Speakout 10/6

Wednesday, October 6, 2004

Doomsday for Republicans: Nov. 2, 2004, Kerry wins both electoral college and majority vote for president. The reason behind this is because Bush failed ever so miserably. Republicans seem to think that Iraq will be a better place to live in the next five to 10 years. My question is, how much more will the United States have to pay to make Iraq this dreamland? While this country is having to suffer widespread storms and fewer jobs, I guess it's OK to let the U.S. pay for the price for Iraq. Here is a fair question: Why are we over there? Did Iraq send someone to the U.N. asking for our help? Did someone from Iraq call from Baghdad asking for our help? And were there any WMDs found in the U.S. search. The answer to all these questions is 99 percent "no." I will leave 1 percent to the person calling from Iraq open. Republicans have always been realists and usually not so, can we say "out of touch" with themselves. It is time for the Republican Party to face reality more.

I have been looking forward to the debate but, come on, 32 pages of rules? The last time anything remotely resembled a debate was when Clinton debated Bush Sr. When a citizen asked how the economy affected the candidates personally, Bush Sr. stumbled. He looked as if he didn't understand the question. The result was the American public perceived that Bush was out of touch with the reality of the average citizen. Since then, both parties are reluctant to allow any spontaneity. Both parties are afraid of allowing questions from journalists or the general public that are not submitted beforehand. We used to have debates sponsored by the League of Women Voters. They withdrew sponsorship when the two parties began to manipulate the debates unfairly. I need to point out here that, once again, the losers are the American public. They lose because their sense of freedom and democracy is a sham. They are losers because they are so lazy they accept whatever scraps of the illusion are thrown at them because real freedom and democracy require hard work and constant vigilance. We talk about polls, we talk about personalities, we talk about the structure of the system that supports our politics, we talk about rumors or the weather, but we seldom talk about anything that might upset either political party or their respective candidates. We seldom talk about anything that is relevant to the average person on the street. And where is the truth? Who knows what the truth is? How many people care more about the hard truth than the latest spin that propels their own personal fantasy or illusion. The truth is, we are a culture so sick we jeopardize our life as a nation that represents hope to the rest of the world. In this election, there will be many who will doubt that we even have the capacity to have free and fair voting.

I went to Urgent Care at the Ferguson Clinic on Sept. 25 and was given three prescriptions for my sickness. I did not have the money to pay for all of them. The very nice pharmacist at Randy's helped me. I would like to say thank you so very much, but that is not enough. Thank you!

This is regarding the Sept. 26 statement in SpeakOut concerning the 50-cents a cup Red Cross coffee. On the airstrip at Tacloban Leyte, Philippine Islands, in October 1944, in the first few days after the Americans returned to the Philippines, since 1941, and the person making the SpeakOut statement asked if I was actually there. I was the Army Air Corps officer in charge of the air evacuation of wounded from a battle about 30 miles away on the road to Ormoc. The reason I had made the SpeakOut statement about free Salvation Army coffee while the Red Cross was selling it to the men was that the Standard Democrat had just done an article in Your View by a Red Cross volunteer who said some veterans had a grudge against the Red Cross. Then, at the end of the Your View article, the Standard said, "Mail your comments to the Standard Democrat." It was easier to use SpeakOut where the question was raised. I was never in the Philippines and said the Red Cross was bad, which I did not say. The Red Cross is recognized possibly as the best such organization in the world. To the jerk who accused me of being a liar at the airstrip in the Philippines, you get your military records together and I will get my four years together and we can show them to the Standard.