See that Picture..Thats my sister!!I am sooo Proud of her for protesting and getting arrested.She stood by her principles.I myself am a veteran and I know how this country treats them.Also I know that you shouldnt fight a war,especially for slippery stuff such as lubricant.President Bush made very wrong decisions,with no thought at all.When are you blinded people going to see? The FCC regulates what you see on tv.WHo regulated them? the government.They want you to see what is approved by them.Wake up. There is a world shadowing your minds!!He is the fault of this war,the fault of gas and the fault of oil prices,the fault of food prices,making money on the side from special interst groups.I love you sis! Keep fighting the good fight!!!!!

fly the flag upside down - we are in BIG TROUBLE !!!

Militarydad and Whatahatefulworld - Thank you both for voicing your opinions. Being able to come together in a forum like this and letting us read the opinions of both sides is what makes America the greatest country in the world. I want to thank you for your sacrifices for keeping our country the free and safe society that it is. I always said that our government, as it becomes more corrupt with each passing administration, will be the undoing of our society, not it's great people.

Whatahatefulworld - I want to address you more than Militaryman because I can see where you are coming from. You are powerful because you are not afraid, powerful like Cindy Sheehan(sp). There is one thing I want you to understand and deep down I'm sure you do..there will always be wars. Humanity will ultimatley destroy itself through war because of greed, the need for power, expansion and need for resources, and beliefs religious or political. I wish this could be the perfect world where there would be no fighting. In our next life.
We are experiencing wars in our own backyards with Neighborhood gangs and hategroups like KKK or Louis Farakhan and Rev. Wright. Even between our major political parties. All this hatred and strife is being fueled by an American defeatist attitude in our media and press that sells papers through catastophic headlines. All in the name of power.
We all admire someone like you that would sit on a bridge and get arrested for you beliefs and convictions. I would bet that 99.9% of our government leaders would not do this. Yet your actions only hit the headlines for a day and in a negative way and I would bet our politicians didnt even notice. WHAT, With your convictions you can make change. However, It wont be stopping wars. You need to redirect your power. That won't happen because things happen in the world. And as Americans we want to help our fellow humans that are in distress that are oppressed etc. The only thing is our govt chooses who we help. I am sure Militarynman and his family as mine has done, and as you husband did in the Gulf war have a burning desire down to the soul to rescue them all. Our problem and this is where your strength comes in, is our government has dropped the ball when it comes to taking care of it's soldiers and their families. That must be your deepest concern. (Why be mad because Pres Bush didnt serve in the military. Thats wasted energy. You cant change that.) We need our soldiers and their families taken care of. I know nothing of the GI Bill of Rights. However, you do. Change your anger to power. You need to think of what you want changed and then take it to every political leader and every media outlet and every newspaper and blogger in the country like the labor leaders in the early 20th century. Can you do it? It seems insurmountable doesn't it. Massive change requires massive action. However you only need to start with faith and start the message. It will grow on it's own like Christianity or the Nation of Islam. Get together with like minded people. Each will have a special personality gift and you will do great things. I would be willing to bet my life savings that Militaryman would be standing on the front line helping you. (PS If you havent already, read the book "The Secret" don't ask why...just do it, trust me)

To Whatahatefulworld,

I appreciate your effort in helping veterans. I disagree with your anti- war efforts though.

I served in the service for five years. It has been a family tradition to serve. I respect your opinion but disagree with it. I have to respect my son's opinion and the decision he made. I do not feel that I could say I am against the war but support him. This is a personal decision for myself, not trying to make it for others. I spoke with him about this when he came home on leave. He did not understand how people could say they support the soldiers but not what they are doing. As far as him changing, I think something would be wrong with him if he didn't come home a little different. He believes in helping the Iraqi people. He also says that he needs to finish the job that was started there and that his fellow soldiers did not die in vain.

I really do not think it matters which president we have. If they were not in the service then they do not have a clue. The people in Washington due not speak for the people any longer. They do not have to figure what bills they can pay or how to put food on the table.

BOTH THE LEFT AND THE RIGHT HAVE LOST TOUCH WITH THE PEOPLE AND ARE NEEDS. They would not know truth if it reached up and gave them a good bite. Most of what they say is redundant .

I believe taking God away from are lives has caused many of today's social and economic problems. I believe that is the foundation that the United States was built on.

Today we are worried about the political correctness of everything.

MilitaryDad,

I'm sorry your son is out there. I am a wife of a veteran. Yes, Yvette Coil, one of the four who was arrested.
For 18 years I've tried to care for my husband who is disabled from the Gulf War. The same war that no one thought soldiers/vets got injured in. Well almost 2/3rds of that wars vets are disabled.
I have worked hard to keep my family together, I go to school full time (paid totally by me taking out student loans - which ANYONE can do) and work to afford the bills of my house. I am also an activist against war. My goal is to become a veterans advocate because even after 18 years and a diagnosis from the VA for my husbands disability, the VA has yet to compensate my husband for the disability he's incured from his time in service.
I hope that your son never has to experience that.
I am fighting daily so that other veterans don't have to go through what my husband and many others have.
War kills the family, it scars society but most importantly it changes the person who served in it permanently. Some act as if they were not affected but we see it in their behavior because their denial can't hide it.
You believe that many Iraqi's are appreciative of American's being there. Who in what country does not want the ability to self-govern their citizens? I know a man who's Iraqi and he talks about the right to self determination. Do you not feel the Iraqi's want the same for their own?
And why are you not angry with our own president who would use every tactic to make sure he himself did not serve during war time? I just don't understand why people, especially servicemembers and their families, are not angry with him or the VP based solely on that information.
I 100% wish your son well but I know what I've seen as a result of war, and I won't lie to myself or you and say your son will be ok. I hope he will, don't get me wrong, but if he's anything like my friends who've returned from Iraq in 1990 and now, he won't be the same. And I grieve that because I know what it's like to live with someone you know by face but who's heart has totally changed.
I hope you understand why I did what I did, but if you don't, in time, trust me you will.
Yvette

My son is currently serving in Iraq. His job is to train the IP. Iran has been sending weapons and insurgants into Iraq to try and cause distention. The troops in Iraq just want to be able to do there jobs and then come home. They do not have the luxury of picking and choicing the conflicts or battles that they are in.

Many Iraqi citizens thank us as Americans for being there.

montym, your recent posts make absolutely no sense whatsoever, just like the foaming-at-the-mouth tirades of America hating leftists and puke dictators the world over. You sound like you are directly quoting Hugo Chavez. You are truly a piece of work.

Montym...
I am not a conservative or a liberal. I am an American. I want what this country's founders aspired for. I don't want the flag burned; I want the Pledge in schools; I don't want wars nor do I like them. I do want freedom. This country is not perfect-but destroying it from within by "hating" as you claim to do solves nothing.

We tried "soft" defense during the Clinton years...Sanctions, diplomacy and the rest. During this time Al-Qadea planned and sent terrorists to American flight schools...while we sat on the intelligence.

The best defense is a strong, proactive military. If you threaten the US, you should be dealt with swiftly.

Truthtalk,
I would never think it possible to convince your kind of anything. Your nature is a path of least resistance because you are lazy. Any journal or academic source I would quote, you will tear apart as being part of liberal institutions spreading their hippie propaganda. Why waste my time. You are sheep lead by lies. Your conservative label is a joke. You simple-minded people changed the definition of conservatism; moreover, you continue to follow it even though your definition failed. Anyone not in your group looks forward to the day the conservatism becomes ligament again. Dissenting and alternate views are necessary if America wants to succeed. Before you destroyed the conservative movement, many of its leaders were intelligent and helped shape the country for good. However, because of you and your kind there is barley a resemblance of that movement. I am not trying to sell you, I just hate you and want to vent. That is all.

Yes, Average Joe, that's what I said. A couple of men who were there at the time when the oil was set on fire said it was American Troops that did it. But I also said I don't know how true it was. It could just be made up for all I know. The reason I made this comment was to see if other people have heard the same thing.

I love the United States, but honestly I wouldn't be surprised if this was true. The United States is walking down a path to destruction, and it has been for quite some time now. It would be nice to see change, not only in our country but other countries and people are afraid of change, and I don't want to sound pessimistic but the possibility of that happening is very slim.