Well, we have tried “staying the course” in Iraq, continually killing civilians there to “free them from Saddam”, and that has gotten us nowhere.  Thank god the Democrats are there right now to “confound the administration in power, and to demand that the executive bend its knee to them”.

Clearly you are not familiar with the concept of checks and balances and do not realize that one of the main functions of the legislative branch to begin with is to check the power of the executive.

As for shadow governments—I do not think that term means what you think it does.  For a real example of a shadow government, please read this great Post piece about the *actual* shadow government that the Republicans recently setup:

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A20584-2002Feb28?language=printer

I’m sure you will ignore the article.  After all, you don’t have a problem with things like this when “your team” (the GOP) does it.  And after all, it is not from Fox News—I’m sure because it is from the mainstream (“liberal”) media, you will ignore it even when it contains statements from government insiders themselves.

I love how you imply that voting against the war in Iraq is somehow tantamount to treason, when continuing this ill-advised war is madness in the first place.  Even though no weapons of mass destruction have been found, which was the justification for this whole mess in the first place, you will demand no accountability because “your team” told the lies and made the mistakes.

This is what passes for thinking on the far right: Telling the truth about the facts of things is equal to betraying one’s country.

This war has been a disaster for America on a scale not seen since Vietnam, and somehow you have the audacity to defend it.

Here is a quote from Sen. John Warner (R-VA)  (Ranking Republican on the Armed Services Committee) “Young men and women in uniform should not be caught in the crossfire of a civil war started with who should have succeeded Muhammad in 650 A.D.“

Double standard much?  When a Republican speaks out against Iraq and tries to change course (like the Republicans that voted to withdraw troops), they’re called “misguided”.

When a Democrat does the same thing, it is “treason”.  Ken, you should really stick to saying non-partisan things related to the local community—when it comes to politics, it is clear that you are a nakedly partisan fascist.  This is not Franco’s Spain, and your version of the Nationalist fantasy that he espoused will not be allowed to take root here—this is America. 

We had six years where all three branches of government were firmly under Republican control and we have not seen “victory” in Iraq.  It has taken longer to “win” in Iraq than it took America to finish World War II.  There will be no victory, only continued bloodshed regardless of if we stay or go.  It is time to get out now, and start rebuilding America.

- Charles

P.S. - I *dare* you to publish this.

The surest proof that the education system in this country is irreparably broken is this opinion of Ken Odor!

Razor thin margin? The majority margin may be thin but the election was, what did Bush say, a real thumpin! The election was a statement made by the American People. That’s what elections are. And if you didn’t like 2006, well, 2008 is gona really get your knickers all up in a twist!
After they had to give up on the WMDs, which took Cheney three and a half years later than anyone else, even Bush, the Administration said Sadam was a bad man and he used chemical weapons on his own people. Yes but only in a military attack against insurgents. Yes he was no saint, but he kept Iraq stable and relatively for the masses. And based on what we are now seeing, that was no easy task. When you make claims to justify your position, you better be damn sure it fits. The Bush Administrations justifications keep changing.  We have killed thousands more Iraqis in numbers that the UN say have been kept down by the Iraqi Government and the US Military. 3-4 hundred thousand Iraqis dead by some estimates and millions more displaced in neighboring countries. The entire infrastructure destroyed, the electrical plants destroyed, the water treatment plants destroyed, all by the United States Military under orders!
The Republican Far Right or Moral Right???? This really is blaspheme! Religion in this country preaches fire and brimstone, Heaven and Hell and Jesus Christ. You must be saved, your life changed.  Until Monday morning when we all go back to work. Every human alive wonders how we can be Christians and over charge for goods or services! Yes, in the world of economics a business must make money to stay open and pay salaries, health insurance, and a dying benefit called Retirement.  Doesn’t matter, Protestant, Catholic, Jewish or Mormon, big business will make absolute false and misleading claims and sell completely useless products to the masses and never blink an eye. From advertising cigarettes and alcohol to kids to over charging for new cars based on education of the buyers. Anyone who can over charge will. For instance, even though the practice has been done away with in many states, local supermarkets have this member card that if you don’t have, will result in you paying more. It is unbelievable that one customer gets charged more for not having the card. Is that really the Christian thing to do? And certain local supermarkets advertise, Consistently Low Prices when they are the opposite! 

But the Republicans hang on to Trickle Down Economics. However, the only people getting richer are the upper management and CEO?s with insane bonuses often when being fired or during Bankruptcy of the company. Retirement accounts are becoming a thing of the past while all the real jobs; the good paying jobs are going overseas to cheap labor. And why, so upper management can show a better bottom line and get more bonuses and major stockholders can get richer, you know, the top one percent! Who cares if an American worker can?t make enough money to pay all his/her bills and has to drop health care just to house and feed the family.

My question is how can the, ?Far Right?, who says they live by the words of Jesus Christ, leave this country with no health care for 40 million people? Keep passing Tax breaks for the top one percent and let Social Security wane and cut Medicare by 25% last year alone and voted not to allow Medicare to shop drug prices! How do Christians do that? How does an Administration send our troops to war with the Army Health care system in shambles? And the VA Health Care System seriously broken after eight years of the Republican controlled Congress cutting their requested budgets deeply and not allowing them to catch up to Standard of Care! And then claim our troops have the, ?Best Medical Care?, available. How do you do that and claim you?re saved? The United States is ranked 14th in the world for supplying health care to all it?s people!

Even Hanover County just cut the School Budget to pay for tax breaks that will benefit the richer homeowners more than the poor. And even claimed it was all for the poor. Wow! I am sure we would all prefer a better education for our children.

Among adults age 25 to 34, the U.S. is ninth among industrialized nations in the share of its population that has at least a high school degree. In the same age group, the United States ranks seventh, with Belgium, in the share of people who hold a college degree.

By both measures, the United States was first in the world as recently as 20 years ago, said Barry McGaw, director of education for the Paris-based Organization for Cooperation and Development. More recently, the Bush Administration failed to fully fund it?s own initiative of Leave No Child Behind after campaigning on it in 2004!
And yet, most Republicans, not all, cling to the Bush Administrations Policies and the War. Lets look at this war.

9-11, we ground all Air Traffic for a week except for allowing 21 members of the Bin Laden family to fly out of the US and before any questioning by the FBI! Then we attack Afghanistan. Good! But we left Afghanistan to attack Iraq. We won?t even get into the report that Richard Clarke, (White house Anti Terrorism Chief), handed Condoleeza titled, ?Bin Laden Determined to Attack the United States with Commercial Jets?, in January before 9-11! Or that he reported that Bush asked him to find links between Al Qeada and Iraq! You just can?t make this stuff up! It is a matter of record!

We suspected but now know buy upper level CIA officers that George Tenant was working with Cheney and Bush to drum up evidence for attacking Iraq. These officers reported to CNN this past weekend that the Bush Administration Did not want the evidence that did not bolster the Administrations justification for attacking Iraq. In fact the evidence was the opposite, there was no actionable intelligence to tie Sadam with Al Qeada or WMD?s. And there was no evidence that Iraq was pursuing nuclear products in Africa, (The Valerie Plame scandal).  There absolutely was no justification to attack a country that had been under Weapons Inspections for 9 years.  But Bush did!

The entire infrastructure destroyed and since seven out of every eight reconstruction contracts have FAILED. Haliburton has been in litigation over several contracts that went unfinished and price fixing. Millions of Dollars simply lost! Billions lost on those failed contracts and still electricity and water has not been restored through all of Baghdad less alone the country. 3300 American Troops dead, thousands wounded and coming back to a failed Health Care system. Our War on Terrorism has increased World Terrorism by 30% last year alone! Must not be working. The Democrats don?t want to cut and run they want to redeploy some troops at the borders with Syria and Iran and let the rest come home. Iraq has to want to have peace and they will never have Democracy in a country with fanatical Religious Muslim Sects preaching holy war against each other.

We now find that the Iraqi Prime Minister, Nouri al-Maliki   is playing a leading role in the arrest and removal of senior Iraqi army and national police officers, some of whom had apparently worked too aggressively to combat violent Shiite militias, according to U.S. military officials in Baghdad!

Nothing about the surge or the War is working and numerous Generals and Politicians have told Bush that military force won?t get it done!

National debt the highest ever, Social Programs failing one after another and the Bush Administration wants to keep tax cuts for the wealthy 1%! And Ken Odor believes in all this and is blaming the Democrats for trying to stop Bush?s open check policy! Wow! Spend on, Haliburton and Exxon are having record profits!

Other than the record profits of Haliburton and Exxon, what is it that Republicans find good about this Administration? Really! There is nothing Bush has touched that he hasn?t corrupted or destroyed. Remember this is the same man who ran two perfectly good oil companies into the ground before family and Republican money bought him his Governorship in Texas.

I for one believe in the American People. This isn?t a Democrat verses a Republican thing! I have voted for the best candidate regardless of political affiliation. I believe that like the last election, good people will vote for the right thing no matter what their political registry says. More and more Americans are unwilling to claim either party because of the extremes in each. These members only clubs are becoming more of the problem and less of the process of fair government, Of the people, For the People, and By the people. The far right or the far left are unacceptable behaviors for most Americans. And the behavior in the White House is unacceptable. Bush isn?t King! This isn?t a monarchy. Those who cling to the failed policies of this Administration will go down with them. The election in 2006 was a message that the far right has gone to far, a mandate to bring the troops home! Recent polls show that 2/3rds of the American people oppose the war and wanted Bush to sign the Bill.  And it will continue in 2008 because the only other choice is the Democrats and the Republicans hanging with the President will be sent another message!

My wife and I have 35 years of Active Military Service between us. My wife spent some of the bloodiest days of the war, the attacks in Fallujah and then in Moseul, running the Med Lab at Balad Airbase Hospital fifteen miles north east of Baghdad. During the Fallujah attack, among her other duties, she and her troops drew, processed, and when time permitted, cross matched over three hundred units of blood for the surgical unit there. It took a while when she returned to understand the reaction she had when we heard Helicopters. Her Mental and physical reactions to this stimulus are shocking. It will take a long time for those to go away, but the memories never will.

It is easy for some to sit over here in air-conditioned offices and say they support the War in Iraq. But it is another thing to watch the lives of fine American soldiers slip away in the service of their country. It is our responsibility to make damn sure without a doubt that when we send them into harms way, it is absolutely necessary for our freedom! This War was and is not necessary!

Jack, it is absolutely necessary for this country to make mandatory a two year period of national service for every 18 year old in this country. It can be military, it can be in local VA hospitals, it can be in numerous areas of need in this country. It will instill a sense of nationalism and pride we just don?t have any more. It must be mandatory for all and I will guarantee after one generation of service, no one will make another blunder like the Congress when they believed Bush! And now you?re telling me the Iraqi government is taking two months off! I say we leave while they?re gone!

Ronald L. Noe of Mechanicsville, VA