SIVACRACY.NET

1. We can't pull out from Iraq because it's the center of anti-American terrorism in the world. Yes it is. Of course, an honest man would have admitted that he made it so. It's way too much to expect this guy to ever tell the truth about his own blunders.

2. We can't issue a time-table for withdrawal because that would be counterproductive and invite the insurgents to wait it out. This is no duh. Anyone who demands withdrawal by a certain date or any sort of time-based scale-down is not helping the situation at all. We are going to be there for a long, long time. Many more thousands of American soldiers will die for this mistake and for W's hubris. And we are just going to have to deal with that. There is no easy escape. There are no easy answers. And no, "we will stand down when the Iraqis stand up" is not a policy. It's a platitude. Of course, W has never known the difference.

3. This war was never about weapons or Iraqi freedom. Ok. W did not really admit this openly. But his new and improved third rational -- this war is about Al Queda -- pushes the other two aside. We are now on to reason number three because reason number one was a lie and reason number two is not polling well. So let's bring out OSAMA! We can't find him, which serves W well. If Osama had been captured or killed in 2002 when he was supposed to have been, he never could have shown up on TV four days before the election, thus throwing it to W. I tell you, this guy would be nothing without good ol' Osama. When things are bad, remind people of the attack you would not act to prevent and have done nothing about. W has given Osama everything he has ever wanted: W got rid of Osama's nemisis Saddam; W used the word "crusade" (doh!); W launched an illegal an unwarranted attack on a country with many Moslem holy sites; W pulled troops out of Saudi Arabia; W openly supported Ariel Sharon; W continues to support Osama's benefactors in Saudi Arabia and Pakistan. What would Osama be without W?

4. We all must sacrifice for the greater good of the nation. Ok. Sorry. He did not say this either. One might expect a president immersed in a protracted war to ask for patriotic sacrifice. But he does not know the meaning of the word. Remember when, right after 9/11, he urged people to keep on shopping and Cheney assured us that we need not reduce the amount of fuel we consumed? This would be a cost-free war, he promised. Remember how it was going to last a few months and we would be greeted as liberators? With flowers?

For W, there is never cause to sacrifice. His entire life and career are about having it all and giving back nothing:

Tax cuts for the wealthy AND a recession;

Massive federal spending on Republican businesses AND massive deficits that our children will have to pay off so that his rich friends can get richer;

A booming yellow ribbon magnet market AND cuts in veterans' benefits;

Massive public spending to build his baseball stadium in Arlington AND a fraudulent reputation as a free-market champion;

No Child Left Behind as a slogan yet no money to fund it, thus leaving millions of children behind;

An open-ended and amorphous "war on terror" that results in a massive increase in worldwide terror AND a fraudulent reputation as someone who can actually fight such a war;

A declaration that his administration will treat prisoners humanely AND a refusal to obey the laws that require it to treat prisoners humanely;

A verbal commitment to democracy and human rights AND massive and unqualified support for brutal dictators in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Uzbekistan, and Pakistan;

A call from daddy the Congressman to get him into the Air National Guard so he would not have to actually serve his country in a time of war (one that he supported) AND a way to escape prosecution for desertion once that joke of a commitment proved too hard to fulfill.

Wait. I could go on. But I realize now that W DID say something last night that asks for us all to give of ourselves:

"This 4th of July, I ask you to find a way to thank the men and women defending our freedom, by flying the flag, sending letters to our troops in the field or helping the military family down the street."

Ok. Except we fly the flag on July 4 anyway. So that's no big deal. Many of us fly the flag on other days as well. This, despite what Republicans may want you to believe, is not a great sacrifice. It really costs very little. And it accomplishes even less.

Letter to our troops? Guess what. We have been doing that for three years as well. Again, that's a little time and a little postage. It's important. And we must continue to do it. But it ain't saving toothpaste tubes.

Helping the military family down the street. Now there is something worth asking us to do. We have had soldiers in battle overseas for three years now. These families have been suffering mightily. Thousands are on food stamps.

Yet whenever Democrats have proposed increases in relief programs or veterans benefits, the Bush administration has shot them down. And whenever members of our reserve forces think their terms of service are over, he calls them up again.

Let's face it, folks. W, who has no relatives currently serving in the armed forces, is not going to do anything to help these families. It's up to us.

Anyone know of any good charities that offer direct aid to military families in need? Give me a good link and I will include it in those on the right side of this page.