who have lost a loved one in war, mourn the dead every day, but when will the rest of our country share in this grief? Ms Crocetti is right, "eventually as a nation we will need to mourn the dead, maybe the sooner we get started the sooner we will stop".

This installation will be on exhibit until June; I encourage you to visit and for you to view this abstract measurement of grief. If only for a few minutes, you will be able to share in the grief of the 4297 families, including my own.

Yesterday marked the 5 year anniversary of the death of Sgt Sherwood Baker and today is the 5 year anniversary of the death of Sgt Adam Estep- my thoughts are with their families and friends.

Having a pity party

2009-04-23T18:50:00.000-07:00

Some days it sucks to be me and today is one of those days. Yesterday was the 5 year anniversary of the death of the son of one of my Gold Star Mom friends. None of us want that Gold Star pin that the military presents us at the funeral of our sons, but we sure as hell earned it the hard way. I wear my pin every day.

I left a message for my friend because that is what we do on these “death day” anniversaries. We remember because the general public does not. She called me back and told me she wasn’t really answering the phone on her anniversary; she was sure I understood and of course, I did. I don’t answer the phone much on May 30 either and all my Gold Star friends understand.

When my friend called me this morning she told me it was a hard day yesterday, and that today- the anniversary day of the day she got the news seemed even harder. She said that 5 years was weird. 5 long years. Thanks for the warning since I'm about 5 weeks away from my 5 year! I thought after the one year anniversary that things would get better, that all of the firsts without Ken would be behind me. Indeed they were, but then it became the 2nd birthday without, the 3rd Mother’s Day without, 4th Easter without, Christmas, death day anniversary and every day without Ken- forever.

This life as a Gold Star mom gets different but it doesn’t get better at all. Learning to live without Ken will always be the hardest thing that I do every day. Knowing I will never hear his voice, feel his hug and see that twinkle in his eye, that is the hard part. Truth be told, I find it very hard to think about living a long life without Ken. I look at Gold Star moms from the Viet Nam era and do not know how they have lived so long with a big hole in their hearts. I just don't know.

In the bloodiest day in more than a year, 75 Iraqi’s were killed today and at least 120 wounded in 2 explosions in Baghdad today. Everybody (in Iraq) knows somebody killed by the war Conversely, for the most part the people of the United States do not know anyone who was killed in Iraq or Afghanistan, because they don’t have to. They can live their life with and never think about the war and we Gold Star families live our lives forever changed because of that one knock on the door.

The cherry on top of this day is hearing all the details about the enhanced interrogations or torture approved and directed by senior members of the Bush administration. And no, these techniques weren't to prevent the scary mushroom cloud of another attack that was dangled in front of the country as the drums beat louder and louder on the way to the invasion of Iraq. According to a former senior U.S. intelligence officer, the Bush administration applied relentless pressure on interrogators to use harsh methods on detainees in part to find evidence of cooperation between al Qaida and the late Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein's regime.

Not only did the Bush administration lie about the reasons to go to war, they tortured in our name to get the evidence to prove ties between al Qaida and Iraq; ties that were never there. While I generally don't like to play "what if", that is a key component in a pity party. What if Bush was never president? How all of our lives would be different.

Special hugs to Mary for her anniversary this week and for Carrie & Ken for their 5 year anniversary next week.

Shaken Baby game disturbing

2009-04-22T22:16:00.000-07:00

Just as the upcoming video game "Six Days in Fallujah" is disturbing and offensive to Gold Star families, the application for the iPhone called "Baby Shaker" is offensive to enough people that Apple has pulled the application. MSNBC reports:

A controversial program for the iPhone called "Baby Shaker" was added to, then pulled from, Apple's App Store this week after protests about the program's offensive nature dealing with a deadly serious subject.
Child protection groups were outraged by the 99-cent app for the iPhone and iPhone touch, which encourages those frustrated with babies' crying to shake them, or in this case, shake their devices to change drawings of a crying baby to a calm one.
Apple, "which notoriously and routinely rejects new apps from developers with a 'rigorous' vetting process, nonetheless apparently allowed this horrible application to be sold through its store," said the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, whose aim is assist in the research of new developments for children with pediatric acquired brain injuries such as Shaken Baby Syndrome.
"Not only are they making fun of Shaken Baby Syndrome but they are actually encouraging it. This is absolutely terrible," said Marilyn Barr, founder of the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome and a board member of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation.
Apple, asked about why the Baby Shaker app was approved and how long it was available before being pulled, did not answer those questions.
"It was removed today," was the only statement Wednesday from Natalie Kerris of Apple.
Sikalosoft, listed as the developer of Baby Shaker, could not be reached for comment.
Baby Shaker was made available Monday in the App Store, according to Krapps.com, which first reported on the program.
The site, which says it covers the "lighter and krazy side of apps," said it wasn't on "some vigilante justice hunt," and believes there was no "malicious intent" on the part of the program's creator.
But, the site said, "Come on … combining the title Baby Shake with the objective of stopping an annoying crying baby is simply irresponsible and utterly idiotic. You would think Apple would stay totally clear of any iPhone app remotely resembling child abuse."
On its site, Sikalosoft describes Baby Shaker:
"On a plane, on the bus, in a theater. Babies are everywhere you don't want them to be! They're always distracting you from preparing for that big presentation at work with their incessant crying. Before Baby Shaker there was nothing you could do about it.
"Now, Baby Shaker gives you a charming drawing of a baby sure to make those with a less than iron will fawn. True to life, it begins to annoy you immediately. See how long you can endure his or her adorable cries before you just have to find a way to quiet the baby down!"
And almost as an afterthought there is this sentence: "Never, never shake a baby."
Apple, which should see its 1 billionth App Store program downloaded this week, has more than 25,000 programs in the App Store. The store, launched last summer, lets iPhone and iPod touch users directly download programs onto their devices. Early on, CEO Steve Jobs said the kinds of programs that would be rejected were those that deal with pornography, or with inadequate security.
The company has been criticized by software developers for not allowing other kinds of programs, such as those that pass digital gas, into the App Store.
Such apps ultimately were approved, although the developer of one, "Whoopie Cushion," was first told by Apple that his program did not "comply with Community Standards,” programs that have “any obscene, pornographic, offensive or defamatory content or materials of any kind (text, graphics, images, photographs, etc.) or other content or materials that in Apple’s reasonable judgment may be found objectionable by iPhone or iPod touch users.”
"Baby Shaker" may have been one that slipped through Apple's approval process. No matter.
Patrick Donohue, founder of the Sarah Jane Brain Foundation, said Wednesday he sent an e-mail to Apple executives that said, in part, "As the father of a 3-year-old who was shaken by her baby nurse when she was only five days old, breaking three ribs, both collarbones and causing a severe brain injury, words cannot describe my reaction."

What is wrong with people who design and release an application about shaking a baby? What is wrong with Apple's process that allowed this to be posted in their app store? How did this application pass their test of community standards? Are people that insensitive? I know the answer, I just don't want to say it out loud.

The War is not a Game- Part II

2009-04-22T21:25:00.000-07:00

Full disclosure, I am not a gamer, I have not seen any previews of "Six Days in Fallujah" and I do not plan on seeing it if it is released. It isn't necessary. As the controversy over this video game continues, it is clear to me that Atomic Games doesn't want to understand the concerns of Gold Star families, those who lost a loved one in this Iraq war.

Several members of the military approached Atomic Games with the proposal to re-enact a horrific battle that they participated in and I'm pretty sure that they have the best interest of anyone who was in Fallujah during those awful days in November 2004 including their brothers who gave the ultimate sacrifice, but I still think this game is wrong. I wonder if they thought about the families who have been left behind, we Gold Star families who are still learning to live without our loved ones, who were killed in this war that continues to kill and maim to this day. We, whose hearts break a little more with the news of every new death in Iraq or Afghanistan; American or Iraqi, British, Dutch, Canadian or Afghani.

The gamer's message boards are wild discussing the negative reaction to this game and their preferred form of entertainment. I'm not sure how people can compare a book or a movie about war to a video game about war, especially to a specific battle, as "Six Days in Fallujah" might be. Films and books are entertaining in a different way, and have a fixed story. There are no "do overs" in a book or a film. When someone dies in a film or book, they are dead for the remainder, you don't start over and get another ending.

I also don't buy the argument that realistic war games have been made by the Army for recruiting and training purposes, so what's wrong with this one?

Less than 1% of the population of this country is affected by the war in any way and it is that disconnect that is bothersome. Those 1% are the members of the military and their families, the people who love them. I wish people could walk in my Gold Star Mom shoes for a minute. They might understand for that moment my experience of what it feels like to have lived in fear for 384 days while my son was deployed to Iraq or the agony of the last 5 years since he was killed in a deadly battle in Najaf. But really, it is not a minute or a life I would wish on anyone, ever.

Atomic Games President, Peter Tamte said "Ultimately, all of us are curious about what it would really be like to be in a war" But Mr Tamte found his reality in the safety of gaming and speaking to Marines who were involved in this battle that they seek to recreate. Hardly a realistic comparison to the real thing. Mr Tamte continues, "For us, the challenge was how to present the horrors of war in a game that is entertaining, but also gives people insight into a historical situation in a way that only a video game can provide". His comments provide no assurance to me and lead me to a nightmare image of people playing this game and laughing when they die, or laughing when they kill someone else, accidentally or intentionally. I imagine these gamers will laugh and exchange high fives at their success in this so-called game. When they are tired or bored, they go get a beer or a soda from the fridge, maybe go out and shoot some hoops, and then go back to the game to see how it ends this time. But for those who fight these battles in real life will live with the smell of the smoke and the blood, the sounds of war, the images of dead and wounded friends forever, and forever is a long time.

Tamte also said "Our goal is to give people that insight, of what it's like to be a Marine during that event, what it's like to be a civilian in the city and what it's like to be an insurgent." Regardless of realistic graphics and story lines, how can a game provide insight into being a Marine? A Marine's experience in battle is made up of his basic fiber from time in basic training, and every moment since they stepped onto the sands of Kuwait as they prepared to head into Iraq. For someone to expect insight by cranking on the Xbox and playing a war game for an hour is disrespectful to any member of the military and their training.

Konami and Atomic Games minimize the reality of an ongoing war and at the same time will profit off the deaths of our loved ones by making it 'entertaining' is despicable. Until Mr Tamte and others associated with Atomic Games and Konami have lost their only child in war, their opinion about the value of this game doesn't count. When they have walked in my shoes, then, and only then might I be willing to listen to them extoll the values of this kind of reality game.

Part of me believes that Atomic Games released details of the game to provoke. Any news is good news in business, eh? At least you get the public talking about your product and you'll sell more. That's how it works. I get that. But I also get that if I don't speak up about this game, then they will think it's okay with me and it's not.

Fallujah war game takes fire
Documentary or distasteful? New Fallujah video game stirs debate

The War is not a Game

2009-04-09T23:05:00.000-07:00

Gold Star Families Speak Out Expresses Outrage
at Video Game Based on Deadly Battle in Iraq

Nationwide -- Members of Gold Star Families Speaks Out (GSFSO), family members of those killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, are expressing outrage at two companies that plan to release a video game that graphically recreates one of the Iraq war's bloodiest battles.

Atomic Games and Konami plan to release "Six Days in Fallujah" next year. The game is based on videos, photographs, and diary entries from veterans of a battle that claimed the lives of 38 U.S. troops and an estimated 1,500 Iraqis between November 7 and December 23, 2004. Discussing the game, Atomic Games President, Peter Tamte recently told a reporter that “For us, the challenge was how to present the horrors of war in a game that is entertaining, but also gives people insight into a historical situation in a way that only a video game can provide”

In a statement released Wednesday, Gold Star Families Speak Out said:

"Gold Star families continue to live with the horrors of war every day as we mourn the loss of our loved ones. We question how anyone can trivialize a war that continues to kill and maim members of the military and Iraqi civilians to this day.

"The war is not a game and neither was the Battle of Fallujah. For Konami and Atomic Games to minimize the reality of an ongoing war and at the same time profit off the deaths of people close to us by making it 'entertaining' is despicable."

"Just as Sony abandoned plans to launch a video game called Shock & Awe in 2003, Konami Atomic games should cancel their plans to release 'Six Days in Fallujah' before they instill more thoughtless pain on anyone"

GSFSO member Joanna Polisena, sister of Army Staff Sergeant Edward Carman, Killed in Action in Iraq on April 17, 2004 added “When our loved one's 'health meter' dropped to '0', they didn't get to 'retry' the mission. When they took a bullet, they didn't just get to pick up a health pack and keep 'playing'...they suffered, they cried, they died. We - their parents, siblings, spouses, children and friends - absolutely find it disgusting and repulsive that those so far detached (and clinging to denial of reality) find it so easy to poke fun at such a thing.”

Joan Maymi, whose nephew, Captain Ernesto Manuel Blanco-Caldas, was Killed in Action in Iraq on December 28, 2003 said, “Unless you have suffered the death of loved one like we have, or are caring for the ones who have returned wounded, either physically or psychologically, our country has removed the immediacy of this war from their daily lives. To trivialize it in a video game and continue to desensitize our society from the scope of violence war entails goes beyond words."

Members of Gold Star Families Speak Out are available for interview.

Gold Star Families Speak Out, a national chapter of Military Families Speak Out, includes families whose loved ones have died as a result of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Military Families Speak Out is an organization of people opposed to the war in Iraq who have relatives or loved ones who are currently in the military or who have served in the military since the buildup to the Iraq war in the fall of 2002. Formed by two families in November of 2002, MFSO now has over 4,000 member families.

http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2009/04/08-16

Lifting the Media Ban at Dover AFB

2009-04-07T12:50:00.000-07:00

Welcome Home SSgt Phillip Myers

2009-04-06T00:57:00.000-07:00

The world did not fall off it's axis; neither the sun nor the moon exploded as the 747 touched down at Dover AFB Sunday night.

30-year-old Staff Sgt. Phillip Myers of Hopewell, Va. came home on Sunday night. His body was returned to Dover AFB from Afghanistan in a flag covered casket. His honor ceremony was a repeat of the same ceremony that has welcomed home nearly 5000 members of the US military, who were casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Nothing was different about this ceremony, except SSgt Philips ceremony was photographed and the images of his casket being removed from the plane were shared with our country.

Since the early 90's the media has been banned from taking photographs of this solemn and honorable ceremony. SSgt Myer's family gave permission for the ceremony to be photographed and so it was. We have now seen the dignity and respect which are afforded to our casualties of war, our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters and the world has not changed, if only to become a little more sad at this profound loss. By all accounts the media was professional, as I expected they would be.

Air Force SSgt Myers was killed April 4 after being hit with an improvised explosive device(IED. He was 30 years old and leaves behind a widow.

Mark Wilson/Getty Images

For those of us who fought for the media ban to be lifted, it was a long fought battle, but it is no victory; we never got the photograph of our loved one's ceremony.

We send our troops off to war with fanfare and much pride; it is time the return home in the same fashion, regardless if they are alive or dead. We have now seen the dignity and high respect which are afforded our casualties of war, our sons and daughters, our mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters as their bodies return to the US. As a country, tonight we are allowed to share in the grief of SSgtMyers family and friends and we are allowed to mourn his death. My thoughts are with his family and friends during this very difficult time.

Welcome Home SSgt Myers, welcome home.

CNN did a followup story to the interview I did in February when the lifting of the media ban was announced.

Fox jokester Greg Gutfeld and friends smear the Canadian military

2009-03-25T00:13:00.000-07:00

There are some things that make my blood boil. I can usually understand how people might think something is funny, even if it isn't my brand of humor, but Fox has gone over the line again.

Today, my vote for my "Worst Person in the World" is Greg Gutfeld with his juvenile, insensitive, and offensive show Red Eye, not surprisingly on Fox . This "Daily Show" wannabe was not funny, is not funny and will never be funny, and this episode goes over the top. Gutfeld and his Red Eye sidekicks Doug Benson, Jonathan Hoenig, Monica Crowley and Bill Schulz need a real long time out for their comments about the Canadian Army. Newshounds describes the controversial segment like this:

FOX News' Greg Gutfeld has never put his own fanny on the line for his country but that didn't stop him and a similarly non-serving Red Eye panel from mocking the Canadian military as a bunch of slackers while overlooking the extremely heavy casualties it has received assisting the United States in the war in Afghanistan. As part of the “joke,” Gutfeld also suggested the Canadian military is making us more vulnerable to attack.

The recent YouTube video below, called “How to lose friends and alienate countries,” posted by “taffyincanada,” shows an episode of Red Eye, FOX News' answer to The Daily Show, in which Gutfeld repeatedly smeared and jeered the Canadian military. Gutfeld either was ignorant of or deliberately withheld from the audience the fact that the Canadian military is fighting in one of the most dangerous pockets in Afghanistan and has suffered a disproportionately high number of casualties (In 2007, it was 2.6 - 4 times higher than British or American soldiers in Afghanistan and 2.6 times higher than the death toll of U.S. Soldiers in Iraq). Not long ago, Canada's Lieutenant General Andrew Leslie announced that, the Afghanistan mission is taking a dramatic toll on the military and, due to personnel and equipment shortages, it may need a “year-long break from operations when its current mission in Afghanistan ends in 2011."

If you want to watch and hear the whole 4 minutes of this stupid conversation, here ya go.

It's too bad people like this have a platform for their so-called humor. It's too bad people like this don't understand what service to your country means. It's too bad that people like this don't understand that when you disrespect the brothers in arms of our soldiers, you are disrespecting our soldiers, too.

Gutfeld did offer his version of an apology, that wasn't an apology at all. The Canadian Press reports that Gutfeld said he never intended to make light of Canadian military efforts in Afghanistan. "However, I realize that my words may have been misunderstood," Gutfeld said in a statement released by Fox News. "It was not my intent to disrespect the brave men, women and families of the Canadian military, and for that I apologize. Misunderstood, indeed! Gutfeld's words just showed how ignorant and insensitive he is. He doesn't know the meaning of service and he will never be the man that my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard and all of the 4931 US members of the military killed in Iraq & Afghanistan or the 116 Canadian soldiers who have been killed in Afghanistan were. He owes an apology to every military member who has served and to every family of the fallen. That would take awhile, but if he is any kind of a man, he will start with those individual apologies today. Unlike the Canadian Defence Minister who accepted Gutfeld's apology, I'm not so sure I would. We Gold Star families don't have much of a sense of humor about these kinds of things.

I believe in the Freedom of Speech and I believe that there are consequences to that, too. I don't really like giving people like this the attention they so obviously and desperately crave, but they deserve to be called out on this ignorant and despicable behavior. The internet makes sure that they will not be able to deny their ugly and sophomoric words, because here it is, in their own words. Greg, Jonathan, Monica, Doug and Bill? Bet you're feeling pretty proud of yourselves now.

6 years in Iraq

2009-03-19T00:53:00.000-07:00

As we mark the 6 year anniversary of the invasion of Iraq, few people notice that the war continues. The lack of coverage in the media demonstrates that our citizens are weary of the war and suffer from Iraq fatigue.

Today our country is obsessed and outraged with bailouts and bonuses in the financial sector, but where is the outrage about the $10 billion per month that we spend every month for operations in Iraq? Where is the anger at the $3 trillion dollars that this war will cost, a debt that we will hand to our children and their children for many generations? Where is the outrage for 4259 dead and at least 30,000 wounded US members of the military? Why is there no interest in the dead, wounded and displaced Iraqis?

President Obama's campaign plan for a 16 month withdrawal has turned into 19 months and even then there will be 50,000 US troops occupying Iraq. How many families will suffer along with their loved one's as they recover from the sometimes forever mental or physical wounds of war? How many more young men and women will leave this earth from the sands of Iraq in these next 16 or 19 months? How many families will answer that knock on the door only to be greeted by a messenger who will change their life forever?

We mourn the losses that this war has brought to our country and we are disappointed in President Obama who called this a “dumb war”, but continues the failed policies of the Bush administration. After 6 years of death and devastation in Iraq, it is time to bring the troops home and take care of them when they get here.

Beyond Tribute

2009-03-08T13:53:00.000-07:00

This morning I heard about an organization called Beyond Tribute, They explain their organization this way:

Memorial Day is the solemn time when we honor those who gave their lives for our freedom, the families they left behind, and those who still serve.

And, over the years, it has also become an American business tradition to pay tribute on Memorial Day with holiday sales; "Memorial Day Sale - Save 25%!"

But today, hundreds of thousands of wounded veterans and military families suffer from a lack of essential support. So now we must go Beyond Tribute and actually help our wounded veterans.

The Beyond Tribute campaign is changing how we celebrate Memorial Day by making it possible for businesses to donate a portion of their holiday period sales to actually help our heroes in need. It is that simple

Most people who have stopped by this blog know that my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq on 5.30.2004. We got the knock on the door on Memorial Day. While most people were on a shopping spree, Ken's friends and family were struggling to figure out what life without Ken would mean to us. As a 4th generation Army officer, Ken and we knew the importance of Memorial Day and Veteran's Day, but Ken's death made it personal. I have frequently bemoaned the fact that people and businesses look to those days as a day for sales with no regard to the sacrifices our military and their families are making every single day.

Most Americans have not been affected by these wars in Iraq & Afghanistan. After 7 years in Afghanistan and 6 in Iraq, it always surprises me when I am the first Gold Star Mom that people have met. I know that most people do not know the struggles of military families and veterans as they attempt to get their old lives back when they return from the battlefront. I also know that most people would support the troops and veterans if they knew how. It's time for businesses to step up and show their support for our wounded veterans and their families. This is one way they can do that.

The mission statement from Beyond Tribute seems well thought out:

Our mission is to redefine our Memorial Day and Veterans Day holidays by engaging the American business community and its customers in a national campaign that will raise charitable dollars to benefit those who are struggling with the wounds of war, including the invisible wounds: PTSD, traumatic brain injury and combat-induced anxiety and depression. Funds raised go directly to top rated charities that help veterans in need throughout the USA.

I really like the part about funds raised go directly to "top rated charities". I'm not sure which charities are on their radar, but please check Charity Navigator before you make any donations. While there are many good charities that support veterans, there are also many more whose funding is deplorable. Charity Navigator does a good job of breaking down the information.

The Beyond Tribute website has been recently updated but it still has a long way to go to get businesses signed up and to get the word out. I'm doing what I can do, I hope you'll do the same.

Soldiers still waiting for tour bonuses

2009-03-07T01:11:00.000-08:00

Dammit, dammit, dammit!

I don't care who is holding up payments to soldiers who were promised monthly bonuses of up to $500 and were forced to remain on active duty beyond their enlistment period and have not been paid - that can wait for a minute. "Senior officials are disappointed that the recent trend has been going in the wrong direction with respect to the numbers (of soldiers currently stop-lossed)," If Senior Pentagon officials are "disappointed", what do you think the military members who are on stop loss and their families are? I don't think disappointed is how they would or should describe it. Outraged? Angry? Perhaps, they are just beaten down from the neglect. They sign a contract and expect the military to honor their side of it, but it just doesn't happen that way without a fight.

Congress approves funding for a program, civilians think it's done and they go on their merry way. A commission on the state of military hospitals is called, civilians think the hospitals are fixed and they go on their merry way. And when it comes to the followup, I assure you that burden falls in the laps of those members of the military and their families.

According to Gregg Zaroya at USA Today in an article on February 22, 2009,

Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman acknowledged the five-month delay in paying the bonuses and said the Defense Department is working on a plan to start paying the almost 13,000 soldiers currently under the Army's stop-loss orders. Although Defense Secretary Robert Gates wants to end the policy, the number of soldiers affected has risen since the middle of 2007.

Congress added $72 million to pay for the bonuses in its plan for the budget year that started Oct. 1. The money was to be paid after the Pentagon submitted a plan outlining how the payments would be made.

But no plan has been submitted.

Many people familiar with the term "stop loss", to keep a troop beyond their enlistment contract or retirement date think "stop-loss" is a back door draft. Remember, these troops have fulfilled their military contract and now the Department of Defense just institutes a "stop-loss", voila! no contract end date, no going home soldier, until the DOD tells you to!

Since 2002, the military has relied on stop loss to keep its most skilled and experienced troops in the service. The Army is the only service that has used it in the past five years, according to a Congressional Research Service report released last month. The number of soldiers affected by stop loss peaked in 2005 at 15,758.

Gates first directed the Army to minimize the use of stop loss in January 2007. However, after falling to 8,540 in May 2007, the number of soldiers on stop loss has risen to almost 13,000 in December 2008, Army records show.

If Senior Pentagon officials are disappointed, they need to get un-disappointed. These troops were made a promise by Congress and the DOD and they expected that to be honored. The money is in the budget and it needs to be distributed as promised. I know the DOD can do better for our troops- it's time they show us how. If they can't figure it out, perhaps Congress needs to help them.

The Haters are back

2009-03-06T22:44:00.000-08:00

The people who I call the Haters are those who keep a blog, or troll the internet making comments on blogs about whatever subject they want with little regard for the truth. They generally have poor writing & spelling skills. They frequently post their hate-filled lies under the name "Anonymous". They are more patriotic than anyone in the world, ever (sarcasm intended). Of course, there is no need for them to validate any facts, because their bully-pulpit gives them enough power to feel that the facts will only mess up their argument and the truth isn't one of their values anyway.

Back in September 2005, when the Army told me the truth about how my son 1Lt Ken Ballard was really killed in Iraq, 15 months after the fact, the Haters came after me in force. They associated me with people I had never met. They accused me of lying about specific conversations and wanting to know why I wanted to know the truth, even though it was the Army who lied to me and not me to them. Never having walked in my shoes, the verbal attacks continued. Mostly, they accused me of disrespecting my son, hating the military and not supporting the troops. Sadly, when their noise becomes loud enough, some people do start to listen. I didn't feel the need to defend myself then, although I did take the time at least once. 4 years ago I chose to take the high road, as I will this time. I know my truth and I am comfortable with it.

The Haters have crawled out from under their rocks and have plenty to say about me and my suppor of the recent lifting of the ban of media coverage of flag covered caskets returning to military installations,particularly, Dover AFB. I’ll not point you to the particular blogs; they are easy enough to find, if you wish to put on your waders and sink into the muck with them. The Hater's world is black and white, with miles in between them and an intelligent conversation or disagreement. For them it’s "their way or the high way”! These Haters, who spew venom and lies wouldn’t know the truth if it smacked them upside their Neanderthal heads. I would try to set them straight, but they don’t want to know my truth or any truth at all. I know many people who understand the argument for lifting the ban. They may not agree with me, but they understand, not so much with the Haters.

It might be nice to live in a world of black and white, where everything is thus or so. But that isn’t the real world; shades of grey and black & white color the real world. Not ALL military families feel the same about anything, just as not ALL republicans think the same about everything (although I do think you could make a case that ALL haters think the same way about everything, it must be in their genetic make-up and as they march lock-step alongside hateful, obstructionist politicians and others). ALL military families did not want the media ban lifted and not ALL wanted it to remain in place and the same is true even within Gold Star Family population. We all came to this journey from different places in our hearts, in our cities and in our states. We all have reasons for wanting or not wanting a photo, and those reasons should be respected even if they are not understood.

Haters live in a cookie cutter world where one size fits all, black is black, as long as the haters are making the rules and as long as they say so. There is no room for any other opinion regardless of empirical evidence; no need for facts, thank you kindly, just move along, your opinion is not welcome in their world. They tell hateful jokes, admitting they are "bad", while slapping each on their good old boy back and falling on the floor laughing at whoever took the brunt of their not-so-funny joke.

The anonymity of the internet allows them to spread their hate-filled venom and hide behind the name "Anonymous". I'm not sure who is more of a bully, though. The haters who do sign their names are puffing their chests and are looking for a fight and as long as they can hit the "enter" button from far off in cyberspace, they remain physically safe.

It's not about truth, it's about how loud and ugly they can type and I've given them enough of my time. How about we just leave them to play by themselves?

No More

2009-03-01T04:32:00.000-08:00

If you haven't seen the movie, Body of War, I suggest you do. It may be difficult to watch, but watching the effects of war would be.

This is a video from Eddie Vetter, who wrote this song, "No More" for the film, Body of War.

"No More" Music Video / Eddie Vedder

Valentines Peeps for Ken

2009-02-15T10:29:00.000-08:00

Ken & I had a weird affinity for Peeps®. Whenever Just Born, Inc made them available, we were there. Ken got original chick Peeps® at Easter, of course, hearts on Valentines Day, Christmas trees at Christmas. We even laughed about research on Peeps®.

Since Ken was killed in Iraq in 2004, Peeps® have made me smile and make me think about Ken. When I am able to visit Arlington National Cemetery, I always leave behind seasonal Peeps® as our little inside joke. More often than not though, the Peeps I buy just in case I have the opportunity to fly back to DC, sit on my kitchen counter.

Ken got his Peeps® this Valentines Day! Many thanks to my friends, Neil Sr & Diane Santoreillo, parents of 1Lt Neil Santoriello, Jr, who made the trip to Section 60 at Arlington to visit their son's grave on Valentines day. Thanks, guys, for leaving the Peeps® and the flowers. I'm sure Ken knows his Moms was thinking of him.

Taking Chance

2009-02-14T12:09:00.000-08:00

HBO has done a pretty good job of producing important films about the Iraq war like Baghdad ER and Section 60: Arlington National Cemetery, which I have written about here. HBO will show a new film called “Taking Chance” starting February 21, 2009, which I also recommend. Chance is Lance Corporal Chance Phelps who was killed in Iraq in April 2004. "Taking Chance" is the story of the Escort Officer who escorts the body of Lance Corporal Phelps home from Dover AFB in Delaware to Chance's final resting place in Wyoming. HBO provides this synopsis:

In April 2004, Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl, USMC, came across the name of 19-year-old Lance Corporal Chance Phelps, a young Marine who had been killed by hostile fire in Al Anbar Province, Iraq. Strobl, a Desert Storm veteran with 17 years of military service, requested that he be assigned for military escort duty to accompany Chance's remains to his family in Dubois, Wyo.

Witnessing the spontaneous outpouring of support and respect for the fallen Marine - from the groundskeepers he passed along the road to the cargo handlers at the airport - Strobl was moved to capture the experience in his personal journal. His first-person account, which began as an official trip report, gives an insight into the military's policy of providing a uniformed escort for all casualties. The story became an Internet phenomenon when it was widely circulated throughout the military community and eventually reached the mainstream media.

'Taking Chance' chronicles one of the silent, virtually unseen journeys that takes place every day across the country, bearing witness to the fallen and all those who, literally and figuratively, carry them home. A uniquely non-political film about the war in Iraq, the film pays tribute to all of the men and women who have given their lives in military service as well as their families.

My older sister, a retired Army nurse sent me LTC Strobl's article in August 2004, about 2 months after my son 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed. She had seen the story in April 2004 when it was first posted on the internet but she saved it to show me after Ken returned from Iraq and was out of harms way. It didn’t turn out that way. I had seen the article when Ken was still alive and was extremely moved by Lt Col Strobl’s story. Military families are told that the journey home from Iraq or Afghanistan was one filled with dignity and respect. Unfortunately, the Bush administration had done a good job of keeping the honors afforded our casualties a secret with the ban on photographs of flag covered caskets. This film shows us the journey and we are able to see of the dignity and respect. We will see a glimpse of the outpouring of respect and sympathy along the journey as well as the military traditions that are performed as a flag covered casket makes it's final journey home.

When Ken's body was returned to San Francisco airport on that awful day in June 2004, the civilian airline employees & TSA employees stood in silence with their hats respectfully removed as they watched his flag covered casket being offloaded from the plane and loaded into the hearse, just as the trailer shows. Ken's personal effects, his dog tags, his Cavalry spurs and his unit belt buckle were given to me when we arrived at our hometown, just as the journal describes. I imagine the rest of the journey of Ken's escort officer paralleled that of LTC Strobl. When you watch this film, remember that this isn't Hollywood; this honorable and difficult journey has taken place in the United States nearly 5000 times since October 2001.

Thanks to HBO, Kevin Bacon, Brad Krevoy, Cathy Wischer-Sola, William Teitler, Lori Keith Douglas, Ross Katz, and Lieutenant Colonel Michael Strobl for their part in making this film and for understanding that this is a story that needs to be told. Special thanks to Chance’s family for allowing the story to be told and for letting the country share in your grief.

Special thoughts to the nearly 5000 families and the brave men and women who perform the duties of an Escort officer. Thank you for taking care of our loved ones.

Ban on photographs of flag covered coffins

2009-02-12T01:00:00.000-08:00

The story about the ban on photographs of flag covered caskets of fallen soldiers has been gaining some traction since Monday night when a CNN reporter asked President Obama whether the policy was being reviewed. Obama responded that "we are in the process of reviewing those policies in conversations with the Department of Defense.". That's good news.

It is also good news to read that Secretary Gates said "I think that looking at it again makes all kinds of sense," and that he was "pretty open to whatever the results of this review may be." He had even raised the possibility of changing it as recently as a year ago when the Bush administration renewed it's enforcement of the ban. There was never a chance to lift the ban during the Bush administration, although when I met with former Secretary of the Army, Francis Harvey, he seemed interested in at least reviewing the policy.

I take this ban on photographs of the flag covered caskets a little personally. On Memorial Day morning 2004, when I was notified of the death of my only child, 1Lt Ken Ballard in Iraq I requested a photograph of his flag-covered casket being returned to Dover AFB. I wanted to see that his body was treated with dignity and respect. I was denied that request with the response that it was "against Army regulations" and "for the privacy of the family". There are no words to describe how devastating this response was to me and caused further pain to my already aching heart. A photograph was never provided to me. Although we have been assured of the dignity and respect afforded our returning casualties, I will never see how the military welcomed him home.

The military has said the policy is meant to protect the privacy of the families of the dead soldiers and maintain dignity. With no identification on these caskets, I do not understand how this policy is "for the privacy of the family". We should rather consider a concept called the Dover Test. Bryan Bender of the Boston Globe describes it"people speak of 'the Dover test,' Pentagon parlance for how many casualties Americans can stomach before they begin in large numbers to question whether the cause is worth so many American lives." But, he noted, "The Defense Department continues to ban any photographs or observation of the bodies returning from overseas."

I am also perplexed when people say it should be the soldier who decides if a photograph is taken of their flag covered casket. Really? An Army who can't even insure that a soldier has a will, much less a properly executed one, is going to make that same soldier decide if a photo should be taken of their casket in the unfortunate circumstances of their death? Please!

The New York Times also reported that Gates said he was told -- he did not say by whom -- that allowing photographers would put undue pressure on families to go to Dover themselves and that in some cases that would be a hardship. During those first awful days after a family is told that their loved one is not coming home alive and while they are waiting about a week for the body to be returned, I seriously doubt that many, if any families consider a trip to Dover AFB, the mortuary for the Department of Defense. Making plans to go to Dover never got on my to-do list that week and the trip never occurred to me; I was lucky to get out of bed. I have never heard from a Gold Star family that would have liked to go to Dover unless it was the nearest airport to their home. Finally, a service member's return to their home airport is generally met with some kind of honor guard or welcome ceremony from the military (although early in the war many families picked up their loved ones caskets at the cargo area of the airport, but that is another story-they tried that on me, but I refused). Dover is how the military honors our loved ones; the local airport is for the local community. This argument about families feeling the need to go to Dover should be put to rest.

When Ken came home to San Francisco on June 8, 2004, he arrived in the belly of a US Airways jet, his casket covered with the red, white & blue of a United States flag. I was on the tarmac when the plane pulled up and the first glimpse of his casket was heart wrenching and possibly as difficult a moment as when I was first notified of his death 8 days before. The airline, TSA and public service employees treated his casket with dignity and respect as should have been afforded him. This ceremony also included an Army Honor Guard and an Army Color Guard. A television station filmed the ceremony and there were photographers present. I was not aware of their presence and not one of them interfered with my privacy. Maybe I was lucky; maybe I was fortunate to have professional journalists assigned to cover Ken's return. The reason you see these photographs is because the ban only applies to military facilities.

When you hear that 1 soldier has been killed in war, you might pause. When you hear that the US casualty count from Iraq and Afghanistan is 4886, you might pause a little longer. But when you see an image of a flag covered casket, it should make the viewer pause for a moment and grieve for the family during this most difficult time. It's the least we can do for the Gold Star families. After 8 years of war, it is time for this nation to participate in these homecomings, even as a viewer of a photograph.

See the difference of how Canada honors their war dead as they return home along the Highway of Heroes. And in Wooten Bassett, a small town right outside of British Royal Air Force Base in Lyneham, England, the community gathers each time as British war dead make their final journey home. It's time the US learns something from other members of the world community of how they honor, not hide their returning warriors. We should do better. We can do better. Yes, we can.

Dear President Obama- Lift the ban on photographs of flag covered coffins

2009-02-10T09:10:00.000-08:00

Dear President Obama-

I am writing with a request that I hope you will consider. I know that you are working on many priorities that may seem to be more important than this, but I hope you will understand the importance of this request and find a way to consider and change a longstanding and ill-advised policy. Since lifting the ban on photographs of flag covered caskets was discussed during your press conference on February 9, I think it is time for you to make a decision.

Please review the current Department of Defense policy regarding the ban for taking photographs of the flag covered caskets of US casualties as they process through Dover AFB and other military installations. Please allow these photographs to be taken and shared with the families and our country. That this policy was allowed to survive and even thrive since 1991 since it was instituted by then Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, is an insult to our loved ones and their families.

You wear a KIA bracelet honoring the service of Sergeant Ryan David Jopeck , and I wear a bracelet, too. My bracelet honors my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard. On Memorial Day morning 2004, when I was notified of the death of my only child, 1Lt Ken Ballard in Iraq I requested a photograph of his flag-covered casket being returned to Dover. I wanted to see that his body was treated with dignity and respect. I was denied that request with the response that it was "against Army regulations" and "for the privacy of the family". There are no words to describe how devastating this response was to me and caused further pain to my already aching heart. A photograph was never provided to me. I will never see how the military welcomed him home. With no identification on these caskets, I do not understand how this policy is "for the privacy of the families".

My son was a 4^th generation Army officer. Ken loved his tanks and he especially loved his soldiers and serving his country in the Army. How insulting to hide his return to his beloved United States. How insulting to Americans who are not allowed to grieve as a nation when these young men and women come home.

My son's return to US soil was one part of his journey home and to his final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery. Although Ken did not return alive as we prayed he would, his return was still part of the story of his life and yet I have no photographic documentation of that journey into the United States.

We are told these caskets arrive and are processed with great honor as should be accorded to one of our brave service members who have given his or her final measure of devotion for our country. We are told the ceremony is respectful, dignified and moving. But we families do not know as we are not encouraged to be at Dover and photographs are not shared with us.

For too long the Bush administration forced the sacrifice of the human cost of war only on military families in an attempt to minimize the wars affect on our country. How can our nation mourn with the Gold Star families if we do not see these images? How can we grieve for the loss? How will future generations know what the cost of these wars were without photographic images?

The First Lady has said that she will focus her time in the White House on military families. Please remember that we, Gold Star families will always be military families.

President Obama, please consider this request from a Gold Star Mom to allow our nation to share our grief by allowing photographic coverage as these flag covered caskets make their final journey home.

The continuing saga of my bumper sticker

2009-01-28T23:57:00.000-08:00

It’s about that dang bumper sticker again. You know, the one on my car that says

BUSH LIED
MY SON DIED
1LTKEN BALLARD KIA 5.30.2004 NAJAF, IRAQ

For the record, my metallic gray Prius also sports an Obama 08 campaign sticker and an oval white sticker that says 01.02.09. While some might, I don’t think it is offensive or disrespectful of anyone, least of all my son. I think I have mentioned that I have gotten some responses in the way of notes from people who were touched by the sentiment. Up until yesterday, they were all positive. Additionally they were all signed, at least with a name, some had an email address, if I was so inclined to get in touch.

I attended a Veteran's Community meeting yesterday at the Livermore Veteran's Hospital in California. It is in a lovely rural setting; the first sign you see instructs "Please Do Not Feed the Turkeys". Very serene, very calming. We had an instructive and positive meeting hearing from Vets, advocates for vets and others

I was feeling pretty good when we walked out after several hours of hunkering down. I was heading to dinner with my fellow Gold Star Moms, Nadia & Mary. Stuck under the windshield wiper on my car was this unsigned note

Shame on you! Your son died for what he believed in. He fought honorably for our country and what we stand for. As a fellow veteran of OIF 1 & 2 you are dragging our son's name in the dirt. You should be honored your son was willing to die for his country helping other people.

Really? Disrespecting my son? Oh man, come on! I thought we had left that "us vs them, I'm more patriotic than you" attitude behind us at the very least on January 20, 2009. I guess not. We've still got work to do!

18 deaths too many

2009-01-28T05:42:00.000-08:00

I felt a sickening wave of deja vu when I read the press release from Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) .

SENATORS DEMAND ANSWERS FROM DOD ABOUT ELECTROCUTIONS OF SOLDIERS, WANT DEFENSE SECRETARY TO MEET WITH THEM AND MOTHER OF ELECTROCUTED SOLDIER ON CONTRACTOR ACCOUNTABILITY

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) --- Two U.S. Senators today are requesting a meeting with Secretary of Defense Robert Gates and the mother of a U.S. soldier who has been informed by an Army investigator that her son’s death by electrocution at his base in Baghdad has been re-classified by the Army from “accidental” to “negligent homicide” by contractor KBR and two of its supervisors.

U.S. Senator Byron Dorgan (D-ND) chaired a July 11, 2008, Senate Democratic Policy Committee hearing that looked into the death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth and 12 other U.S. soldiers electrocuted on Army bases in Iraq. Following the hearing, Dorgan and Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) requested that the Pentagon conduct a theatre-wide investigation into KBR’s work on electrical installations in Iraq. In response, the Army conducted a review of the matter and, while asking KBR to improve its performance, continued to rely on KBR to inspect much of its own work and has not imposed any penalties on the company.

In response, the Army agreed to conduct a thorough investigation into the matter, but then decided to use KBR to perform much of the review.

Testimony at Dorgan’s hearing last July by former KBR employees disclosed that KBR hired unqualified third country nationals to do electrical wiring at U.S. military bases in Iraq.

Given the latest development, including possible negligent homicide charges against the contractor, Senators Dorgan and Casey have asked Defense Secretary Gates to meet with them and Maseth’s mother, Cheryl Harris, to discuss the process that the Department of Defense intends to follow to guarantee full accountability for any contractor misconduct that relates to the electrocutions of U.S. troops in Iraq.
Dorgan noted the Army originally told Harris her son was electrocuted because he carried an electrical appliance into the shower. The Army later retreated from that account, saying Staff Sgt. Maseth was electrocuted by wires hanging above the shower, an account that was also inaccurate.

“I believe DOD has been less than truthful to the families of soldiers who were electrocuted at military bases in Iraq because of shoddy contract work. It’s time or some straight talk about accountability,” Dorgan said.

“Those who receive contracts to serve our soldiers have an obligation to do so responsibly,” Dorgan said. “We want to know what Secretary Gates intends to do to ensure that contractors are acting responsibly, particularly in light of the Army’s reported finding that KBR and its supervisors may have been criminally negligent. We also want to know why the DOD has not pursued a process to debar contractors who are fleecing our taxpayers and putting soldiers at risk.”

“The news Cheryl Harris received from an Army CID that her son Ryan Maseth’s death has changed classification from 'accidental' to 'negligent homicide' and singles out not just two KBR employees, but the company itself, for potential criminal liability is a significant development,” said Senator Bob Casey. “This revelation validates the perseverance of Cheryl Harris, Ryan’s mother, in
seeking all the facts behind Ryan’s death. We must not only ensure that full accountability is served in this case, but that the Pentagon is also doing all that it can to prevent future electrocutions of American personnel in both Iraq and Afghanistan. We must put an end to our troops continuing to get put in harms way when they are doing something so simple as taking a shower.”

As Chairman of the Senate Democratic Policy Committee, Dorgan has chaired 18 oversight hearings on contracting abuses and corruption in Iraq and Afghanistan. The hearings exposed billions of dollars in wasteful spending and numerous accounts of U.S. soldiers, already serving in harm’s way, being put at grave risk due to shoddy work by contractors, and by unsafe water supplies provided by our troops by contractors who failed to do their jobs.

It wasn't the circumstances of the death of Staff Sgt. Ryan Maseth as it was the way the Army handled it. There continue to be too many cases where the family is told one thing and the truth is not revealed until the Army has been backed into a corner. As a Gold Star mother who was not told the truth about my son's death in Iraq for 15 months, I can assure you that families only want to know the truth and we shouldn't have to wait until the lie is caught. It is insulting and disrespectful and extremely stupid for the Army to think that we will not find out in other ways. In this age of technology, we will; pure and simple, we will. When will they learn?

That there was a problem with shoddy workmanship goes back at least to July 2007. That the electrocutions of soldiers in Iraq caused by the faulty wiring performed by KBR is still a story is outrageous. That one soldier, let alone 18 soldiers, have been killed in these so-called accidents is criminal. That in 2008 the Army let KBR handle the investigations into these deaths is equally criminal. That KBR is still in business and has not been held accountable to the highest position is beyond me. Maybe, just maybe, now that the long reach of former Vice-President Dick Cheney has been removed from influencing government contracts and with a new administration, we can expect a different kind of attention to be focused on this kind of egregious and deadly behavior.

Kudos to Senators Dorgan and Casey for keeping this story in the news and for pursuing the bad guys. I hope that Cheryl Maseth gets that meeting with Secretary Robert Gates. I hope he looks into her eyes and tells her that no other soldier will be electrocuted due to the negligence of KBR or any other contractor. I hope he tells her how sorry he is that the Army didn't do better for Ryan. I hope he tells her that he has ordered a new Inspector General investigation into these deaths and that charges will be filed when the investigation is complete. I hope he tells her that KBR will be debarred, not suspended, from any federal work. Nothing will bring Ryan back but knowing that her son's death and her own perseverance will prevent another death should matter. I know Ryan is very proud of his mom.

Fitting Goodbye to Bush

2009-01-17T10:14:00.001-08:00

The final door on this Bush administration is closing. The final goodbye last night was the final chapter in the Bush Legacy Tour, this view of the past eight years through George Bush's rose-colored glasses. It's too bad there was no view of the past eight years from our vantage point, a cold, hard view of the reality of the damage done during the Bush administration. And it is nearly over.

Never the uniter, always the divider, George Bush's tone was exclusive. His administration was a renewal of the bank accounts of his friends and corporations in general, but never a renewal of America.

Most people I know could not stand to watch Bush speak, regardless of the occasion. They couldn't stand to listen to his voice, his insensitive, threatening, fear-filled rhetoric. Maybe they never did watch or listen to him, but I did and at nearly every opportunity. From that night in 2000 watching the election results; much like watching an accident unfolding in slow motion. And so it was, Bush became the 43rd president of the United States of America. I was unhappy with the results, but my sense was that Bush's presidency would last only 4 years and how bad could it be? How much damage could he do? I wish I knew then what I know now. I didn't like or appreciate the folksiness of George W Bush. Why would you want to have a president who you would share a beer with? So, I watched and I listened, I guess because I didn't trust that he had the best interest of our country or it's citizens in mind. Maybe just maybe I watched and listened expecting that I would hear just a glimmer of hope for something positive from this administration, but that never came.

How could I or why would I miss the last opportunity to watch George Bush in his official capacity as the president? Watching him say goodbye was sweet. I never expected any particular great content or deep thought from this president, but I always watched, never disappointed that he would disappoint and so often pained with what he said.

Over the years, as I watched George Bush speak, my responses varied. I shouted, I yelled, I flipped him off and I cried. I cried so many tears of despair and sorrow as he spoke, but I couldn't stop this obsession. As Bush tried to assure us that he "always acted with the best interests of our country in mind. I have followed my conscience and done what I thought was right. You may not agree with some of the tough decisions I have made. But I hope you can agree that I was willing to make the tough decisions." As always, he didn't understand what the country wanted and so many of us do not agree. We didn't care about the tough decisions, ALL decisions made by a president may be difficult. We cared about him making the right decisions for this country and that he never did.

So, in the final minutes of his official goodbye, I became inspired for my final goodbye to George W Bush as President of the United States. I had already yelled and shouted and cried in those 13 minutes, but as he said his goodbye, I mooned him. Yep, in the privacy of my own home, I turned away from this president, dropped my drawers and I mooned him. It was a fitting show of disrespect for this man who had earned no respect from us during these past 8 years.

I think Ken would have approved.

Counting the days

2009-01-12T23:28:00.000-08:00

Count me among those people counting the days, hours and minutes to the end of our national nightmare called the Bush administration. When I was first given my "Bush Countdown Clock", there were more than 300 days, so now with fewer than 7 days, I am close to ecstatic. It seems almost inconceivable that we are in the single digits, but here we are.

The press conference held at the White House today, Bush's "exit interview" was a stunning example of his disconnect from the real world where the rest of us live. We shouldn't be surprised that until the bitter, and I do mean bitter, end George W Bush, the Fratboy-in-Chief, is in denial for his failed policies and remains a man who never compromised his misguided and damaging principles and a man with few regrets. He smirked, he sighed, he rolled his eyes, he was defiant and defensive, angry and accusing. His Beevis & Butthead "heh-heh" grated on my nerves for the millionth time. If you missed it, you can hear it here. This press conference was his 8 years in office wrapped up in 47 painful minutes. If you had been living under a rock for the past 8 years, you would only need watch this performance to get the Cliff Notes. Thank god there is no quiz; we would pass just because we showed up and endured.

But don't count me among those who want to say good-bye to Bush. I'd prefer "see ya later". Goodbye, in this context means we never want to see him again, as in get thyself back to Crawford or Dallas, stay behind the secure walls of your new gated community and never darken our TV screens again. If we never hear from the 43rd president, some think it would be too soon. Not me. I do not want to hear another babbling, bumbling Bush speech. If the word malapropism didn't exist, we would call them bushisms for all his mangling of the language.

George Bush can go away for awhile, but I look forward to seeing him as he boards the plane to the Hague. I am counting the days. If the United States will not hold him and others in his administration accountable for crimes committed, then I invite another prosecutor from another country to do the job America will not. The subject of accountability is of interest to much of our population and is currently the leading question in the Foreign Policy section on Barack Obama's "change" website.

"Will you appoint a Special Prosecutor (ideally Patrick Fitzgerald) to independently investigate the gravest crimes of the Bush Administration, including torture and warrantless wiretapping?"

The answer must be an unequivocal YES. That would be a loud and clear message that no one is above the law and that the signatures on our own Constitution and the treaties that we put our names to represent America.

One more thing. Bush has long insisted that history will judge his presidency in good light and that he doesn't worry about it; he who isn't into self-pity. At the final press conference, when asked about his legacy, he responded

...I think historians will look back and they'll be able to have a better look at mistakes after some time has passed. Along Jake's question, there is no such thing as short-term history. I don't think you can possibly get the full breadth of an administration until time has passed: Where does a President's -- did a President's decisions have the impact that he thought they would, or he thought they would, over time? Or how did this President compare to future Presidents, given a set of circumstances that may be similar or not similar? I mean, there's -- it's just impossible to do. And I'm comfortable with that.

I beg to differ. I am comfortable that historians will judge George W Bush as the worst US president ever. I don't think he cares or even has the capacity to really care what others think, but I swear until my dying breath that no one will not allow anyone to forget the harm that this man did during his presidency. I will not allow the fading of history to lose sight of the human cost of his administration. George Bush will go to his grave believing that he did well for the country and I will go to my grave making sure that people remember these well-documented, hellish 8 years. I owe it to my country, but mostly, I owe it to my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard who was the 818th US soldier killed in Iraq.

Somone stole my bumper sticker - part II

2009-01-09T20:33:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, right before the presidential election, I reported here that someone stole my bumper sticker.

My bumper sticker said

BUSH LIED,
MY SON DIED

Although I live in the bluest of blue California, much to my surprise, this first bit of thievery occurred in Palo Alto. Undeterred, I replaced the bumper sticker. And yet in the heart of blue Silicon Valley, the bumper sticker was stolen again, this time in Sunnyvale. Again, I have replaced the bumper sticker and we'll see how long it lasts until it gets stolen again.

I'm not sure that the theft is because the perpetrators agree or disagree with my message. I still would like to know " Why would someone take my bumper sticker?"

Dear John Doe

2009-01-08T23:38:00.000-08:00

I guess my bar is set very low for the Army. They just haven't handled the casualty process for my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard very well since he was killed in Iraq in May 2004. From the poor choice of Casualty Assistance Officer, the pathetic chaplain, the 3 month delay of delivery of the death certificate, 5 months for the return of Ken's personal effects, the 15 month delay in telling me the truth about Ken's death and all the other failures along the way, it's been a rocky road.

So much went wrong that it seemed to me that we were the poster family for whatever could go wrong in the casualty process, would go wrong. To be fair, there have been some shining stars in the military, who have done their best to make the journey just a bit smoother; they alone restore my faith in the feeling that the Army can do better and is a better bureaucracy than my experience has shown. As an Army brat, my Lt Colonel father always made sure that we knew we were part of the Army family, regardless of what happened, the Army would take care of it's own.

When I recently received the letter from the Army providing an update on the charitable organizations that have supported Gold Star Families, the salutation was to "Dear John Doe". It was obviously an "unfortunate mistake", as the Army spokesperson described it, but then they described the 15 month delay of hearing the truth of Ken's death as unfortunate series of events. The Army also called that delay an oversight. It's all just a little too euphemistic and easy. If the Army is so good at using euphemisms, then maybe they have a long history of bureaucratic experience finding those descriptions. I'm not sure it's something you want to get good at.

Most people probably won't remember a similar incident that occurred back in December 2004, when Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld stated that he would personally sign all condolence letters to families of the fallen, because despite previous denials, he admitted that in the past he has not personally signed more than 1000 letters. There is a special place in hell for someone who uses an autopen to sign condolence letters. PERIOD. NO EXCEPTION. Rumsfeld never apologized, however, a Pentagon spokesman said, “In the interest of ensuring timely contact with grieving family members, he has not individually signed each letter.” You can imagine that that insensitive statement did not relieve my pain in any way. I did not go to the mailbox everyday in anticipation of receiving a condolence card from the Secretary of Defense. It isn't right, but we came to expect that kind of arrogance from Donald Rumsfeld.

This "Dear John Doe" error is not the worst thing the Army has done and sadly if won't be the last "unfortunate mistake" they make. These kinds of errors, however unintentional, are so painful to a family member who lost a loved one. I wish the Army could get it right the first time. We deserve better.

Our local CBS affiliate in San Francisco, CBS 5, did a nice story on the "The Dear John Doe letters".

Bush Birds of a Feather

2009-01-06T20:20:00.000-08:00

Birds of a feather stick together. Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld, Mullen & Gates are all cut from the same dishonest cloth. They keep telling the same lies, and presenting the last 8 years through the rosy lenses that they view life, and therefore so should we. These birds do stick together. If we ever had faith in this presidency, that died long ago.

Bush is still singing the praises of his disastrous former Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld. At a military appreciation parade in Fort Myer, Va., began his remarks by saying he was proud to serve with Vice President Dick Cheney and other members of his administration. Bush also thanked the Joint Chiefs of Staff and members of the military. "The decisions I made as your commander-in-chief have not always been popular”, Really? Really? At least Bush got the message from those of us who did not support the war or his administration. But, isn't “have not been popular” a bit of an understatement? 29% favorable ratings is not "have not been popular", it is pretty much as low as you can go.. It might have been more honest to have said they have been disastrous and a failure from day 1.

The Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Admiral Mike Mullen couldn't praise Bush long enough. I wouldn't have been able to identify who he was talking about except for the context on the White House website and the accompanying photo. Speaking to those assembled at the grounds of Ft Myer, not far from Arlington National Cemetery, Section 60, where the US military who have been killed in Iraq & Afghanistan lay, Mullen said,

Those voices are an answering volley to you for your high regard and great respect for every single man and woman who serves this nation.
After this nation was attacked by a rising evil, the same evil which later murdered many others in places like London, Madrid, Islamabad and Mumbai, you quickly led us from the grip of fear to a serenity of purpose and unity of action -- serenity well beyond our dreams on September 12th, when all thought further attack was not only likely, but gravely imminent. And through your vision, a new national security was rendered to reach our enemies where they hid and trained and celebrated deadly crimes.
We sent our forces to hills and caves, alongside tribesman on horseback to root them out and hunt them down. We liberated Iraq from tyranny, now on the road to renewal. And we are shifting our focus to Afghanistan. We applauded as you, Mrs. Bush, worked for the freedom and education of young women, and gave hope to children scarred by hate. And always, sir, we felt your unmatched confidence in us, which only made us better.
Yes, we know these images well and we treasure them. But what wasn't always often an image was how you, as our First Family, fully embraced our military family with words of love and prayers of hope. For you have proven that how well we care for our wounded and the families of the fallen defines who and what we really are as a nation. You made it personal, and that has made all the difference.
With quiet dignity, you stretched out hands to those touched by loss, unimaginable loss that can never be made whole so they might be touched yet again.

"fully embraced our military family with words of love and prayers of hope"? Oh please! For you have proven that how well we care for our wounded and the families of the fallen defines who and what we really are as a nation? If the documented pathetic and uncaring care for our wounded and families of the fallen defines who we are as a nation, we should be horribly and tragically embarrassed. If we cannot provide proper and life-long care for our military and our veterans, we have no business going to war! ever! Thde sad thing is, George W Bush is not capable of taking or making anything personal except himself and that made all the difference.

Bush closed with this statement to the military: We will always remember that you answered the call to serve when your nation needed you most. We will always remember that you did your duty with honor and dignity. It's too bad that he, as their Commander-in-Chief did not do the same- do his duty with honor & dignity instead of dishonor and lies.

I have had enough of this administration and all that is wrong with it. With less than 2 weeks to go, they should just shut up and sit down. If they all want to get kissy and smoochy about each other as the sun sets on their time in Washington, they can do it in private. After all, privacy and secrecy was their badge that they wore with pride, screw the rest of us. These birds of a feather just need to get the flock out of here!

The Mysterious Bush Adminstration

2009-01-04T20:29:00.000-08:00

Much like the 18 erased minutes of tape from the Nixon administration, the Bush administration has done a good job of removing any empirical evidence of their wrongdoing or even evildoing during the last 8 years. In their eyes, it never happened. In their eyes, "prove it". Proving it may become a cottage industry as this country tries to find and put together the missing pieces of historical facts and provide some historical context to these last 8 years.

Of particular note, of course are the millions of emails that have gone missing from the office of President Bush & Vice President Cheney. According to Cheney, he “alone may determine what constitutes vice presidential records or personal records. Another "so?" to the people of this country, 29% of whom have a favorable view of the job Cheney is doing. Cheney doesn't care what people think and he thinks he has done a fantastic job as Vice President and for the country. I disagree.

Although it might seem insignificant to some, one secret that we must not forget are the missing photographs of the homecoming of the flag covered caskets from Iraq & Afghanistan. This misguided policy was put in place in 1991 by then Assistant Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney. From the National Security Archive at George Washington University, they provide the historical background to the ban on photographs.

The ban on media coverage of returning casualties was imposed by Defense Secretary Cheney after an embarrassing incident in which three television networks broadcast live, split-screen images in December, 1989, as the first U.S. casualties were returning from an American assault on Panama. In that incident, President Bush was seen on television joking at a White House news conference while somber images of flag-draped coffins arriving at Dover Air Force Base moved across viewers' screens. The ban on war casualty images was continued during the Clinton administration, which made several exceptions to allow publication and broadcast upon the return of victims of attacks against U.S. personnel abroad, including the bombing of the U.S.S. Cole in 2000. President George W. Bush continued the ban following the start of the Afghanistan war in October, 2001 and the Iraq invasion in March, 2003.

The censorship of these photographs will deny historians and our country photographic evidence of the casualties of the controversial War on Terror. What stark documentation will be available to see how the United States honored the military casualties during these difficult years? Nothing demonstrates the human cost of war than these photographs and nothing demonstrates the honor afforded to these young men & women. The Bush administration refuses to provide this evidence.

Full disclosure- the day I was told my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq in 2004, I requested the photographs of my son's casket being returned to Dover. The Army refused my request stating that "it was against Army policy and it was for the privacy of the families". I never got those photographs despite repeated requests during the week before Ken's body was returned to me in California.

So much damage has been caused by this administration that it is likely we will never know how much. Because of the administration's affinity towards a cloak of secrecy and all the mysteries that lie beneath it and behind it, there is no intention of historians knowing what was done in the name of our Country and it's citizens. What better clue to a verdict of guilty, guilty, guilty?

A New York Times editorial says History is truly the poorer for the Bush administration. President-elect Barack Obama must quickly undo the damage by ordering that records be shielded from political interference, by repairing the freedom-of-information process, and by ending the abuse of the classification process to cloak the truths of the presidency.

We owe it to future generations to provide as much of the truth as we can get. We owe it to ourselves to know the truth as truth defines us as a country and a people. I am not okay with the secrets of this administration and I know I am in good company with people who feel the same.

John Fitzgerald Kennedy said “The very word 'secrecy' is repugnant in a free and open society; and we are as a people inherently and historically opposed to secret societies, to secret oaths, and to secret proceedings.” Only we can answer if Bush & Cheney's secrecy is repugnant or acceptable and indeed whether we are a free and open society. The Obama administration can answer those questions loud and clear.

Veteran's Day 2008- Honoring All Who Served

2008-11-11T08:03:00.000-08:00

90 years ago marked the end of WWI hostilities. It was the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the 11^th month in 1918. WWI was called the "War to end all Wars". If only that held true.

Over the years, Armistice Day or Veterans Day resolutions have stated: the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations AND a day to be dedicated to the cause of world peace.

As one of my good friends from Veterans for Peace told me, if you aren't fighting for peace, what are you fighting for?

These crosses represent the 4819 American soldiers who have died serving their country in Iraq & Afghanistan and we will never forget them. But Veteran's Day is intended to thank living veterans for their service & sacrifice to their country. The 23.8 million veterans living in America deserve the recognition.

Regardless of how you feel about this war or any war, veterans stand up to serve their country in the military when others choose a different path of service or none at all. Veterans raise their hands and take an oath to solemnly swear to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic. This is a promise they make to their fellow citizens. After 7 years of war, 600,000 individuals have served, with approximately 1.7 million tours logged. We cannot and may not fall victim to war fatigue as long as we have young men and women fighting in our name. If we hate the war, we cannot hate the warrior. Veteran's Day reminds us of this.

Supporting the Troops does not mean putting a magnetic yellow ribbon on the back of your vehicle. These veterans have given 100%; we owe them that much in return. Supporting the troops means we provide them with proper equipment & training. It means we take care of them when they return from the battlefront to the home front. PTSD, Suicide, higher rates of marital problems are not okay, we must do better. We must:

Provide thorough, Professional, and Confidential Mental Health Screening

Properly fund the VA

Overhaul the Military and Veterans' Disability System

Cut VA Claims Backlog

Increase the number of Mental Health Professionals

Fight Homelessness among Veterans

One week ago a new day dawned in America. We have a President elect who seems to understand the needs of Veteran's. It is our job to hold him to the promise that we make to Veterans who have served their country.We must insist on it.

My son is never coming home. 4 ½ years later, I still find it difficult to say those words. 1Lt Ken Ballard was a 4^th generation Army officer and he knew what it meant to serve. He knew the promise that his 2 great grandfathers, Col Roderick Meredith & Major Richard Fox, his grandfather, Lt Col Russell Meredith, and his aunt Lt Col Cathy Patton made. And he knew the promise that he made to this country. On this Veteran's Day, let us make a promise to never, ever forget and to always remember and care for our Veterans.

VOTE!

2008-11-04T07:35:00.001-08:00

Someone Stole my Bumper Sticker

2008-11-03T08:15:00.000-08:00

Some one stole my bumper sticker from the back of my car yesterday. I put it on more than a year ago. I have been left me some interesting notes, all supportive, many apologetic.

My bumper sticker said

BUSH LIED,
MY SON DIED

Why would someone take my bumper sticker?

A Republican's mailing list

2008-11-01T10:09:00.000-07:00

I don't know how it happened, but I ended up on a local McCain supporter's personal email list. As offensive as the emails have been, I believe in keeping my friends close and my enemies closer. I don't know this woman and I don't consider her my enemy, but I know for sure we do not share political philosophies. I wonder if she'll drop me after the election?

This morning I received an email from my Republican 'friend" titled "Please help make this video viral". This video is California Arnold Schwarzenegger speaking to a raucous crowd in Columbus, Oh. When Arnold said "Our democracy is not for sale". The crowd went wild! Sadly, our democracy has already been given away, not sold, to the no-compete secret bidders who would make the most money for George Bush's friends, regardless of the requirements and real needs of the contracts.

As I watched the video, it revealed nothing new for me. It was the same old Republican spin on their view of the world. It fed this red meat crowd and they were ecstatic. It was the same GOP soundbites; as I said, nothing new. But it got me wondering. I understand our Governor's ties to Ohio, it's where he got his start in the bodybuilding world. Ohio is pretty much in the Obama camp at this point, so having Schwarzenegger stand up for McCain in Ohio may make some sense (does politics ever really make sense?). California has got a big red GOP stripe in the middle of our state, so it's likely Schwarzenegger would find some friendly crowds that support McCain but he didn't campaign for McCain here. Obama is leading in California by healthy 2 digit margins in most polls, so I understand why Schwarzenegger wouldn't be campaigning in CA, but it really reflects on how the campaign for McCain is doing in CA that our Governor wouldn't even stand up for the Republican candidate here. I'm just saying.....

I'll RSVP to Jayne here- no, I won't be attending your McCain victory party on Tuesday night. I can only imagine the gloom and doom as you discuss the possibilities of a Democratic president after 8 years of Republican failure in our country and that is not how I will be spending my Tuesday night.

Bush- Then & Now

2008-10-31T18:36:00.000-07:00

THEN

NOW

Illustration by Jean-Pierre Kunke

Couldn't happen to a better crew.

Buh bye, George W Bush

2008-10-30T05:31:00.000-07:00

See ya, wouldn't want to be ya. Don't let the door hit you on your way out. Catch ya later. B4N or BFN. Auf Wiedersehen. Caio. Farewell. Get the hell out! Sayonara. Au Revoir. Hooroo. Dosvedanya. Adios.

I know I'm a bit premature in all this good-byeing to George W Bush, the 43rd president of these United States, but we are so close after waiting for so long for this national nightmare to end. We are at 82 days on the Bush countdown clock until the inauguration of a new president in January 2009, but even better is that it is 5 days until November 4, election day (listen- can you hear the harps play and the angels sing?). There is no secret that I am voting for Barack Obama and my hopes are still high that he will be our next president, but I won't breathe that deep sigh of relief until all the votes are counted (hopefully the good old-fashioned way).

A friend and co-worker of mine just returned from a vist to Australia. He told me there were Obama posters all over the place. Another friend told me he worries about TWA (traveling while American). Things have changed in the last 8 years- for the worse. We both talked about how the world view about the US will change if Barack Obama wins the election. Perhaps the support that the US had immediately after 9/11 would return. Perhaps the rest of the world will realize that it isn't about us versus them or evil versus the US. There are bad people out there who are willing to get in the way of anything and anyplace that doesn't agree with their world view, but there are way more good people in the world, too, facing them same dangers as we do.

As Barack Obama says its about hope over fear; unity over division. That's the change I believe in.

Peace out!

Sarah Palin- Ill Wind from the North

2008-10-25T03:29:00.000-07:00

Right after the Republican National convention, just about 8 weeks ago, people were referring to Sarah Palin as a breath of fresh air as they welcomed her to the national political scene. People were enamored by this historical first female Republican VP candidate on the Straight Talk Express, spouting off about family values, her typical family, small town honesty & dignity, governing with integrity, good will, clear convictions. Her joke about lipstick on a pit bull was pretty much a promise that this election would get nasty and ugly and it did, so we shouldn't be surprised at the condition of the campaign.

It didn't take long for the bloom to come off that Alaskan rose and people started getting worried about John McCain's choice as his VP. Republicans are abandoning their party in droves running as fast and as far away as they can get from this ticket. Jed Lewis over at The Jed Report has a list of 62 Republican "shipjumpers", and counting.

This breath of fresh air from August has turned into an ill wind from the north and we wish it would turn right around and go back. Sorry to you Alaskans, you will have to take your governor back and now that she has shown her true colors on the national stage, you can welcome her and her family back and decide just how to handle this Caribou Barbie who has not represented your fine state well at all. She might want to go into further detail about why exactly the her ethical lapses aren't really that at all as she steps back behind the Governor's desk.

Within 8 weeks the vetting that should have happened prior to the convention has taken place and we may know who the real Sarah Palin is after all. We now know her views on aerial hunting, ethical decisions, moose hunting, banning books, energy, climate change, foreign policy, gun control, health care, abortion and other issues. Her views do not match mine now and they never will.

Sarah and her new BFF, Elizabeth Hasselback from the talk show, The View, will travel together on a campaign trip to Florida this weekend. omg! Can you imagine the excitement? 2 of the most right wing, religious fundamental women on the same stage frothing up their conservative base with accusations and lies. Let's just say I wouldn't want to be at their slumber party any more than they would want me there.

Sarah Palin says she is just a hockey mom, a regular gal. The Republican National party wrote that script hoping people would buy it, and they did, for a while. If Sarah Palin is a regular gal, then I'm a rock star; but neither is true. I know Sarah Palin didn't shop at Nieman Marcus or Saks Fifth Avenue as hockey mom extraordinaire and Governor of Alaska; she says her favorite women's clothing place in Alaska is a consignment boutique in Anchorage called Out of the Closet and I believe that. I know it was the RNC who paid for the $150,000 clothing and beauty services for the Palin family. Palin said they would either return the clothing or donate it to charity. Return clothing that you have already worn? I think some people might call that fraud.

While the clothing was provided by the RNC and not the campaign, they walked a fine line of converting campaign money for personal use. As legal as these purchases may have been, I wonder how the "regular" people who donated the money feel about buying this caliber of clothing for their VP candidate. Designergate is just another symbol of conspicuous consumption on the part of the Republican party. This 8 year shameless sleazy spending spree must end on November 4.

Sarah Palin is a bad combination of the worst of George Bush and Dick Cheney rolled into one ugly example of leadership of the last 8 years in Washington. We are within whispering distance of the election on November 4. I suspect most people have voted already, or certainly have made up their minds. I hope so. We can't afford another 4 years of the same.

All tricks and no treats

2008-10-15T12:21:00.000-07:00

All tricks and no treats -- Editorial Cartoon by Andrew Wahl | BuzzFlash.org

Section 60, the Saddest Acre in America

2008-10-11T22:21:00.000-07:00

For those of us whose loved one died in Iraq or Afghanistan, Section 60 needs no other description. Section 60 is the final resting place at Arlington National Cemetery for our young military men & women

Ken was the 89th soldier from the Global War on Terror to be buried in Section 60. He lies in the second row, with at least 7 more rows in front of him. More than 500 families have buried their loved ones in our National Cemetery.

It wasn't hard to decide that Ken would be buried here, although it took a few months to complete the process. He was killed in May 2004 and buried in October 2004. Ken loved being a soldier and he belonged with his brothers and sisters in arms, where they will lie together in eternity.

We Section 60 families have a bond and while I do not get there as often as I would like, I have forged forever friendships with some of the families that I have met there. It takes me longer to visit Ken these days because I also visit the son's of friends who are buried there, Andy, Neil Jr, Alex, David, Russ. Their families do the same and leave mementos of love when they visit Ken's grave.

HBO is premiering a new documentary, SECTION 60: ARLINGTON MEMORIAL CEMETERY on Monday, October 13, 2008. The third in a trilogy of Iraq-related HBO documentaries (following the Emmy®-winning "Baghdad ER" and the Emmy®-nominated "Alive Day Memories: Home from Iraq") from Jon Alpert and Matthew O'Neill, the moving verité special SECTION 60: ARLINGTON NATIONAL CEMETERY commemorates the lives of the deceased and the mourning of their survivors.

Back in May 2006, when HBO premiered Baghdad ER, I wrote here that that film should be mandatory viewing for everyone in the country. I expect the same of this one. We are reluctant voyeurs when we watch this kind of film, but we must witness this human cost of war, what is left behind as families try to find their new normal after this devastating loss. It would be easier to change the channel, but this is one way to honor those families who have left a piece of their heart in Section 60.

There will be tears when you watch this film, but they will be different kinds of tears than were shed while watching Baghdad ER. There will be a palpable feeling of loss and a desire to reach through the lens and offer comfort, but you know that isn't possible and that will be the hardest part in watching this film.

VOTE!

2008-10-02T22:53:00.000-07:00

Blue Star Vice Presidential Candidates

2008-10-01T22:19:00.000-07:00

Dear Governor Palin & Senator Biden-

I know you are busy getting ready for the first and only vice-presidential debate of the 2008 presidential campaign. I'm sure you've both been practicing your debate skills, figuring out what temperament to show, running through the issues in your mind hoping to remember that factoid that will be the perfect comeback, the line that will go viral. I'm sure Gwen Ifil will ask questions about the economy, foreign policy, health care, maybe climate change, maybe energy, maybe choice, maybe event lipsticks or pigs. All those subjects, except pigs & lipstick, are important to let people get to know how you feel about those subjects, and as Vice President, how you would deal with them once in office. I'm guessing January is looming pretty large; the challenges, the opportunities to put your special mark on the fabric of our country. Vice President Palin? Vice President Biden? Just the sound of it is HUGE! Only 46 men in this country have been given that title.

What I really want you to talk about is foreign policy as it relates to the military. When I say military, I mean the troops; you know like Beau and Track and my son Ken, the men (and women) who make up the military. Beau, Track and Ken are our oldest sons, and in my case my only son, my only child.

Sarah, my son Ken, was 18 when he joined the military, just a year younger than Track, so I can relate to what you are going through. Your firstborn, leaving the nest to join the Army. Those are tough days; you worry about how they are doing during boot camp, how they will adapt. Back in 1995, Ken got orders for Bosnia shortly out of boot camp, and now your Track is heading to Iraq, so I really have walked in your shoes. Ken was 24 when he headed for Iraq and I was terrified every single one of those 384 days he was deployed. You cannot imagine how the war will take over your life when your child is on the front lines. That child that grew for 9 months in your womb now belongs to someone else and he's halfway around the world in harms way.

And Joe, your son Captain Beau Biden is being deployed later this week as far as I can tell. I know about operational security, so the date isn't really important, but he will miss sharing the excitement of the final days of this important presidential campaign. I suspect he's been pretty involved in your campaign and all of that will change with this deployment. I'm sure that you have a close relationship with your son as I did; it's just that way with single parent children.At the age of 39, Beau's a bit older than Ken was when he deployed, and as officers, life in Iraq is a little different. Beau leaves a lovely wife and 2 children at home, Natalie, age 4, and Hunter, age 2. They will miss their daddy terribly. 1 year separated from their daddy is a very long time to little ones like your grandchildren, Joe.

Now that I've shown you how this troop thing is personal, and an experience that we all share, you might see how the occupation in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan loom large in the lives of military families. Some may think our children are "deployable assets" and that they belong to the military, and while that is true, they will always be our little boys. Our sons grew up to serve their country, to stand up when called and we are so proud of the men they grew up to be.

Sarah & Joe, today you are Blue Star Families, those with a loved one serving in the military. On May 30, 2004, my son, Lt Ken Ballard was killed in Iraq and I became a Gold Star Mother. It is not a journey that I wish on anyone.

I don't want either of you to wear a black metal bracelet engraved with your child's name, rank, unit, date & place of death and the words OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM. I also don't want you to replace that blue star on your service flag with one of gold; I don't want another parent to receive a Gold Star Banner. I don't want you to know the reality of receiving that one knock on the door that will change your life forever. I really don't want you to know what it feels like to be escorted to the airport by your local police department and when you see that jet pull up to the gate and the doors of the cargo department open up to reveal a coffin that contains the remains of your oldest child, covered with a red, white and blue American flag, you know your child has made his last journey home. I don't want you to listen to the mournful notes as TAPS is played by an Army bugler in honor of your son's life. I don't want you to receive a folded flag from a general with the words "on behalf of a grateful nation...", I don't want you to know the emptiness in your heart knowing you will never feel your child's hug, never hear his laugh and never know what heights he might have attained. I don't wish any of this on anyone. Never. Ever.

Sarah & Joe, you both have a unique position as a military parent that very few people in this country understand; please use that experience and make a commitment to all the troops and their families that your administration will stop the shameless treatment of vets. Vow that war will only be used as a solution of last resort. I urge you both, as military parents, during this vice-presidential debate, to commit to ending the war in Iraq, bring the troops home and take care of them when they get here.

You control what you'll see on Nov 4

2008-09-29T23:48:00.000-07:00

You control what you'll see on election day.
http://Voteforchange.com

Creditcardholders Bill of Rights- Leveling the Field

2008-09-27T19:04:00.000-07:00

You might think that the banking industry would have gotten the message that consumers are sick and tired of the greed and arrogance that has been so pervasive and invasive in our lives, but you would be wrong.

At the same time that the banks are lining up to get their piece of the $700 billion dollar bailout pie, they are busy condemning the House of Representatives' passage of a "Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights". HR 5244 would amend the Truth in Lending Act to establish fair and transparent practices relating to the extension of credit under an open end consumer credit plan. The resolution which passed 312-112 says "no creditor may increase any annual percentage rate of interest applicable to the existing balance on a credit card account of the consumer under an open end consumer credit plan" “existing balance defined“, "Treatment of existing balances following rate increase" and "Limitation on certain fees". It's all good for the consumers, well, as much good as we've seen from a consumer point of view in a long while.

With the current environment in the banking industry, you might think that the banks would shut up, sit in a corner like the cockroaches they are and wait for the current meltdown to pass, even for a little while.

It's no surprise that the Bush administration opposes the legislation. David Lazarus of the LA Times reports the disappointed reactions from the banking industry.

American Bankers Assn. President Edward Yingling issued a statement denouncing the move. He said the bill would "increase the cost of credit for consumers and small businesses across the country, result in less access to credit for consumers and businesses alike, and may further roil the securities markets -- all at a time when our economy can least afford it."

JPMorgan Chase & Co., "In today's turbulent economic times, consumers deserve a careful and balanced approach when considering potential changes to consumer credit and the credit card industry," the bank said in a statement. "Consumers have benefited from a competitive marketplace that allows for pricing based upon risk."

It seems that the banking industry hasn't gotten the memo that the party is over. It's time to level the playing field and give the consumer's at least a fair advantage. Wall Street needs a complete makeover and I'm glad that Congress drew this line in the sand.

The 312-112 vote was predictably on party lines with only one Democrat voting against this legislation. Wonder what Stephanie Herseth Sandlin's (D - SD) excuse was? The House has spoken, what will the Senate do for consumers? Passing the Credit Cardholders' Bill of Rights is the least they can do with the $700 billion bailout they have burdened us with.

I have a Bracelet, too

2008-09-26T22:03:00.000-07:00

The McCain campaign proudly and prematurely announced "McCain Wins Debate" with an online ad in the Wall Street Journal, published early Friday morning. McCain hasn't had the best week, so I figured the ad might be wrong as I sat down and watched these men face each other, one of whom will be our next president. As the debate ended, I was more than convinced that the ad was just another in the many missteps of McCain campaign. (Transcript of the debate can be found here)

They covered foreign policy and they even gave a fair amount of time to economic policy, which considering the week we've had may have given well needed insight into how these men may run the financial ship of the United States. On a personal note, Obama seemed relaxed and confident, while McCain seemed grumpy, disrespectful and patronizing as he would not look Obama in the eye nor even refer to him by name.

I'll leave the other policy discussions to others more qualified than me. I was interested in the discussions of Iraq and the definite differences in the way each of the candidates will address the conflicts in Iraq & Afghanistan. Clearly, McCain thinks things are going well in Iraq and that the surge is bringing us closer to victory (whatever that means). McCain accused Obama of voting to cut off the funds for the troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, which is a hot button for those of us who want to end the occupation. This is a tactic to scare the general population into thinking that Obama doesn't support the troops. Fortunately Obama had a quick and proper response I opposed funding a mission that had no timetable, and was open- ended, giving a blank check to George Bush. We had a difference on the timetable. We didn't have a difference on whether or not we were going to be funding troops. He added what I've said is we should end this war responsibly. With regards to Iraq & Afghanistan, if you vote for McCain, you'll get 4 more years of the same blundering foreign policy brought to us by the Bush administration. How many thousand s more will die and be wounded? How many more families will be changed forever because of those same policies?

It didn't surprise me that McCain brought up the story of the KIA bracelet that he was wearing, presented to him by the mother of Spc Matthew Stanley who was killed in Iraq in December 2006. It also didn't surprise me that Gold Star families who McCain has met along the trail have told McCain "I want you to do everything -- promise me one thing, that you'll do everything in your power to make sure that my son's death was not in vain. And they all say to me that we don't want defeat." I know many Gold Star families who feel the same way. I do not.

So, I was pleased when Obama responded with I've got a bracelet, too, from the mother of Sergeant Ryan David Jopeck , given to me in Green Bay. She asked me, can you please make sure another mother is not going through what I'm going through.

I've got a bracelet, too. Mine honors the memory of my son, 1Lt Ken Ballard, who was killed in Najaf, Ira on 5.30.2004. I am thoroughly, 100% in the same camp as Ryan's mom. People have no clue what it is like to lose a loved one in war and they don't want to; no one should. But I make damned sure they do if they talk to me. Like Tracy Jopek, I never want another mother to know this pain. Gold Star families are just as divided about this endless occupation of Iraq as the rest of the country. While I disagree with those Gold Star Families who want the war and the dying to continue and who want victory, whatever that means, I understand that they need a reason to get up in the morning, just like I do and it is not a debate I choose to have with them.

While John McCain presents his POW/ veteran support as impeccable; in truth he offers very little support to veteran's issues. On the campaign trail he frequently speaks of his pride in the military as he did this evening. "I know the veterans. I know them well. And I know that they know that I'll take care of them. And I've been proud of their support and their recognition of my service to the veterans. " Except those statements are wrong. McCain might think he supports the troops, but his voting record is appalling and disrespectful of veterans.

Veterans for Common Sense reports his voting record on Vets issues since 2001

"not that many really, truly know just how horrific his voting record is when it comes to the troops. And it is pretty consistent – whether it is for armor and equipment, for veteran’s health care, for adequate troop rest or anything that actually, you know, supports our troops.

John McCain skipped close to a dozen votes on Iraq, and on at least another 10 occasions, he voted against arming and equipping the troops, providing adequate rest for the troops between deployments and for health care or other benefits for veterans.

In mid 2007, Senator Reid noted that McCain missed 10 of the past 14 votes on Iraq. However, here is a summary of a dozen votes (two that he missed and ten that he voted against) with respect to Iraq, funding for veterans or for troops, including equipment and armor. I have also included other snippets related to the time period when the vote occurred.

September 2007: McCain voted against the Webb amendment calling for adequate troop rest between deployments. At the time, nearly 65% of people polled in a CNN poll indicted that "things are going either moderately badly or very badly in Iraq.

July 2007: McCain voted against a plan to drawdown troop levels in Iraq. At the time, an ABC poll found that 63% thought the invasion was not worth it, and a CBS News poll found that 72% of respondents wanted troops out within 2 years.

March 2007: McCain was too busy to vote on a bill that would require the start of a drawdown in troop levels within 120 days with a goal of withdrawing nearly all combat troops within one year. Around this time, an NBC News poll found that 55% of respondents indicated that the US goal of achieving victory in Iraq is not possible. This number has not moved significantly since then.

February 2007: For such a strong supporter of the escalation, McCain didn’t even bother to show up and vote against a resolution condemning it. However, at the time a CNN poll found that only 16% of respondents wanted to send more troops to Iraq (that number has since declined to around 10%), while 60% said that some or all should be withdrawn. This number has since gone up to around 70%.

June 2006: McCain voted against a resolution that Bush start withdrawing troops but with no timeline to do so.

May 2006: McCain voted against an amendment that would provide $20 million to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) for health care facilities.

April 2006: McCain was one of only 13 Senators to vote against $430,000,000 for the Department of Veteran Affairs for Medical Services for outpatient care and treatment for veterans.

March 2006: McCain voted against increasing Veterans medical services funding by $1.5 billion in FY 2007 to be paid for by closing corporate tax loopholes.

March 2004: McCain once again voted for abusive tax loopholes over veterans when he voted against creating a reserve fund to allow for an increase in Veterans' medical care by $1.8 billion by eliminating abusive tax loopholes. Jeez, McCain really loves those tax loopholes for corporations, since he voted for them over our veterans' needs.

October 2003: McCain voted to table an amendment by Senator Dodd that called for an additional $322,000,000 for safety equipment for United States forces in Iraq and to reduce the amount provided for reconstruction in Iraq by $322,000,000.

April 2003: McCain urged other Senate members to table a vote (which never passed) to provide more than $1 billion for National Guard and Reserve equipment in Iraq related to a shortage of helmets, tents, bullet-proof inserts, and tactical vests.

August 2001: McCain voted against increasing the amount available for medical care for veterans by $650,000,000. To his credit, he also voted against the 2001 Bush tax cuts, which he now supports making permanent, despite the dire financial condition this country is in, and despite the fact that he indicated in 2001 that these tax cuts unfairly benefited the very wealthy at the expense of the middle class.

Let us not forget that John McCain, self described friend of veterans also did not support and did not show up to vote for the new GI Bill that was passed earlier this year. He walked lockstep with George Bush calling the bill too extravagant and that it would hurt military retention. Because if you offered a benefit that might offset the low pay and delay in career path, people might get out of the military? How about if you offered a benefit that would offset the low pay and delay in career path, they just might consider joining the military in the first place, serve honorably and then get on with their lives with thanks from a grateful nation?

I'll ask again as I have so often- Who really supports the troops? Campaign rhetoric should not keep us from the truth.

Wall Street vs Main Street

2008-09-21T09:22:00.000-07:00

We American taxpayers are now the proud owners of Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae and AIG at a cost of $700 Billion dollars, whether we like it or not. At $2000 for every man, woman & child in this country, I wonder what we are getting.

They say we are buying some financial stability, but that's hard for those of us within shouting distance of retirement to believe. We are going to be paying for this deregulation party for years. We really need to ask "what's in it for me?" Without taxpayer protection, it's still business as usual for the Bush White House.

There are lots of details flying, too many for most people to absorb. What is spin, what is real? Legislators are in DC working the details and some expected their solution by the time the opening bell rings on Wall Street Monday morning. That's all well and good and I am glad they are putting in the time to try and get this country back on track. Let this crises not be handled with the hysterical way of the USA Patriot Act. Safeguarding America, my ass! So while the horses are out of the barn, let's bring them back in in an orderly, thoughtful fashion with the least damaging effect on the least amount of taxpayers.

We haven't heard enough about executive compensation, but I hope that it will be addressed. I fear that that will be swept away as so many other important details are in crises like this. I don't care what their hiring package said, they should default on their golden parachute as much as they defaulted on their implied trust to the institutions that they led. If we taxpayers are to carry this financial burden for years or maybe decades, shouldn't they do the same? There is hope that some are focusing on just that. Senator Charles Schumer too when he appeared on "Fox News Sunday", saying "we need changes related to housing, we need to put the taxpayer first ahead of bondholders, shareholders". House Financial Services Chairman Barney Frank, D-Mass. "I don't want the American taxpayer to get this bad debt and then the guy (whose company once held the bad loans) gets millions of dollars on his way out the door,".

Adam Davidson at Planet Money over at NPR takes a look at the White House Bailout plan (h/t to Larisa Alexandrovna at at-Largely). Davidson calls this bailout one of the biggest peacetime transfers of power from Congress to the Administration in history. He points out one of the more scary parts of the bailout proposal. Decisions by the Secretary pursuant to the authority of this Act are non-reviewable and committed to agency discretion, and may not be reviewed by any court of law or any administrative agency. The Bush administration is up to it's usual tricks, business as usual, business that has tragically and adversely affect the middle class for the last 8 years.

George Bush was wrong when he said that the problems on Wall Street first showed up in the area of subprime mortgages. Those problems have been simmering for years and years with recklessness, corruption and greed while Washington did nothing to stop it. If you think this pushback is overblown, consider this article from the UK TimesOnline , Staff at Lehman’s New York office who helped to cause the world’s biggest corporate bankruptcy are to share in a $2.5 billion bonanza. Why is this not being reported in the US corporate media?

It's no surprise that the Bush administration still expects US citizens to sit back and do nothing, but this is the fight of our lives and a fight for our future. Please contact your representatives at Senate switchboard (202) 224-3121 and House of Representatives switchboard (202) 224-3121. And if a phone call is too much to do, at least take a look at this online petition from Credo calling for "No Blank Check for Wall Street

DO SOMETHING!

Families Of Fallen Soldiers Sound Off On McCain-Palin

2008-09-19T23:22:00.000-07:00

Special thanks today to Marlene Phillips who wrote the post called Families Of Fallen Soldiers Sound Off On McCain-Palin on The Huffington Post today. Also, special thanks to my friends Jeff, Tracy, Sue, Gilda and Jane who offered their insight to what it feels like to be a Gold Star Family member, someone whose loved one died while in service to the country and our thoughts about the Republican ticket for this presidential campaign. I appreciate that Marlene let me add my $.02, as well. And finally, here's to Ken, Seth, Alex, Evan, Nick, Jesse and nearly 5000 US troops who have died in Iraq & Afghanistan. We will not let them be forgotten; I hope you will help us in that effort.

=====
After reading my last blog post, Jeff from Arizona asked if I would be interested in interviewing Gold Star Families from across the country, that is, families who have lost sons and daughters fighting in Iraq. My sincere thanks to all those who volunteered to be interviewed. These people have a lot to say. They hope America will hear them.

Jane wasn't raised in a political household in Southern California; she describes it simply as a "military family." She lost her 24-year-old son Evan in July, 2003, when he was killed in action on the perimeter of an oil field. She described Evan as "a beautiful man with a wonderful sense of humor who had a passion for music," and recalled "his way of focusing on an individual, of making them feel as though his world revolved around them. This is the thing everyone will remember about him, the fact that he made such an indelible impression on everyone who met him." Evan, she said, "was everyone's best friend. Many of the people who have spoken of him, whether from school, sports or the Army have referred to Evan as their best friend. He was a gifted musician, a gifted student, he adored his little brother, and loved his wife and family deeply." Jane is following the current presidential race closely, and for her it's not just politics as usual. It's personal. She will vote Democratic although she expressed qualms about the Obama/Biden ticket, citing Biden's support of the war in Iraq. But those qualms are minor compared to how she feels about the Republican ticket.

"John McCain and Sarah Palin are scary people," Sue said emphatically. "I believe they will make sure our Constitution is lost forever." The thought of seeing another Republican in the White House terrifies her and makes her angry. "When is America going to wake up to the fact that our economy has been shattered by the cost of the occupation of Iraq? We are allowing our young men and women to be killed off in an illegal war, we've given up our privacy and other basic freedoms and our planet will not be inhabitable by future generations. In 8 short years the Republican party has completed the destruction of our democracy."

Tracy is an academic adviser for a state university in Maryland. When asked to describe her son Nick, she replied, "Nick was incredibly charismatic. He always had friends around him, partly because he was always looking out for the underdog." Nick wanted to be a Marine "from the time he was in middle school" and he died as a Marine in the battle of Fallujah. "A sniper," she said, "he was shot in the head and killed by a sniper." After the death of her son, Tracy decided to run for office, partly "as a way to make the world a better place, as Nick was trying to do." She's always voted ("those who don't vote have no right to complain"), and while not always voting Democratic, this year she supports the Democratic presidential candidate "fervently." Like Jane, Tracy sees the link between our economic troubles and the war in Iraq: "We have spent so much money we don't have on this war that we have completely ruined the US economy as well as that of most of the rest of the world." Tracy described why she supports Barack Obama, saying, " he's very quick and intelligent. He has a good grasp of the issues and an ability to find the nugget of truth. I think some of his ideas may seem pie-in-the sky, but I think if we aim very high we will reach farther than if we just aim for what we know we can accomplish." In contrast, she considers John McCain "bumbling and incompetent" and when asked if she had serious concerns about any of the four candidates acting as Commander in Chief, she replied succinctly, "You bet: Palin first. McCain second."

A business owner in New York, Sue recalls her son Seth as "a kind, warm-hearted individual. His love was his family, his mustang and people." What made her laugh the most was "how rough and tumble he could be, but always done with a smirk on his face: he was mischievous." But the one thing everyone will remember about Seth, Sue said, "is simple: he never left you without saying 'I Love You.' Those were his last words, on the last call home." Seth was killed in Iraq in 2004, on what Sue referred to as "a suicide mission, " and she remembers what he told her before returning to Iraq for the last time. "Seth said, 'Mom, we will never win this war. The people do not want us there.'" While admitting she hasn't always voted, like Tracy and Jane, Sue says she's following this presidential campaign very closely. She spoke approvingly of Obama ("I like his war stance, and his philosophy on economics.") but had nothing good to say about the Republican ticket, especially John McCain. "He's Bush again," Sue said with disgust, adding, "what has McCain done so far for the veterans except take benefits away from them:?" Sue called Palin "a joke that I hope the American people will not fall into, especially the women who originally supported Clinton. That would be a mistake; she is not Hillary." She thinks Palin was picked because McCain "needed a women to do all the dirty work for him," adding, "she's a little lady that knows nothing but thinks she knows everything." Come November, Sue will be voting for Obama.

A commercial airline pilot, Jeff spent 21 years as a fighter pilot with the United States Air Force, and his family has a rich military history: "I had nine aunts and uncles; all but three served in WWII. My aunt and my grandmother were 'Rose the Riveters,' building B-17s at the Boeing facility in Wichita Kansas." His son loved to cook, "Jesse started cooking at age nine!" Jeff recalled, and he wanted to follow in his father's military footsteps, joining the junior ROTC in middle school. Although diagnosed with leukemia, Jesse still "dreamed of becoming a soldier," and was serving in Balad, Iraq, as a driver with the Army Reserve when he suffered a relapse. He died in Arizona in 2007. Already active politically, the loss of his son strengthened Jeff's resolve to "work for candidates that are best for the community and country." Jeff is a strong backer of Barack Obama, calling him "inspiring. Obama seems to represent the values that will help bring out the best of the county." But Jeff reserves his strongest words for Sarah Palin, and they were not complimentary. "Palin is very inexperienced. Examining her resume you will find a blank slate. No job experience at all." And the decorated fighter pilot added, "The thought that she could very easily be the one who will send our sons and daughters to fight more failing military-backed foreign relations, it chills me. Considering her complete lack of experience, that would be worse than having a bartender run my airline."

Karen also comes from a military family; she was a "Military brat" and now describes herself as "a proud Gold Star Mom." Her son, Ken, was a 4th generation Army officer, and he was Karen's only child. Having raised him by herself from the time he was 10 months old, Karen movingly called Ken "my grounding, my north star." Karen recalled her son's "great sense of humor. He lit up a room whenever he entered; people always knew they were in for adventure when he was around." She said Ken loved music, "any kind of music, as long as it was loud - metal, country, opera, classical, rock and roll. He often played music full blast from his Abrams tank as they patrolled the streets of Iraq. His guys told me it was like being in a movie." The two were very close, said Karen: "I made sure Ken knew how much he was loved and he made me feel the same." Ken was 26 when he died in 2004. "We were told Ken was killed by small arms fire," Karen said. "But 15 months after Ken was killed, the Army came to my house to tell me that Ken had not died the way they told me. In fact, he was killed by the accidental discharge of the unmanned M240 machine gun on his tank when it brushed against a tree branch as the tank was maneuvering the streets to return to their camp." This year Karen is more than just interested in the presidential campaign, saying honestly, "I am obsessed with it. The results of the 2000 election put into place policies that would cost me the life of my son."

Karen is unequivocal on the importance of this campaign, stating, "This election is life and death to me." Like Jane, Karen voiced some concerns about Barack Obama, saying he's "too close to the center" for her, but added, "I think he will collaborate more than others and certainly give the world a better face of America." When asked her opinion of John McCain, Karen checked off the reasons she disliked him: "3rd Bush term, intolerant, hawk, disrespectful of Vets, particularly this current generation of Veterans. In many ways he will be more destructive than Bush." And Sarah Palin? "Pistol packing, moose hunting, anti-choice, anti-women's issues, anti-environment, disrespectful, mean, power abusing, fundamentalist religious fanatic. She is Cheney and Bush in a dress. Need I continue?" Like the others interviewed, Karen described the idea of Palin as Commander in Chief as "frightening. It frightens me both for our country and our military. Her shoot from the hip attitude, lack of any depth of foreign policy experience or even curiosity ,and her heavy reliance on wisdom from God, rather than experts and empirical evidence, scares me." Karen has always voted, and so did her son, adding: "Because Ken felt voting was a responsibility and a privilege, he even voted from Iraq." And with so much on the line she's not just voting for Obama, she said, she's working to get him elected.

Gilda is a school teacher in Maryland. Like Karen, Gilda lost her only child in Iraq, in an explosion in Al Anbar province. Alex was 28, recently married, and on his second deployment; Gilda said when looking at photos of that second deployment she could clearly see "the sheer sense of responsibility that weighed on my son. He would not have gone if he'd had a choice but he knew he had a job to do and he was not going to shirk his responsibility." She recalls how much Alex loved to play the guitar, and how "he would gather his friends here at the house for jam sessions, and everyone would end up at our table for dinner afterward. Our house was often filled with the laughter and music of these childhood friends of my son." With heartbreaking candor, Gilda continues, "His father and I have not begun to cope with this void in our lives. It's been impossible to come anywhere close to accepting that he lies across the river buried in Arlington cemetery, and for reasons that we have not come to grips with." Gilda has channeled her grief and anger into this presidential campaign, with her major issues being, "the war in Iraq and benefits for Iraq Vets, and bringing our country back on the right course." Originally a Hillary Clinton supporter, she says Barack Obama "inspires me, his words make me think that in all this darkness we have lived, that in all this suffering we have experienced, there is a hope for the future of this country of ours." Obama, she continues, "would be able to lead the country out of the disaster of the last 8 years, the so-called 'Bush Doctrine,'" and Gilda's a strong supporter of his running mate, saying "Joe Biden could very well serve as President if need be. He strikes me as sincere and genuine, a man who has experienced tremendous personal loss who does not use it to make points, a man who has the empathy, intelligence and experience to fill in as President." With an obvious reference to Sarah Palin, Gilda added: "THAT is how a vp candidate has to be regarded." She calls the Palin selection "the most appalling, disingenuous political event I have ever witnessed in my life," adding, "I am in tremendous fear of someone as unreflective and plainly incompetent as Sarah Palin becoming our Commander in Chief."

But she had even harsher words for Palin's running mate. "What sort of character can a man possess who is willing to back pedal on so many important issues simply to fit the Republican party line and gain the office of president? Then there is the other nagging problem that this man is not fit to be president; a man with a fuse that can be blown with so little provocation has no business in the position of 'leader of the free world.' A man who would banter about bombing another country cannot ever be allowed in this position of such power. A man whose judgment in picking a vice presidential candidate solely for her ability to draw votes to his sagging popularity shows his incompetence as a leader, let alone anyone with military experience. It will be a dark day for our country if McCain is elected." Gilda lashed out at McCain's treatment of veterans: "McCain clearly is not a man of his word. Here is a veteran, a POW, who has voted against veterans benefits, cynically explaining that if you give them too many benefits they're going to leave the military. It is no mystery why so many military contributions go to Obama." Like the other families interviewed, Gilda's choice for president is influenced by her own loss. "For my family, this election has tremendous meaning. We lost our son, in essence, because the candidate that was chosen for us by the Supreme Court in 2000 was an incompetent."

Gilda added one last comment. "The American people are again faced with another opportunity to make their voices heard," she said. "Let us hope they reflect on whom they choose to lead the world."