Sheehan resigns as Iraq war protest leader 

May 29th, 2007:  Mother of fallen soldier drained by biting criticism and partisan politics 

Cindy Sheehan finally called it quits, you can read her whole sad story here.  

She claimed that her son "died for nothing," and if she really believes this crap, then I truly feel sorry for her. 

I believe in God, and I believe in this country. Its the greatest one on the face of this earth. If you don't believe this, then I suggest that you move somewhere else! 

Sheehan was your typical whiner. She started off with a bad cause ... and fighting for all the wrong things, and this is why she finished with a whimper instead of with a bang ... ... ...  ---> And she did not have the guts or the courage for the long haul.

The day after 9/11, practically the whole country was ready to go to war. What happened to this enthusiasm? Does time make the cause less viable? (Of course not.) How do our troops in the field of conflict feel? What do they think when they watch their buddies die, and they know that the majority of Americans lack the backbone to back them one-hundred per cent? What happened to simply backing our troops and our President? (Too old fashioned for you?)

The real question would be: "Is the world a safer and better place, now that Saddam Hussein has been removed from power?" OF COURSE IT IS!!! (You would be an idiot if you said no.) So, despite the fact that I worry about our involvement in this war; despite the fact that I HATE the fact that so many young, brave Americans have lost their lives in Iraq; despite the fact that I really don't care much for the people of Iraq ... I continue to do the American thing: I support out troops in Afghanistan and Iraq! God bless America!! 

From the "Newsweek" magazine. Jan. 29th issue, page # 23

Time to Withdraw From Iraq? 

(one man's letter) ...

<< I was disappointed to to see you print the urban legend about returning Vietnam vets being "spat upon in airports." This canard of right-wing propaganda was definitely refuted in vet Jerry Lembcke's book, "The Spitting Image: Myth, Memory and Legacy of Vietnam," which investigated hundreds of reports of such incidents and couldn't find a single verifiable one. 

- Mark Ogle
Indianapolis, IND. >>

My Response ...

Date:  January 25, 2007

From: A.J. Goldsby I  (Phone: ______)
P.O. Box 11718  
Pensacola , FL   32524
LifeMasterMasterAJ@yahoo.com

TO: Newsweek Magazine

RE: Your January 29, 2007 issue, "Time to Withdraw From Iraq?" (Page # 23)   

To whom it may concern: 

Your letter from Mark Ogle made me want to puke.

I am a registered Democrat, but find myself drifting more and more to the right. The reason? While Bill Clinton was getting blowjobs in the Oval Office, men like Ronald Reagan served with great honor  … and President Bush is just trying do his job, which is something you can not do by following the vagaries of weekly opinion polls. 

The news media has gotten so slanted, it makes me give up hope of ever seeing a fair and accurate report in any part of the conventional press! A left wing agenda? 

All the members of both the Senate and the House of Representatives need to read their constitution. They are NOT! running the country … rather than trying to tell Pres. Bush what he should be doing, I have a few suggestions for them. 

1. Pass good, effective laws.

2. Balance the budget.

3. Fix the tax system and make it fair. (Get rid of all the loopholes.)  

4. Get rid of "PORK-BARREL" spending! 

Bush is listening to the guys who really know something, to wit, the commanders (on the ground) in Iraq , who are telling their Commander-In-Chief … that they need more troops. Period!   

I don’t know who Jerry Lembcke is, and I don’t care. Personally, I would like to string him up by his thumbs, and hang him in any public square for a few weeks. My Uncle personally told me that he was spit upon when he returned from Vietnam , and I heard similar accounts from dozens of Vietnam Veterans. BTW, I served my country and did two tours of duty in the USAF. (I have an Honorable Discharge.) And I would bet a paycheck that Mr. Ogle never served in any branch of the military.

Here’s betting you will choose to ignore this letter,  

A.J. Goldsby 

Police killing of unarmed groom sparks anger [more] 

2 others shot in hail of gunfire as they drove from bachelor party in N.Y.  

By now, you have heard about, read about, or perhaps talked about this case with someone you know. (If not, I encourage you to read the news story that I have linked to - above.)  

My purpose here is not to inflame an already sensitive situation. I do not care about what the police are alleging that these people did (or did not do). What I want to do is to offer my opinion here, the opinion of someone who used to be a cop. 

First, it is my understanding that these people were at a strip club for a bachelor party, and I am not passing judgment here. The police were supposedly investigating some type of drug use or drug sales. The police claim that the man in the car tried to run them down, although a witness states that the police ran a car into the groom's group ... and then jumped out shooting.

What is quite clear is that the suspects never had a weapon, and the police shot one man dead and wounded two others. Apparently, one officer EMPTIED his nine millimeter automatic pistol ... and then stopped to reload ... and then continued shooting. This defies my ability to describe it or goes against all reason, common sense, or even sanity. 

From the linked article:  << The police department’s policy on shooting at moving vehicles states: “Police officers shall not discharge their firearms at or from a moving vehicle unless deadly force is being used against the police officers or another person present, by means other than a moving vehicle.” >>

In other words, using your vehicle as a weapon is NOT grounds for deadly force, based on the New York Police Departments own regulations. Because you THOUGHT or SUSPECTED or HEARD that someone MIGHT have a weapon ... has NEVER been grounds for deadly force, anywhere!

If I had emptied my automatic weapon into a car, (no matter what the circumstances); when I was serving as a Security Police Officer in the U.S. Air Force ... and no weapon was ever found ... I feel quite sure that I would have been thrown into Fort Leavenworth Federal Prison ... for the rest of my life!!! 

I predict that the police will sweep this whole thing under the carpet ... or at least they will try. And the citizens of this country ... no matter what your skin color ... cannot allow this to happen.  (Monday; Nov. 27th, 2006) 

 Steve Irwin dies

Sadly, the "Croc Hunter" is gone at only age 44.

Monday; September 4th, 2006:  There are not a lot of details in as of yet, but apparently Steve Irwin was filming a wildlife special on the Barrier Reef when he was stung in the heart by a stingray. (An extremely rare occurrence.)

My wife broke down and cried when she heard the news, my daughter - who was not in school because Labor Day is a holiday here in the US - collapsed into my arms and sobbed and cried ... in a way I have only seen once before. (When her great-Grandmother died this past July.)

He was universally loved and admired. << Prime Minister John Howard, who hand-picked Irwin to attend a gala barbecue to honor President Bush when he visited in 2003, said he was “shocked and distressed at Steve Irwin’s sudden, untimely and freakish death.” >> [story]  

All I can say is that I am very, very sorry. My condolences go out to his wife, children and his entire family. He was a good steward of the earth, an internationally respected conservationist, and a figure of enviromental education whom adults thought highly of and children simply loved. "He died doing what he loved, didn't he?" - a man at the zoo founded by Irwin's parents

Richard Pryor was a comic genius, I ... for one ... will miss him. The world is a less funny place without him.

Comedian Richard Pryor dies at 65 - Richard Pryor - MSNBC.com