Re: 2000th
Bill,
I went to the site on Heights where the 2000th memorial will be. I timed the slow paced walk from the WWII Memorial at 11th to 10th and back. It took me 15 minutes. A total of 20 minutes should work for the walking meditation. I can bring candles if someone would tell me the best place to get them.
How many? Anybody else bringing any? Also, I scouted for best parking and found there is a post office at 11th and Heights across from the WWII Memorial. There are a few parallel parking spots there on Heights in the front of the P.O. however there is a parking lot directly behind the P.O. facing Yale St with plenty of parking. On 10 1/2 parking only on left side from Heights Blvd. Now that I have given away my trade secret parking spots I will go to sleep.
Carondelet
You are invited to participate in a week-long memorial to the 2000th
US military casualty of the Iraq war, in the Heights in Houston.
Amy, you said exactly the right things.
I'm sorry some people don't appreciate the fact
that every one of the US military casualties
volunteered to defend their country. It's not
their fault that Bush/Cheney/Rumsfield & Co.
misled them and many others in the US, and sent
them off to implement a crazy, immoral, and
illegal plan for Iraq. It's not their fault that
the Bush administration is the most corrupt in US
history, and continues the lies even today about
why we're in Iraq.
We need to remember those who have given their
lives, even if they have been terribly misused by
our govt. We need to remember them and recognize
them and their families, even if Bush doesn't
want their caskets photographed. We need to
remember them and honor them even if Bush refuses
to attend a single funeral.
We need to recognize the 2000 who died in Iraq.
We need to recognize the uncounted others who
were evacuated to Kuwait or Germany after being
wounded and who died outside of Iraq and aren't
included in the official counts.
We need to recognize the (again, uncounted)
thousands who have been disabled. And we
certainly need to recognize the 100,000-200,000
Iraqis who died while we are supposedly helping
them.
I think if the US public spent a little more time
remembering and recognizing the US casualties and
thinking about their families' losses, they
wouldn't be so eager to swallow all the lies from
Bush about how whatever we're doing in Iraq is
worth it. Bush & Cheney couldn't care less about
Iraqis who die, but why won't they even recognize
the US casualties?
We need to remember the US troops whose families
had to pay for body armor from their own pockets
because the Bush administration felt it was more
important to give tax cuts to his
multi-millionaire friends.
We need to remember the thousands of disabled
Americans and Iraqis who will live with the
consequences of our country's folly in Iraq for
the rest of their lives, while the Bush
administration neglects and ignores them, and
won't even fund the VA hospitals to care
adequately for them.
We need to remember the tens of thousands of
Iraqis who have been killed, almost all whom were
civilians who just happened to be in the wrong
place at the wrong time, and the many thousands
more who have been injured.
I feel guilt and shame to think what our country
is doing in Iraq, but the least we can do is to
recognize the victims.
About recognizing the other victims, besides the
2000 -- The memorials on Heights Blvd. each
evening at 6 pm starting Saturday are to help us
remember, and recognize ALL victims of the Iraq
invasion and occupation, including Iraqis, US
contractors, and others.
Everyone -- More details on that week-long
memorial, including the sponsors of each
evening's ceremony, are at
http://oilpatchdemocrats.blogspot.com/
Amy, I'm so terribly sorry for your son, and for
you, and for all the casualties and their
families. And I honor you for having the courage
and strength to speak out.
Bill
At 12:56 PM -0500 10/24/05, Amy Branham wrote:
>There is pain in my soul this morning as I sit
>at this keyboard. It is an all-encompassing
>feeling that reverberates through my whole body.
>This is a pain that I cannot ignore and will not
>go away.
>
>Sometime this week, maybe even today, the war in
>Iraq will claim the 2000th life of an American
>soldier killed in the line of duty. Let me
>repeat that last sentence in a more humanistic
>way: 2000 of America
carondelet and bill -
i have about 1,000+ big, clear, 32 oz. plastic cups with the holes already cut in the bottom to hold a candle.
i also have about 50 household candles + another 50 of the same kind of candles in varying degrees of having been partially burned at the candlelight vigil we had at city hall in the spring.
if more candles are needed, ikea is where to buy them, in big packs of 50. i live near there, so, if needed, you can tell me how many and i can go get them.
just let me know.
rochelle
There is pain in my soul this morning as I sit at this keyboard. It is an
all-encompassing feeling that reverberates through my whole body. This is a pain
that I cannot ignore and will not go away.
Sometime this week, maybe even today, the war in Iraq will claim the
2000th life of an American soldier killed in the line of duty. Let me
repeat that last sentence in a more humanistic way: 2000 of America