by Sgt. Steve Boggess
President Bush has no sense of Reality.
This was according to an op-ed piece that recently ran in the New York Times. In that article, the author wonders if reality ever comes knocking on Bush’s door. This is in yet another attempt at giving Californian Cindy Sheehan, who is camping out a few miles from the Bush ranch, even more media attention than she already has.
Memo to New York Times: Cindy doesn’t need any more help, you, along with the rest of the liberal media, have already given her more than she needs, or deserves.
In his article, columnist Bob Herbert continues on by saying: “Mr. Bush is the commander in chief who launched a savage war in Iraq and now spends his days happily riding his bicycle in Texas.â€ÂÂ
Bob, do you really believe the words you’re typing?
In an attempt to get down to the “nitty gritty†about the war, Bob describes how the war is going “badly and lives have been lost by the thousands.†No Bob, just fewer than two thousand at present. So, if you want to bother with writing a story about the war and want to estimate at the amount of lives lost, get your facts straight first.
Bob now compares the attention the war dead are getting is less than the search for Natalie Holloway, the Alabama teenager who disappeared in Aruba in May.
No, the soldiers who have given the ultimate sacrifice are given attention in the national media, who in turn, make it sound like we are in the proverbial “Vietnam quagmire†Senators Ted Kennedy and John Kerry like so much to refer to it as.
All our hearts go out to the Holloway family Bob, lets not lessen it with trivializing both, the deaths of the troops, and Natalie’s disappearance.
Bob goes on to say: “If only the war were more entertaining, less of a downer. Perhaps then we could meet the people who are suffering and dying in it.â€ÂÂ
Just when you think the media can’t be anymore calloused about the troops who give up so much to defend our country, this comes along.
He mentions all the talk of supporting the troops, and how they have become a low priority for most Americans, and that if the nation really cared, Bush wouldn’t be frolicking around at his ranch. He would be burning the midnight oil, trying to find a way to get the troops out of the terrible fix Bush put them in.
I think if Bob Herbert ever glanced out the window of his office, he would see that there are Americans who do support the troops. I’m sure there are bumper stickers on cars in the shape of a yellow ribbon with the words “Support the Troops†on them.
As far as the so-called “terrible fix†that Bush put them in, getting deployed and sometimes fighting wars just comes with the territory of wearing this uniform.
He then claims that only the troops and their families are sacrificing for this war, and that very few of them are coming from the privileged economic classes.
Let’s see, Senator Kit Bond’s (R-Missouri) only son Samuel age 24 is serving as a Marine Intelligence Officer in Iraq. Rep Joe Wilson’s (R-South Carolina) son Alan is also serving as an Intelligence Officer in Iraq. Representative’s Tod Akin of Missouri and Duncan Hunter of California, and also South Dakota Democratic Senator Tim Johnson also have loved ones in Iraq.
In summarizing his column, Bob Herbert states that “something is wrong with this picture.†The picture he is describing is that of college kids who are looking forward to frat parties and playing video games, while their less fortunate peers are rattling around like moving targets in Baghdad dodging improvised explosive devices, and rocket propelled grenades.
No Bob, the only thing wrong with this picture is how you see it, and wrote about it. You speak of the troops as if they were in a bad way due to Bush’s so-called incompetence, and how they are dying for no reason.
All you have to do Bob is look at the words you typed in your article, and that is one good reason the troops are dying and defending our countryâ€â€Âyour right to express your stupidityâ€â€Âsomething called freedom of the press.
Sgt. Steve Boggess
Wiesbaden, Germany
August 18, 2005
