Thanksgiving at Fort Hood Texas

Here we are enjoying a wonderful thanksgiving dinner with friends and family at Fort Hood, Texas. Traveling to Texas from Washington State, this time of year especially, is a radical change both in scenery and climate. We were there seven days in balmy 70 plus degree weather only to return home to snow.

We have many things to be thankful for this year, but what stood out the most was the fact that while most of us are enjoying our turkey dinners our military families are saying their goodbyes, as mom or dad again leave for the war in Iraq.

We hope an pray the God will protect Allen as he goes back to Iraq for his second tour in three years, again leaving behind his wife and two children. Even though Allen has served over 20 years in the military he was not allowed to retire after his last tour to Iraq but was forced to stay for another round of manning a machine gun on a humvee. He does so without a single complaint and the understanding that he is serving his country.

Its the men an women who are already in the military, who can't leave that are preventing a draft from being necessary. I find it incredibly sad that the media seems to only focus on the daily body count and not consider the extreme hardships our military families are facing. There is seemingly no discussion of who is fighting this war, its not the middle class.

My 87 year old father was in the Army for 32 years and is a veteran of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam. Our country now only provides him with minimal medical care through the Veterans Adminstration, his benifits have consitently been cut, and he is essentially being left to die.

The Bush administration while saying "Support our troops" has started a war which is being fought by those who now can't leave the military, or those who have little or no other alernatives, and funding for the long term care for the wounded which now exceed 30,000 has been consistently cut. Where is the presidents partiotism in this war strated under false pretext and outrages lies, which continue unabashaedly to this day.

Ok I'll get off my politcal soapbox!