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POPSHoliday Surge Report No thanks to skippy for this "turkey". I'm positive he's just re-gifting that crap that GWB was passing around last summer.
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POPSUS Army reiterates Waterboarding is prohibited "However, at Senate confirmation hearings last month, then-attorney general nominee Michael Mukasey repeatedly refused to say whether he considers waterboarding a form of torture, as claimed by an unlikely coalition of military officials, doctors and humans rights groups" Who listens to doctors anyway?
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POPSMentally ill soldiers being sent back to war Dr. Judith Herman is a psychiatrist who specializes in PTSD. She said she does not think it is safe to send a mentally ill soldier back to war. "Personally I'm appalled by the practice," Herman said. "I don't think it's safe for the individual soldier. I don't think it's safe for his unit either to send someone who is so impaired back into a situation of danger."
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POPSBlacks To The Military: "Hell No, We Won't Go!" Most African-Americans do not support the war in Iraq. Even when young black people want to join, the ask their families before signing on the dotted line. Their families are convincing them that they have other options. My own first-born is old enough to join and his step-father is in the Army and has been to Iraq 2x. We are both encouraging him to stay out of the military.
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POPSA tangled web we weave, when practice to deceive! How sad is this... Our mainstream news would probably spin this like a benevolent story of HELP for the families who are struggling to become American citizens in this wonderful land of opportunity and advantages for the few. But the truth of the matter is... THEY NEED MORE BOOTS TO CONTINUE THIS OUTRAGEOUS WAR IN THE HOPE TO SAVE FACE!! It's hard to believe, all the efforts to continue sending troops to Iraq are only to help this president's place in history because of a war that never should have been waged. A war of lies, no matter the spin, it seems this is the only truth. "Oh what a tangled web we weave, When first we practice to deceive!" - Sir Walter Scott Once again, how sad. thinkingblue.blogspot.com
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POPSMilitary Wife Contronts War Hawk on C-Span
I would like to add that I agree with what the caller said (you can read the transcript or watch the exchange at the link). I have to tell my friends to use the back door when they stop by, so I know if visitors are wanted or unwanted. My kids don't always remember to tell that to their friends or when the UPS man drops by, it freaks the hell out of me. My heart skips a beat wondering if it's THE visit. I sleep with a land phone and a cell phone right next to my head, so i can take his call, even at 3 in the morning (or in case the call is "bad news", then I don't have to worry about having missed the call). When I'm not home, a phone is on my person at all times...on the sink when I'm in the shower. If the phone rings at a peculiar hour, it freaks me out. If I don't get an email, at least once a week, it is "cause for concern". My kids are "clueless", I don't want them to worry. "Daddy is at work" is all they know...they even know where, but they don't know why.
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POPSTroop Extensions: CNN Opinion Page Read all the comments. Many are from actually soldiers or military family members and even vets. Some support the extension, others do not. It's just CNN, but it is an interesting "snap-shot" perspective on how some people feel about what is happening to our troops (and their families).
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POPSWas Bush Trying To Blame The Democrats For Military Extensions... ...Despite Pentagon Planning For Same For Well Over A Year? Read the whole article yourself. I have read on a few blogs, speculating, that the reason the leak happened was to avoid the chance for Bush to blame the Democrats for the extensions, but since he hasn't "yet" vetoed their Iraq spending bill, it is "too early" to blame them for hurting the troops, therefore this new extension falls squarely on the Administration, since no action by the Legislative Branch has yet been made law. A lot of military families are angry at the leaker...but what if the leak was a way for someone to "blow the whistle" on the Bush Admin, not just rile up the troops? Either way, it does smell fishy.
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POPSExtensions Don't Just Stretch The Army, They Stretch Families, Too!
This war is putting a strain on many military families and marriages. I seem to regularly hear about "another spousal suicide" in my neck of the woods...things that do not get reported in the msm, because it's one of those things that the military doesn't report because it would "harm the troops morale". A year ago, a woman across the street was found dead, her husband was in Iraq and he worked side by side with my husband. He "got to" come home...sadly. I hear about divorces on a regular basis, some families work it out, most don't. Who gets married to spend most of their marriage apart? I guess it follows the old adage that if the Army wanted you to have a family, they would have issued you one." I heard that a lot when I was pregnant and needed my husband home and we weren't even at war then! It's hard enough raising a child as a couple, it's even harder trying to raise normal, happy kids who know they have a daddy, but never get to see him.
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POPSAnother Casualty of War: 60,000 Military Marriages
(Read the full article) I have seen a lot of military marriages fall apart (due to actions on the part of both partners) and I have seen far too many divorces in my community. Not everyone can handle the stress of (continued) deployment. Honestly, I have a hard time with it, too. And, yes, my husband and I have gone through the turmoil of possible divorce. Though things are going a whole lot better for us now, there is no telling that we may not have to face that struggle again when having to go through yet another deployment. There are so many issues that go on that civilians do not understand and yet, the spouses are expected to go about the everyday as if everything is normal and not complain. Well-meaning people do not really want to hear how we "are doing"...they practice avoidance when spouses wish to be honest. It's even hardest for Reserve/Guard families-they live even farther away from military life. They need YOUR support almost more than active spouses.
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POPSIf Convicts Can Serve, Why Not Gay People? There are already gays serving, some "openly, but discreetly". There are far more who are totally forced to live a lie. Many "straight" soldiers know and don't care. With all the problems this country is having hiring recruits to fight the endless war on terror, it's way past time to get rid of the rules that bar openly gay Americans from serving in our Armed Services. When you are having to lift restrictions on weight, criminal and education history in order to increase your ranks, what is wrong with expanding the pool of candidates to homosexuals? Of course, with so many Americans being against the Iraq war, this probably won't make a whole lot of difference if it passes.
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POPSResults of an Army Times poll Some would have you believe that the number of military members who do not willingly support the war is a small minority. This poll verifies what I have been saying...the majority of the military no longer support Bush or the conflict in Iraq.