"Saw War, and tried to stop it" E. Kennedy

[stuball111]

Eulogizing his fallen brother. I saw on the news today, that 44 soldiers lost their lives this month on foreign soil fighting for something. What, is what I'd like to know. Oil? "Democracy" for a foreign country? Stability? None of these things make sense for the loss of life in light of these reasons. If there were that many killings in any given community on the planet at one time, there would be outrage, it would be all over the news, and demands for justice and means to stop a recurrence of the tragedy would be called for. I hear these statistics reported over and over again on the news with the blandness of reporting the Dow went up 4 points. Where are the proponents of peace, the demonstrations there were in the sixties? Where is the outrage? And why can't the human race on this planet get behind each other, nation by nation, and find a different way, shun any nation that engages in war, and close them off from the world community until they either capitulate or implode internally. The waste of human life for the ideals of a few is an archaic, and useless method of solving the worlds problems, and it's time we found another way. "No patch of ground, paid for with life, our sweet life"

[valerief]

1. Less than a quarter of the Senate voted against the Irag Tragedy.

He was the leader in a very small group of legislators with a conscience.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Iraq_Resolution

21 (42%) of 50 Democratic Senators voted against the resolution:
Sens. Akaka (D-HI), Bingaman (D-NM), Boxer (D-CA), Byrd (D-WV), Conrad (D-ND), Corzine (D-NJ), Dayton (D-MN), Durbin (D-IL), Feingold (D-WI), Graham (D-FL), Inouye (D-HI), Kennedy (D-MA), Leahy (D-VT), Levin (D-MI), Mikulski (D-MD), Murray (D-WA), Reed (D-RI), Sarbanes (D-MD), Stabenow (D-MI), Wellstone (D-MN), Wyden (D-OR).

1 of 49 Republican Senators voted against the resolution:
Sen. Chafee (R-RI).

The only Independent Senator voted against the resoution:
Sen. Jeffords (I-VT)

[stuball111]

2. Sad isn't it...

I couldn't help feeling that the 911 tragedy, and the following lies from Bus/Cheney/Rove helped to dupe the Senators and Legislators into going along with war. I know Kennedy knew that it was not the way to go. Now, the thought of people dying on my planet because of a few individuals, is no better than murder.

[valerief]

3. I don't think anyone was duped. I guess I expect Senators to be brighter than that.

I just figure they were either bought or blackmailed.

[stuball111]

4. There was a sense of "patriotism" left over from 911, but yes,

bought and blackmailed for sure.... falls under the category of duped. Either way, I don't think they thought about the consequences much.

[valerief]

5. "Patriotism" is just for the masses. I think the senators just thought about

their own interests with their nay votes. If they cared about Americans, they would have voted differently.

[stuball111]

6. Yep...I wonder how some of them sleep when they hear of another "death"

having voted for the war...And It shows Teddys commitment to the well being of All Americans. Bush also had a great deal of approval for the war, and I think some Dems got caught up in that and were tentative to not go along with it for fear of seeming "un-American" and hurting their political futures.