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December 27, 2005

Hi. My name is Sarah. My husband was just recently deployed to Iraq. I found out a few days before he left that I was pregnant. I have had two miscarriages already. I can't go through this without him here. I have no family to help me through this.

I had to drive myself to the ER last night with very bad stomach cramps. I thought that I was having another miscarriage. Do you know what it is like to be at the ER all by yourself having to deal with that? Well, come to find out, I have some sort of an infection. I can't deal with all of this on my own. I need him back home to help me through this. For the past week I am barely able to get out of bed. I lay around crying all day. I dont eat. I can't sleep. My blood pressure is up. On top of all of this I have back problems and I am barely able to walk some mornings, much less get in my truck to drive anywhere.

But no one seems to care. I just want him home.

Sarah,
Fort Benning, GA

posted 28 december 2005

November 26, 2005

I have looked over the web-site Bring Them Home Now! I could not agree more. My father is retired military and now my husband is enlisted and currently serving in Iraq. I have a cousin in Iraq and his sister is about to be deployed as well.

So many young women like myself sat on Green Ramp the beginning of this week wondering if this would be the last time we would see our spouses alive. This is my husband's second tour to the Middle East. The duration of the military in the Middle East has brought serious questions on what are we gaining by the death of our service men and women? When are we as Americans going to learn we cannot solve the world's problems? What is it going to take for the government to see the impact this Iraq Freedom has on the husbands, wives, children, family, friends, and mainly the military personnel lost to this obscure quest for foreign freedom?

War means death for our men because we are the only ones trying to play by the Geneva Convention. There is only one rule to war: Kill or be Killed. I do not enjoy the thought of my husband having to make that choice or someone making it for him. How much longer are our men going to have to stay and make sacrifice for a nation that doesn't want us there. If this was revenge why are we suffering still?

Were the souls lost on September 11th not enough? Is our nation thirsty for more native blood spilling on foreign soil. I want my family home. I want my security maintained, but not at the cost we are paying while others thrive. Americans have our own nation to protect and maintain. We are not the guiding force on earth and we should stop pretending that we can take care of everyone else when we are fight the keep out heads above water back home.

I support bringing our men and women home. I don't care if fighting continues in the Middle East when did it become our right to patrol what everyone else is doing. The government needs to learn to take care of the security issues we have here on native soil, honor those lost, and mind our own business.

I am proud my husband is fighting for our land, but WHAT ARE WE FIGHTING FOR?

Army Wife

posted 21 december 2005

November 27, 2005

My boyfriend is almost home. Finally out of Iraq, but not yet in the States. I wish GW would realize his mistake and bring all the other soldiers home as well.

Sara

posted 14 december 2005

November 27, 2005

Dear BTHN

My boyfriend and brother are currently serving in Iraq. My brother in January will have a year out there. My boyfriend a year and a half--they have extended him. No concrete news on when they are coming back or how much longer they are out there for.

This is agonizing not just for them but for our family. We have faith in God !!! But we would like to know when our men are coming home!!!! How much longer are they to be put in harm's way? All in the name of an ilegal war based on lies!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Ercilia
New York City, NY

posted 10 december 2005

November 14, 2005

DEAR FELLOW PEACE LOVING CITIZENS;

I AM A VIETNAM VETERAN. ON VETS DAY, NOV 11, I BOUGHT ME A SIGN FOR $20 WHICH SAID, "STOP THE WAR NOW" ...with 3 exclamation points after now.

I went to the parade in my little home town and did my part to protest peacefully. I plan to send you a copy of my photo in the newspaper. I made page 2, not page 1. Page l is for war and flags, page 2 must be for peace??

Anyway I support your efforts and hope to send you guys some $$$ soon. I only make $8 per hour at the local factoryin northeast arkansas and at age 56 work until 2am in the morning, but i will send cash to help bring the troops home now.

I also sent a letter to the editor about the house bill before congress, #4232, which is the "2005 Stop The War In Iraq Act. " Please support this bill. What else can I do??? Hoping to hear from you soon.

PEACE,
VIETNAM VET, JAMES AKINS

posted 08 december 2005

November 24, 2005

This is my 2nd time going through a deployment. My husband is in the National Guard and he was in Bosnia and now Iraq. I am only 23 yrs. old and we have been married for 4 yrs. Out of that 4, we have only got to spend 2 yrs. maybe together due to the war.

I have about 8 friends with my husband who were at my house a lot before they left and we don't have any children. So I went from a house that always had 3 soldiers in it at night, talking and playing video games and eating at my house, to being alone and it's not fun for me. I am trying to fight depression along with getting over a surgery.

I just had luck--he got to come home and stay a week with me for that, but I am ready for my husband and the rest of the soldiers to come home for good. I don't think I will be able to last the rest of the deployment without losing my mind. I still have about 10 months left to go, and he has been gone since March. This is hard for all the wives and families, SO PLEASE BRING THEM HOME. NOW!

Candis

posted 06 december 2005

November 17, 2005

My husband has been in Iraq for more then 2 months while President Bush is doing nothing. I don't understand why he just can't face us and tell the truth, when all he does is lie. Clinton has been a better president then he has. All we want is the honest truth !

Why won't he bring them home? What is he afraid of? It's not him over there wondering whether he will die or live the next day. All we want is for our men and women to come home safe. We don't need more loved ones left behind over there. Please, President Bush, just bring them home!

A Loved On

posted 23 november 2005

November 12, 2005

On Friday, November 4, 2005, my good friend's nephew, Timothy Brown, was killed in the line of duty in Iraq. He was only 23 years old and served in the National Guard. Although I did not know Timmy (as he was called) personally, I knew of him. His Aunt often shared his e-mails and pictures with us and I kept him in my daily prayers. I thought of Timmy often but my heart went out to his mother who had such a hard time coping with Timmy being deployed to Iraq. Being a military mom as well, I understood all too well what it felt like to have a son in the military and stationed overseas (although my son was not stationed in Iraq). On November 4th, upon returning home from a walk with her daughter, his mother was greeted by military personnel and in that one moment, her life was shattered forever. Not only was Timmy's life destroyed, his family was destroyed as well. He left behind grandparents, a sister, aunts, uncles, cousins, a nephew he never got to see, and many others. There will forever be a void in all of their hearts. They will mourn his loss forever. On every holiday, every birthday, every wedding, every birth....... he will be missed.

We can now multiply this family scenario by over 2000 and see what we have allowed to happen in this country. How many families are we going to destroy before we stop the insanity? How many mothers are we going to allow to feel this indescribable heartbreak?

When these young men and women signed up for the military they were promised NEVER to be sent into harms' way unless our liberties and freedom were at stake. This was never the case in Iraq. We as a nation have failed these men and women, as well as their families. It is time for us to demand the truth from our government and to bring the soldiers home before another mother or father's heart is forever broken. It is time for George W. Bush and his 'base' to be held accountable for the lies he has told and is still telling, as well as for the atrocities he has committed while holding office. It is time for every single American to stand up and say 'enough is enough' and demand accountability for every single soldier killed in Iraq! It is past time.

Lisa Gillett
Greenville, MI

posted 19 november 2005

November 10, 2005

I cannot say how much I am in pain right now. My best friend just got shipped off to Iraq and I am mad about that. I understand that we need people over there to help, but what worries and makes me mad is all of the high numbers of troops being killed. I think that it's ridiculous and that the toops should be able to come home.

If things haven't gotten better already with the time that they've been over there, it's not going to get better. I wish that Bush would realize that the matter isn't helping and send our troops home. I will not be satisfied with any accomplishment that they say is being done until my best friend Albert returns home.

So all I have to say about this situation is that it needs to be over soon, because he's only 21 and he has his whole life ahead of him along with friends and family that care about him, and none of us will be satisfied until he returns home safely and in good health like he left. So the only thing that I have to say is that I am furious and this war needs to be over NOW!

Crystal Malon
Akron, OH

posted 17 november 2005

November 5, 2005

Thank you for your website and posting articles, letters and testimonies to the truth. I am the father of two sons who both served in the Afghanistan and Iraqi wars. My oldest son was a Special Forces Ranger, serving a year in Afghanistan, and three months handling body bags and preparing them for shipping to the US, from Iraq. My second son also served with distinction with the Marine Corp on the outskirts of Fallujah.

I am sickened and furious by the continued idiocy of many Americans who continue to believe the lies of our government. My oldest son refused to torture and kill civilians for information about Taliban leaders, as ordered by his commanding officers in Afghanistan. He suffered the result of this refusal, and I am grateful that he is still alive and out of the Army. My second son fought bravely in Iraq and feels that he was able to do some good for the Iraqi people. I am proud of both of my sons.

I pray daily that the American people take to the streets, and by voting, force our government, the Bush Adminstration and Congress to stop this insanity and bring the troops home now. A friend of mine wore an appropriate button on his shirt. It was an American flag and it read, "Could be prouder." My friend is a Marine Corp vet who served in Viet Nam. There is no illusion of what is happening. What is an illusion is the number of American citizens who continue to believe such a lie. Thank you for your website. I read it weekly for encouragement, and to pray for the families who write of their situations regarding their loved ones in the military.

Peter,
OR

posted 09 november 2005

October 28, 2005

A letter I sent to the Senate:

Dear Senators,

How many times have we heard this--or experienced it ourselves--to realize the very agency which is chartered to act in our, the Veterans, best interests are not quite up to the task or do not have their heart in it by any means. Let's face it --the VA is a government corporation with the bottom line being the almighty dollar which usually translates to Their well-being as feds and not the people --the Vets-- their [in]decisions/foul-ups/tardiness/attitudes affect. We will probably never know how many of us Veterans, have passed on while some VA "adjudicator", "DRO" [decision review officer], "appeals judge", functionary, etc. sat back secure in the knowledge their livelihood and retirement [continued feeding from the corporate trough] would be secure if only a couple more Vets would die or throw in the towel after years of literally fighting for their rights as defined by Congress.

And now we have to compete with the "war on terror", natural disasters, tax breaks for those that need more money the least, and a reckless, feckless and uncaring excuse for an administration that has the nation virtually on the edge of bankruptcy for funding which affect every nuance of VA operations from year to year if not day to day [and just why is it the Veterans 'budget' is always subject to reviews, cuts, etc. every year, anyway?!].

In closing, if the Senate and House are going to continue to kowtow to the alleged leaders of this country, then put into law the fact that as a Veteran new enlistees have no guarantees the government will live up to their promises!

As an American Indian Vet from Oklahoma and its version of veterans advocates, I have experienced this first-hand. It was not until I migrated to West Virginia that anything positive ever became of twenty-years of attempting to receive benefits which includes eleven years of trying to get my Medical Records while the VA steadfastly denied an injury I described in my claims ever occurred, basically calling me a LIAR, and then backtracked after Senator Rockefeller and a respected WV orthopedic surgeon entered the picture.

I had to go to an outside [medical] source to make any headway at all with my claims for treatment and compensation while VA doctors were largely sympathetic, but with their hands tied by corporate ideology, nothing ever got past the pill-pushing stage. I could not even get a Handicapped parking sticker through the VA as their doctors are not allowed to dispense such recommendations to Veterans who in turn must seek out a civilian practitioner for such. Instances like my experiences and in a Knight Ridder News investigation and article are what Veterans must deal with on an on-going basis in dealing with the VA with no end in sight as yet and with a whole new crop of Vets coming up to further test the "system."

Thank you for being an influential in Veterans Affairs, but please see to it there are positive changes made ASAP before too many more of us die without getting any satisfaction, and with our last breath cursing the people and government who failed to live up to their promises.

Jess Paul Toomey

posted 07 november 2005

November 5, 2005

My name is Jenny and I am living in IL. My fiance is in Kuwait. He served in Iraq and was injured by a gun shot. He's fighting to get out of this mess and no one cares to listen to him.

I don't see why the families have to suffer so much anymore. I know my fiance cries at night because he misses being home. It's not right to make all these families suffer. I pray every night and day to bring all the troops home. No one else needs to die.

Jenny

posted 05 november 2005

October 25, 2005

Why not contact senators and congressmen and news agencies with the following idea: Insist on a referendum type question on the ballots for election of the new Iraqui government in December such as; "When should the American army depart Iraq?" and let the people of Iraq decide since presumably they are the ones we are dying for over there?

Harry Johnson

posted 27 october 2005

October 20, 2005

George Bush is in Los Angeles for a political fund raiser.....Our soldiers are in Iraq and Afganistan.

Tomorrow President Bush will come out this way to the Reagan Library in Simi Valley, CA...riding in like an emperor with freeway and road closures...tomorrow our soldiers will still be in Aganistan and Iraq...

signed:

Andy Levinson
Thousand Oaks, CA

posted 25 october 2005

October 18, 2005

My name is Micah Rosen-Wolfe and I am what they consider a Gulf War Vet despite the fact that I never stepped foot over there. My time in service was from 14 Feb 1995 through 18 July 1998. Having been in the service during that time "qualifies" me as a Gulf War Vet. If that is the case, then why did Bush make a big deal about getting permision to go to war when his daddy already declared it 10 years before? With that in mind, we have been at war with Iraq since 1990. That makes the war in Iraq almost 16 years long. If they are more than willing to lie to us about how long the war is, then what else are they willing to lie about?

One more line of thought. Freedom is not free. We do need a standing military ready and willing to fight, but they must be used properly. We have freedom because we ARE WILLING to fight and die for it. The Iraqi people on the other hand are not willing to fight and die for their own freedom, and until they are willing to do that, no matter how hard we try, we CANNOT give them freedom. Sad to say, but it is true, and until our leaders grasp that simple truth, they will continue to grind our kids up in that Iraqi meat grinder.

Micah Rosen-Wolfe
(Disabled Veteran)

posted 21 october 2005

October 17, 2005

I will be against this war and any other war until every politician who has military age children, or grandchildren enter the military and serve in a war zone.

Lois Fox

posted 18 october 2005

October 10, 2005

My son is actively serving in the Army, in Iraq. He served his three years that he signed up for and has been extended thanks to the Stop Loss policy. This is his second time being in Iraq, this time going on one year.

All is not what it seems in Iraq. Most of the media attention goes to the ones serving on the front lines, but lately - hardly any attention because of the hurricanes. God bless those that risk their lives every day and thank God that my loved one doesn't risk his life daily (not yet...). He says that they are forgotten and no one cares what happens to them. I didn't want to believe that statement for the longest time, but seeing/hearing him mentally deteriorate has made me a believer.

Since he turned down their re-enlistment requests, he is living a miserable exsistance daily thanks to a few of his higher ups. At this point, it's certain that his basic human rights are being violated as we speak. For fear of retaliation on him, I won't say much more, other than I always try to hope for the best, but lately am expecting the worst. It's bad enough that our American loved ones are in Iraq at all, but it is shameful and disgusting that they are subject to harrassment and danger just because they don't want to re-enlist.

Another thing facing some soldiers is lack of proper medical care. They are regarded as mentally weak if they try to seek help and are talked out of getting counseling. They are called names and given labels for wanting to seek help and are ostracized for their religious beliefs.

I know he is not alone in this, there are others going through the same torment every day. Some are afraid to speak out, fearing that their futures and veteran's benefits will be affected. They live day to day keeping quiet and minding their business, not wanting to rock the boat. Some are on the edge of a serious breakdown, they might hurt someone or themselves. It is like a nightmare that they can't wake up from: verbal abuse, sleep deprivation, overwork, dangerous missions.

How do you convince someone serving in Iraq NOT to do the wrong thing? I am the mother, father, sister, brother, aunt, uncle, and friend of a soldier in need of assistance in Iraq. Unless we "Bring Them Home Now", how much more needless suffering will our loved ones have to endure?

I have never felt so helpless in all of my life.

PLEASE Bring Them Home Now.

A distraught family member of a Soldier,
PA

posted 12 october 2005

October 7, 2005

I agree it has been too long! My daughter just turned 22 on the 30th of September. She has spent a year in Korea and a year in Iraq and is due to back to Iraq for another year in July.

I do not want her to go again. It was the worst year of my life. I worried myself sick for her and all our troops. Why are we still there? We got Saddam out of there--let them work it out now themselves. They want to live the way they want to live. What right does Bush have to tell a country how they should live? Bush has our children, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters in the war zone for greed.

I support all the troops, God bless them all. Bring them home now!

A MOM of a wonderful daughter and soldier

posted 08 october 2005

September 5, 2005

Facing recruiting shortages brought on by the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Army has decided to accept a greater number of recruits who score near the bottom of military aptitude tests.

Wow...I'm 58 years old, dumb as a brick...I might qualify to be used as a target...life doesn't get any better than life in Amerika.

JC,
Veteran,
Brunswick, Maine

posted 07 october 2005

October 2, 2005

I AM 15 AND I HAVE SO MANY FAMILY MEMBERS THERE!!!! I THINK THE PRESIDENT SHOULD JUST BRING OUR TROOPS HOME. IRAQ DOESN'T WANT OUR HELP!!!!!! THEY DON'T CARE THAT WE KEEP LOSING OUR MEN AND WOMEN!!!! THAT MONEY BEING SENT OVER TO IRAQ COULD JUST AS WELL BEEN SPENT ON THE SCHOOLS IN THE U.S. I AM DOING A REPORT FOR A CLASS ON BRING OUR TROOPS HOME!!!!!

Melissa Espinoza
Bend, OR

posted 06 october 2005

September 25, 2005

Here are a few pictures from the DC rally Sept. 24th. Since I heard that the news was not showing any views from the air, I tried my best (from the ground) to show the crowds. I have some more, and I have larger (higher quality) files of these photos. If you want the larger, higher quality ones, give a holler... I'd be glad to share them with you!

What's your estimate of the attendees? All I've heard in the main media is a passing mention of 100,000. I don't believe it.

Keep up the GREAT work -

Charlie Hurst

posted 04 october 2005

September 26, 2005

See the tears we cry, for a war of lies...

I support you and your efforts. As a younger citizen, I am not recognized to make a strong opinion. However, it is nice to know that there are groups out there that represent me.

Kathryn Kennedy, 14

posted 02 october 2005

September 25, 2005

We need to bring the troops home now not twenty or ten or five yrs from now. This is not going anywhere and why get into a gridlock that will not produce positive results? Crazy is when the president is too prideful (with the lives of our troops).

Let's take what we have lost or won and cut our loses. We are not doing our troops or Americans any good. It was a contrived deal anyway, I think, and now we are paying for someone else's game with Bright Red Blood of our Honorable Men and Women. This is and has been a sham from day one, I believe, and I also think most, if they are honest, have got to concede to rational that we are in the wrong place at the wrong time .

Folks, this is a disgrace and will end up like Viet Nam and will turn into a thing for politicians to use for campaign speeches in order to side step issues that we should be considering. Since this war game should have already been behind us, we will be laging behind and not moving forward 'til this issue is resolved by a full pullout of our troops now!!!!

Geo R. Sands

posted 01 october 2005

September 16, 2005

Dear American Friends

I am a Canadian and as such, I suppose, I do not have the right to express an opinion about the politics of the American President, George Bush. However, as I watched Cindy Sheehan being dragged off by Bush's goons only because she, with so many of us, have openly declared that the war in Iraq is the result of lies and the stupidity of George Bush and Tony Blair, I know I have a right to speak out, too.

How many body bags does it take for the American people to wake up and tell George Bush that he is evil and stupid? As we have seen over the past month, Bush needs a jolt just to respond to the disaster from Hurricane Katrina before he reacts in sympathy and concern. What kind of President do you have? Although my ancestors were driven out of the 13 Colonies struggling to find safety in Canada, I still have relatives in Texas and Oklahoma and we have many, many dear friends who are American citizens. But I do not envy them. One thing I am so glad is that I and my family are not Americans.

My family supports courageous people like Cindy Sheehan. I pray that this evening she will be kept safe and treated with respect and dignity.

End the War in Iraq. Get rid of Bush. You got rid of Nixon and it is time to get rid of this evil presence in the White House. Americans have been called to heal the world, not destroy it.

James Jackson

posted 28 september 2005

September 20, 2005

The name Sheehan in its original Gaelic is spelled SÍOCHÁIN (with a "fada", or accent, over the first I and the A.)

The best part is that SÍOCHÁIN translates to PEACE.

Don't know if Cindy is aware of this. Couldn't find an e-mail address for her, so thought I'd get the WORD out via you lads.

Hope to be there one day of this great weekend! Keep up the good work!

Slan agus beannacht,

Luisa,
aka Pangur Ba

posted 22 september 2005

September 20, 2005

Not many people in the US know that since the Georgia Army National Guard has been in Iraq how many people we have lost. We lost 8 guys in a week, from the same company (B Co. of 2/121 Infantry). Both incidents were Humvee's blown into pieces by large IEDs south of the Airport, near Baghdad. Then we lost some engineers attached to 2/121 (B or A).... same area! They were hit by a suicide vehicle loaded with explosives.

The first attacks were brutal, the men were in chunks, and my friends responded and helped pick up the pieces. Do Americans know what this is over here? It's not a f*** movie, have they ever seen a body blown apart like I have - most, No. Don't they realize many of us are not coming home. Go read the www.ajc.com articles, many are still thinking we are dying for a just cause - and we are not. We are driving around these backroad farm villages being ambushed by IEDs and accomplishing nothing.

A Troop

posted 21 september 2005

September 14, 2005

The following "joke" was taken from an Army Family Readiness Group (FRG) meeting power point presentation. In no way is it funny.

My husband is currently in Iraq . I am out raged my his treatment by the army and by the army's indifference to "family".

I think that the world should know what really happens behind the walls of army bases.

Jennifer Davis
Anchorage, Alaska

1. Sleep on a cot in the garage.
2. Replace the garage door with a curtain.
3. Three hours after you go to sleep, have your wife or girlfriend whip open the
curtain, shine a flashlight in your eyes and mumble, "Sorry, wrong cot."
4. Renovate your bathroom. Hang a green plastic sheet down from the middle of your bathtub and move the shower-head down to chest level. Keep four inches of soapy cold water on the floor. Stop cleaning the toilet and pee everywhere but in the toilet itself. Leave two to three sheets of toilet paper. Or for best effect, remove it altogether. For a more realistic deployed bathroom experience, stop using your bathroom and use a neighbor's.
Choose a neighbor who lives at least a quarter mile away.
5. When you take showers, wear flip-flops and keep the lights off.
6. Every time there is a thunderstorm, go sit in a wobbly rocking chair and dump dirt on your head.
7. Put lube oil in your humidifier instead of water and set it on "HIGH" for that tactical generator smell.
8. Don't watch TV except for movies in the middle of the night. Have your family vote on which movie to watch and then show a different one.
9. Leave a lawnmower running in your living room 24 hours a day for proper noise level.
10. Have the paperboy give you a haircut.
11. Once a week, blow compressed air up through your chimney making sure the wind carries the soot across and on to your neighbor's house. Laugh at him when he curses you.
12. Buy a trash compactor and only use it once a week. Store up garbage in the other side of your bathtub.
13. Set your alarm clock to go off at random times during the night. When it goes off, jump out of bed and get to the shower as fast as you can. Simulate there is no hot water by running out into your yard and breaking out the garden hose.
14. Once a month, take every major appliance completely apart and put it back together again.
15. Use 18 scoops of coffee per pot and allow it to sit for five or six hours before drinking.
16. Invite at least 185 people you don't really like because of their strange hygiene habits to come and visit for a couple of months. Exchange clothes with them.
17. Have a fluorescent lamp installed on the bottom of your coffee table and lie under it to read books.
18. Raise the thresholds and lower the top sills of your front and back doors so that you either trip over the threshold or hit your head on the sill every time you pass through one of them.
19. Keep a roll of toilet paper on your night stand and bring it to the bathroom with you. And bring your gun and a flashlight.
20. Go to the bathroom when you just have to pass gas, "just in case." Every time.
21. Announce to your family that they have mail, have them report to you as you stand outside your open garage door after supper and then say, "Sorry, it's for the other Smith."
22. Wash only 15 items of laundry per week. Roll up the semi-wet clean clothes in a ball. Place them in a cloth sack in the corner of the garage where the cat pees. After a week, unroll them and without ironing or removing the mildew, proudly wear them to professional meetings and family gatherings. Pretend you don't know what you look or smell like. Enthusiastically repeat the process for another week.
23. Go to the worst crime-infested place you can find, go heavily armed, wearing a flak jacket and a Kevlar helmet. Set up shop in a tent in a vacant lot. Announce to the residents that you are there to help them.
24. Eat a single M&M every Sunday and convince yourself it's for Malaria.
25. Demand each family member be limited to 10 minutes per week for a morale phone call. Enforce this with your teenage daughter.
26. Shoot a few bullet holes in the walls of your home for proper ambiance.
27. Sandbag the floor of your car to protect from mine blasts and fragmentation.
28. While traveling down roads in your car, stop at each overpass and culvert and inspect them for remotely detonated explosives before proceeding.
29. Fire off 50 cherry bombs simultaneously in your driveway at 3:00 a.m. When startled neighbors appear, tell them all is well, you are just registering mortars. Tell them plastic will make an acceptable substitute for their shattered windows.
30. Drink your milk and sodas warm.
31. Spread gravel throughout your house and yard.
32. Make your children clear their Super Soakers in a clearing barrel you placed outside the front door before they come in
33. Make your family dig a survivability position with overhead cover in the back yard. Complain that the 4x4s are not 8 inches on center and make them rebuild it.
34. When your 5-year-old asks for a stick of gum, have him find the exact stick and flavor he wants on the Internet and print out the web page. Type up an 1149 and staple the web page to the back.
Submit the paperwork to your spouse for processing. After two weeks, give your son the gum.
35. Wait for the hottest day of the year and announce to your family that there will be no air conditioning that day so you can perform much needed maintenance on the air conditioner. Tell them you are doing this so they won't get hot.
PS: This is meant to be funny.

posted 16 september 2005

September 4, 2005

Here's a column I wrote that ran in today's Chapel Hill News.  I'm a former liaison officer with 2nd Anglico at Camp Lejeune:

A million miles

According to MapQuest, the distance between Jacksonville, North Carolina, and Chapel Hill is only 145 miles. When I drove home from the beach this summer, it seemed more like a million.

In Jacksonville, United States Marines rule the flat landscape like a swarm of killer bees. Hard men with tight haircuts, spreading democracy through brute force. Here in the southern part of heaven, Grandmas and Greens run the hilly streets, worried more about the stock market and stormwater.

The entrance to Camp Lejeune spans a manicured mile of military might, camouflaged utilities and machine guns guarding the gate. McCorkle Place at UNC offers a Carolina-blue welcome to people armed with laptops. Silent Sam alone stands watch.

To buy a car in Jacksonville, you go to Marine Motors and Semper Fi Sales. In Chapel Hill, it's Crown and Performance.

University communities serve by seeking knowledge. Military communities by patriotic duty. One depends on critical thinking. The other on allegiance. Neither is sufficient.

American flags and yellow ribbons adorn the streets of Jacksonville today, while young Marine families scrape and scramble to make ends meet. With too many parents coming home in coffins, the grim scent of grief carries heavy on the wind. A million miles away in Chapel Hill, words fail to make sense of their deaths.

But another breeze is stirring on the coastal plain this summer, fanning reluctant flames of doubt. About the war. About the commander in chief. Marines may be fighters, but they are not chumps. They come angry to the truth: their friends in Iraq are dying for a lie.

Whatever their misgivings, Marines will do what they are told. They are not like us civilians. They are not allowed to question. I was stationed at Camp Lejeune for two years. I know they will do their jobs. No matter how insane the war. No matter how lost the cause. To serve is their sworn duty.

James Protzman
Chapel Hill, NC

posted 15 september 2005

September 11, 2005

Honestly, in my opinion I think this war was worthless and stupid. Send our loved ones over there to fight for something that does not make sense to me at all. The Iraqi people I think can handle themselves. They don't need our loved ones to help them . I don't even think they want us there.

I think the president has no clue on what he is doing and he is too scared to admit it. This war is dumb and I hate the president and everyone who agrees with him on this dumb-ass war. I want the father of my children and all his fellow soldiers home A S A P , but this is not going to happen b/c the priesident does not give a damn what we think

Stephanie

posted 14 september 2005

September 11, 2005

Today is the first time I have been on this website. I have just read Veronica Mena's post about her son wanting to enlist in the Army at the age of 18. Veronica, please do all you can to stop him. Bush can only continue this madness as long as he can continue to dupe and bribe young people to continue enlisting.

This war is not one of self-defense, which would be the only morally correct war to fight. Even if your son makes it back home physically unscathed after several tours, his heart and soul will never be the same. He would be better off delivering pizzas for a couple of years until we bring the troops home.

Good Luck and God Bless,    
a disabled Viet Nam veteran

posted 13 september 2005

August 31, 2005

Help! I am the mother of an 18-year-old young man. The military has had him, and his fellow high schoolers, in their sights since they were juniors. We live in a small lower-middle class town with a large number of teenagers. These kids have been targets of military enlisters ruthlessly. My son took a test for the military without my knowledge when he was 17. He scored very well , but I had not given my permission for my son to enlist. Nor will I ever, (at least not under this administration).

I told a recruiter, myself, when he called my house that my son would not be enlisting and to please take my son off his list, and do not meet with him again at school. This request was not respected! My son has since graduated. He is finding a hard time finding his way so soon out of school. As most teenagers, they are looking for what they think might be an easy way to college, housing, and skills.

I was shocked, and scared to death when he came home one night, sat down with me and revealed that he had again been approached by a recruiter. But this time he agreed to enlist. I tearfully tried to explain where an 18-year-old, with a minor charge on his criminal record, & 1/2 hispanic, as he is, would end on the military food chain. Eventually, in the heat of the lines in iraq. "No, Mom" he said, "this is the army, not the marines".

"The recruiter told me I'd never go to Iraq, it's gonna be about learning to do a skill," he said. "I'll get paid really good, and everything will be taken care of for me. Then I can go to college when I get out, and paid for. I won't be killed, and I won't ever have to kill either. He promised me, Mom. "

He still hasn't signed, but I think I'm losing this argument with him. These recruiters have a way of making the truth lies, and lies the truth. They make these kids believe they are gonna be completely safe, that they will not be the ones deployed, but always someone else. Through the "No Child Left Behind Act," it is mandatory for HS to let recruiters onto campus, with free rein. They hunt down the marginal kids that are from poorer backgrounds who don't have the financial means to go directly to college. They make it sound like a valid exchange, since they can't afford other education.

We all know, right now it's not about education, it's not about offering anything to these soldiers, it's about using them as disposable pawns. But try to explain this to any teenager. They hear exactly what they think they want to hear. When some knight in shining armor comes running in dressed in camouflage they will buy whatever it is they're selling.

I need some advice from some moms who have been in my shoes, what do you do when your loving, gentle, beloved son wants to inject himself into a system that is flawed, dishonest, and will inevitably treat him as disposable? Any advice to stop him from enlisting is greatly needed. I feel he will before long end up as another casualty of this improper administration. I love my country, and what it used to stand for. This war needs to end and we need to heal as a people, bring our pride back, this president out, and then I will reconsider whether I agree with my son enlisting in the Army.

Mom needs help,

Veronica Mena
King, NC

posted 08 september 2005

September 6, 2005

Dear Friends,

Our 6 days of vigils at the National Guard armory in Teaneck were very encouraging. Military families, veterans, anti-war activists, and others spread out around the corner with our signs: No more war for oil, President Bush - meet with Cindy, Support our Troops - Bring them Home Now, Honk if you want the troops home now, Honk for Peace. When the traffic lights changed, there were so many cars, trucks, buses, and motorcycles honking their horns. Sometimes there was just solid honking from all around. Bicyclists even said, "Honk, honk," as they rode by. People from nearby apartments, passersby, and people getting off buses joined us. It was truly amazing! This is the impact of the courageous Cindy Sheehan!

On Wednesday, we had more signs, and there was more talk about bringing the National Guard home NOW. Passersby were also quite angry about the illegal misuse of the National Guard to fight in Iraq.

People in the vigil wanted to continue. So, we will have a vigil every Wednesday in September. Hope to see you there.

Sincerely,

Paula Rogovin
Teaneck, NJ

posted 07 september 2005

September 5, 2005

Oh yeah, it's definitely Vietnam all over again. Another long, drawn-out third world ass-whooping is imminent--just like Vietnam. At this stage, circumstances far exceed my personal minimum requirements for meeting the definition of quagmire. You'd have to be toes and tits up not to see that other than the obvious differences tied to climate and culture, we're bogged down in the bush again as a country, and I'm pretty sure our chances of rectifying the situation vanished when we got Bush back for another four years in 2004.

That ridiculous, bag-of-"political capital"-goes-to-the-finisher election sealed it for us. The best anyone can hope for now is for Donald RumsFAILED to un-ass our troops from the AO quickly in order to save lives --American, Iraqi, and yes, any "Coalition of the BILLING" members willing to forgo their remaining claim on our healthcare benefits, social security dollars and Gulf Coast "Act of God" insurance claim prevention funding. Oh sure, the pool-side pundits of the White House (West) and the Executive Branch executioners will continue claiming we must stay the CURSE and remain in the Muslim Mekong Delta since it's the central front in the G.W.O.T. (Global War on our own Troops).

They have to. Politically, they've gotta go for the Oscar. Award night (mid-term election in 2006) is right around the corner, and it looks like the house is going to be packed. "We love you, we really love you", already --Now get us out of here! Don't kid your collective selves. The second battle for Fallujah in November of 2004 was nothing more than a high tech "zippo raid", and Ramadan is Tet. The only notable differences between the two quagmires is our current lack of a draft, which is about the only thing we should be "staying the course" on, and the fact that we haven't had a President resign in the midst of this war. When in God's name will that bit of history repeat itself?

OIF Veteran
axisofasses@yahoo.com

posted 06 september 2005

September 5, 2005

My cousin is in Iraq with the 1-155th Infantry Battalion of the Mississippi National Guard.

The majority of them are from the Mississippi Gulf Coast and are desperate for news of their families and friends. His father, who lives in Mississippi, has tried unsuccessfully to contact national news organizations, including the Jackson, MS Clarion-Ledger, to publicize their plight as a human interest story in order to spur some action toward getting those men home. The members of the Louisiana National Guard and the Mississippi National Guard must perform their mission in Iraq while under the stress of having little to no news of their home states, which makes for an even more dangerous situation for them.

Please write something about them and get the message out that they want to come home and help their families, friends and communities.

Sincerely,

VS
Austin, TX

[Media people interested in this story should contact BTHN! ]

posted 05 september 2005

September 2, 2005

Isn't it time to bring our soldiers home and put them to work rebuilding our own Gulf Coast? Why aren't we up in arms to get our American children back here to rebuild America?

My boy is at Ft. Campbell, KY

Abby Kramer Mayou
Longmeadow, MA

posted 04 september 2005

September 2, 2005

Maybe you can get a note off to Washington.

How about bringing at least half of our troops home to help OUR OWN.

Although devastating, imagine the pride and joy they would get from helping our own citizens.

Thanks,

Jon Dudley
Zanesville, OH

posted 04 september 2005

August 25, 2005

I am surprised no one, as far as I know, has pulled out and rubbed into a few presidential and prime ministerial noses the Potsdam Declaration which in its paragraph six states that:

There must be eliminated for all time the authority and influence of those who have deceived and misled the people of Japan into embarking on world conquest, for we insist that a new order of peace, security and justice will be impossible until irresponsible militarism is driven from the world.

If this still applies today then it makes a strong case for leaders such as Bush, Blair and our own little Johnnie to be somehow eliminated for all time.

Paul Nyssen
Sydney, Australia

posted 01 september 2005

August 30, 2005

I wrote "Bring Them Home" on my front porch 1 year ago, but you are told you are unAmerican. George W. is unAmerican. He has sold our country down the tubes with every nation in the world. What a help our National Guard would be in the southern states today. National Guard was formed for USA--not to send democracy, where it isn't wanted.

We seemed to lose more of our freedoms everyday with George W's programs. So nice he can vacation, many don't have a job to take a vacation from. The gas situation is the tip of the iceberg. Who is going to stand up for us? Our children and grandchildren deserve better than this and our military should be treated with the greatest of dignity. I would hope that would mean every medical type of care they need.

Sincerely,

Dolores Barnes
Arlington, OH

posted 01 september 2005

August 15, 2005

Hello BTHN,

I read your pages and was excited to see the work that you are doing to "Bring Them Home Now!" You asked about what others might be doing to "spread the message from Cindy." Well, I am a quilt artist and I am designing a peace quilt. This will be a piece for artist expression and not something that will be sold or auctioned. I would love to have some pictures of Cindy Sheehan and Casey to put on my quilt. I would also like to use quotes from her blog (which I read every day).

I have felt alone in my work and desire to fight for peace. That is why I started designing this quilt. I am so energized by Cindy and I know now it will be easier for me to complete my quilt. The momentum is growing. (Remember the Aids quilts?) If you have any input let me know I am still designing and deciding the layout. Thanks.

Mena Mudd
[Other quilt makers can contact mena at menamudd@excite.com]

posted 31 august 2005

August 19, 2005

My name is Joy Winters. I'm a single parent; my children are Hannah, age 19, and Daniel, age 14. Their father, my ex, is paying support and does help with college for Hannah. I have a "good job." The reason I tell you this is because I am only sending $25 and feel really bad I cannot give more. Both Hannah and Daniel gave me $5 of their own money to send because they feel as strongly about your cause as I do.

We cannot give more because what little extra we had now goes for gas. It would be ironic if it weren't so pathetic. I am trying to spread your word now that I found you. I was so impressed with Cindy that I followed up on her story and that's where I finally found a place to do something. Anything. I want our soldiers home. I have since the beginning. I have been angry and frustrated by the media, including our "liberal" media. We should never have gone in. We need to leave now! No more blood.

Please forgive my typos. My check is in the mail today. You have our hearts and souls.

Thank you for your work. I hope to be able to do more in the future.

Joy Ann Winters
Lock Haven, PA

posted 31 august 2005

August 27, 2005

My step-brother Jan is undocumented right now. My mom remarried and her husband gained his citizenship recently, but his two sons were adults who couldn't be adopted and get their papers. So one of my step-brothers has been picking up odd jobs that no one wants around the country, or that pay so low that no one wants them. He's been doing some agricultural work when it's harvesting season. Recently he was able to start trucking for a living, which was higher pay but riskier. He could get picked up much easier, especially crossing state boundaries.

There's a grapevine of information that runs in the workplaces and areas where other undocumented folks work, and he found out about a way to get his citizenship--go over to Iraq! Jan lived in fear of the Immigration and Naturalization Service every waking day that he was trucking. You have to watch our for every state patrol officer; every traffic stop could mean deportation and separation from our family and his life here in the States.

Jan decided to look into it and found out that: if you drive a truck for Kellogg, Brown & Root (owned by Halliburton, Dick Cheney's old company) in Iraq for four months you could get your citizenship. So he goes to the KBR offices and they tell him "Yeah we can get you set up, we'll go with you to the INS office and help you process your papers even." So suddenly he has a small team of lawyers go with him to the INS office and within a few hours he gets a one week visa to stay in the country. At the end of the week he has to be on a plane bound for Iraq. He can only take 50 pounds of personal stuff with him and he has only that one week to tell everyone and get things cleared away. He takes the week driving out to my parents' house and leaves all of his stuff behind.

He's over there right now and my mother is scared to death. There are next to no statistics for how many truck drivers get killed or injured in Iraq--KBR won't release the information. He has no military training, he's got no firearms training, he's just driving this big 18-wheeler through Baghdad and beyond. And what's really horrible is that he didn't sign any kind of contract that clearly stated the day that his papers would even start getting processed. They could hold him there for a year.

He's been there for three weeks so far and no one's heard anything yet. I hope he's home for Christmas.

Eric
Oakland, CA

posted 30 august 2005

August 14, 2005

Bring home my wife now, President Bush!

At this point I have no idea on what I can do to bring my wife, Mandy, home from Iraq. She has been over there for 2 months in which she is a convoy truck driver. I can't wait as time goes by hoping that she will be one of the lucky ones to return home. My wife is also a mother of our three year old son Major, (separated for 9 months) in which I do not want to try to explain to him in the future why his mommy is never coming home. I don't want to take this chance over something that I still don't understand why we are doing in the first place.

I am desperate, people, and I am willing to do anything and I mean anything to have her return back in the United States. If it's more soldiers that Bush wants to sacrifice then I will be the first to volunteer as long as my wife can return home. I realize she made a committment when she joined the National Guard five years ago to help pay for her college education. She knows that she made a committment when she signed, but did she know she was going to be possibly sacrificed for cause that no one in this country can identify? I don't think so.

I see what Cindy Sheehan is doing and I can't help but think she is wishing that she too would have been doing this prior to her son's death. I admire her: in fact she is the reason why I am voicing out against President Bush and playing the active part in trying to have my wife return home. Everyday I watch the news and wonder if I am going to be like so many of the others who have lost a wife, husband, and/or child due to this unjust war. In fact, the last time I checked I don't remember Congress declaring this a war. Perhaps this simply is a "police action"-- sounds familiar.

Let me tell you that there is no feeling worse than the feeling of helplessness. This is something that is a first for me and something that I am not willing to accept at this part of my lifetime. For the record, I am willing to do anything to have my wife return home safely. I am willing to sit in military prison if that is what it takes to have her back. I know that my wife is not the only one serving their duty in Iraq and I pray and wish the safe return for all service members. I too would love to voice this message to any form of media that is willing to listen. Perhaps I need to stand with Cindy and ask President Bush "Why is my wife, mother of our son, fighting in Iraq?" Here are two pictures of my wife, one with my son and I, and the other of her doing her duty in Iraq. Thank you for listening.

Sincerely,

Shawn,
Pennsylvania

posted 25 august 2005

August 26, 2005

I am a Vietnam vet who served from '69-71 over there. What a waste. Don't the American people learn from their mistakes in history? We went into vietnam to save the world from communism. What a load of crap. Now for basically the same reasons (economics--valuable natural resouces--oil in Iraq), we are again sacrificing our youth for a cause we can not win.

No country can invade another without expecting the common people to resent them and fight to get them out. This is Vietnam all over again, just spelled differently in the history books. Bush needs to be impeached along with the rest of the gang from Washington who planned the invasion and all the lies that go along with it. There is a wall in washington with over 58,000 names of my brothers and sisters who died for a few wealthly people in power back in the '60s and '70s. Should we set aside some more land in Washington for a new wall or just add on to the Vietnam wall for the same stupid mistakes.

Bruce Gaggero
San Francisco, CA

posted 29 august 2005

August 27, 2005

My husband was recently deployed to Iraq and I was talking to him today about coming home and he told me I should take a stand and do anything I can to get him back. Write letters, call my congressman, I have his blessing and support to do it all. What is your recommendation? I will do everything possible to fight this until the love of my life returns!

Katie Wang
Carthage, NY

posted 29 august 2005

August 26, 2005

Dear Friends,

Let me start by saying that I am ex-Army. I have served a total of 17 years. I am also a Desert Storm Combat Veteran. All of that being said, the Bush Administration had multiple opportunities to extract Saddam peacefully through the actions of the United Nations. Things were on track to force Saddam's hand. Bush decided that a peaceful resolution was getting too close, so America attacked Iraq. I am a very patriotic person, I am a life member of our local VFW, I respect, honor and admire all of our service persons, and think that it is time for all to come home.

Ed Ludwig

posted 28 august 2005

August 21, 2005

I am a life-long Republican & the mother of a United States Marine. I do not take turning my back on the Republican Party lightly. But I have. I will no longer support the killing of our children, our troops, our Marines, our loved ones!!! This war is absolutely wrong. It is helping no one. I want our troups HOME NOW!! I fully support this organization & the web site is so helpful...I really didn't know until recently that there were so many people like myself that are sick & tired of this stupid war!! Let's March!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Marine Mom

posted 27 august 2005

August 24, 2005

I have been a part of the military more than half of my life by virtue of marrying a military man. Yet I have always been a pacifist. When in Okinawa during the Vietnam War I cried as I listened to B-52's leave and return from their death missions. It was a rare day not to see busloads of wounded military men being transported from Kadena Airbase to the then-named Camp Kue Army Hospital. I was on the second floor seeing doctors for the most anticipated day of my life, the birth of my son. Two floors above me men were fighting for their lives over some stinking reason that has never made any sense.

I admire, no, not admire, probably feel enormous pity and love for, the men and women fighting in Iraq wearing the uniform of the United States. Most of these young people probably feel, in their young, naive, minds that they are doing something good. As a nation we should all feel ashamed of this. For my small part, I am a member of Soldiers' Angels and write to and send care packages to 31 different soldiers, all in Iraq! It breaks my heart because these folks are trying to live a "normal" life in the most abnormal circumstances. I have had a young soldier ask for a special deodorant not available to him in the desert of Iraq and a young female request any kind of sweet treat, another wanted something to comfort her. I sent her a teddy bear. These are young kids, not unlike our own sons or daughters, nieces and nephews. Just wearing a uniform makes them no less vulnerable to fear and loneliness or any other human emotion.

It makes me crazy that our sons and daughters are being killed and maimed every day. Of course the death and destruction of so many innocent Iraqis along with their country is equally staggering. I just can't believe we are in this sort of mess again. Why can't we humans learn from our mistakes?

Kate Tippett-Bowles,   
Virginia Beach, VA

posted 27 august 2005

August 20, 2005

First; thanks for standing up, for REALLY supporting our troops. During the Viet Nam war I was married to a career NCO in the Air Force. At first, none of my civilian friends believed me that we were even sending troops over there. It wasn't in the papers; it was all very hush-hush. Then, for what seemed like decades, most people accepted the line our government fed us. It was the right thing to do and "supporting our troops" meant agreeing with the President. (The most illogical idea I've ever heard! The President is never facing any personal risk!) The only grumbling I heard for a long time was from the NCO's, most of whom called it "a rich man's war fought by poor boys." Many, including my husband, said people would begin to doubt when the body bags started coming home. And that's exactly what happened. But, my God, there were so many bodies! Then the Moms took to the streets and all hell broke loose.

The other night I invited two neighborhood "Moms" and we joined a candlelight vigil in support of Cindy Sheehan. This is pretty much a Republican neighborhood so I was very pleased that over 130 people were standing on that corner. Lots of Moms and Dads and several grey-beard Vets. The Mom's signs were mostly "Bring them home". The Vets were blunter: "Stay the course? Hell no!" What blew me away was the response from the hundreds of commuters. This was a very busy intersection and for nearly two hours they honked, waved and cheered us. It was deja vu for me. The Moms have hit the streets. George should be afraid. Very afraid. Or even better, he should join a patrol in Baghdad.

God bless you all,

Jeanne Gleeson
Kent, WA

posted 26 august 2005

August 21, 2005

I want to know, Mr. Bush....if the cause is so noble, where are your daughters???

Why are our children the only ones in harm's way?

Bobbie Tse
Phoenix, AZ

posted 26 august 2005

August 21, 2005

I have no biological family over there, but I feel that all of them are my family, I feel the hurt in the mother's eyes, the uncertainty of a pregnant woman if her child will ever see their father. Now if this was a justifiable cause then I would be proud to say leave them there, but I feel this is a pride issue and it needs to stop, we need our families back together, we need our soldiers home now.

Before this goes any further....how do we get them out of there? As a fellow Texan I know first hand what pride can do and it has consumed our president. Is any of his family there? Is his mother, father, sister, brother, uncle, aunt, etc. there?

Thank you for your service
Thank you for your lives
It's time to come home

Christina

posted 24 august 2005

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