The letter that follows was published in The Burlington Free Press today. Although I am not certain, I believe the author to be a former state Senator from Chittenden County. I also believe he is a Democrat. Whatever his political affiliation, he articulates well what I and many others have been meaning to say all along.
A son, a father and the Iraq war
Published: Monday, February 26, 2007
J. Dennis Delaney
My son Luc is a naval officer, a 1999 graduate of the United States Naval Academy and a recent recipient of a master's degree in mechanical engineering. He is married and the father of the sweetest daughter a grandfather ever fell in love with. To say that I am profoundly proud of my children would be a great understatement. At times I just sink back into the warmest contentment. Life could give no more.
Yet in all this bright sunshine of family happiness a dark cloud looms on the horizon: Luc tells us that he is at serious risk of being sent to Iraq. This threat, I think, gives me a firmer place to comment on the Iraq war.
With every fiber of my being I want the Iraq war finished. It is like a hair shirt I cannot pull off. The daily list of our young women and men killed in the fighting brings heartbreak, full and overflowing, to us all. I have always thought I could not bear the loss of a child, so I just don't know how the families of those killed in the war endure. I just don't.
Several weeks ago the New York Times published, as it does every day, the Names of the Dead in Iraq. Eight were on the list that day, all aged 25 and under. One was just 19.
On a straight horizontal line to the right of that list was the continuation of an article on the day's harsh violence in Baghdad. The story described the destruction of a family -- father, wife and three children-- "trapped in a burning car after a bomb exploded. The father, screaming for help, escaped. (B)ut two young children and an infant died with their mother in the fire." (New York Times, Dec. 27, 2006)
None of us can possibly imagine such stunning horror slamming into the life of an American family. The incident I just described was not an accident, it was war.
To those who say that the daily numbing chant of the names of our dead or the nameless Iraqis slaughtered, means that we must quit Iraq and do so immediately, I understand. But I see beyond. I see countless Iraqi innocents -- fathers, mothers, children -- killed, if not by war then by that country's own endemic sectarian violence.
What is happening in Iraq is a humanitarian disaster. Those are not just big words, those are real people. The Iraqis are no less sisters and brothers to us in Vermont than are Americans in Indiana, Montana or Maine. The time to argue about this war's reasons for being, or the lack of them, rests with the future, with history's clearer eye. The present demands, however, that we Americans not abandon the helpless.
It is easy to talk about courage, about generosity until it hurts, about responsibility for others, and about not quitting on those who need us. It is infinitely more difficult to belly up to the bar and make them real when the price is relentless anguish and more "Names of the Dead" writ large each day.
I remember the story about an American prisoner of war who, when offered release from a prison camp, said no, that it wasn't his turn. Is it our turn to abandon the innocent and helpless of Iraq? I say no.
If we Americans want to begin earning the respect of the Muslim world, then we should begin that long journey by showing them that Americans do not turn their backs on Muslims or anyone else in awful jeopardy. Like it or not, and I know that we don't, it is our time to stand tall once again.
J. Dennis Delaney lives in Charlotte.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Friday, February 23, 2007
Update
I posted yesterday about the lone conservative talk radio host, Paul Beaudry’s plight of “someone” trying to get him off the air. I would like to clarify a statement I made regarding the threat of bodily injury. I spoke with Paul last evening and he clarified that it was a threat made to another person and passed on to him and not a direct threat to him. The threat was in effect “that he better not be seen out in public or he might get slapped”.
Be that as it may, it saddens me to think that there are people with so much hate and intolerance that they can’t even hear another voice without such violent intentions or actions, which brings me to another point of clarification. I mentioned yesterday that 2 tires on Paul’s vehicle were slashed. The analysis of Paul’s tires determined that they were punctured, not slashed. A slash would result in a flat tire and the vehicle rendered unable to be driven. A puncture with subsequent slow leak could result in internal pressure differences as the tire contacts the road. What would that cause…a blowout!! I estimate Paul’s daily commute to be about 60 miles. That’s a lot of time for a blowout to occur. Thankfully the punctures were discovered and Paul is safe.
Paul announced today that he received an email from the Bill O’Reilly show requesting he make an appearance this evening. At the close of the Paul’s show, it was not certain that he would be on O’Reilly Factor tonight, I plan to watch Bill anyway.
Also I mentioned that they would accept donations. I want to clarify that any monies received will be used to keep the show on the air. Unlike other talk shows that are paid to be aired by local stations, Paul’s show has to pay an hourly fee to the local stations to buy the one hour air time!!!
True North Radio
PO Box 652
Burlington, VT 05402
Be that as it may, it saddens me to think that there are people with so much hate and intolerance that they can’t even hear another voice without such violent intentions or actions, which brings me to another point of clarification. I mentioned yesterday that 2 tires on Paul’s vehicle were slashed. The analysis of Paul’s tires determined that they were punctured, not slashed. A slash would result in a flat tire and the vehicle rendered unable to be driven. A puncture with subsequent slow leak could result in internal pressure differences as the tire contacts the road. What would that cause…a blowout!! I estimate Paul’s daily commute to be about 60 miles. That’s a lot of time for a blowout to occur. Thankfully the punctures were discovered and Paul is safe.
Paul announced today that he received an email from the Bill O’Reilly show requesting he make an appearance this evening. At the close of the Paul’s show, it was not certain that he would be on O’Reilly Factor tonight, I plan to watch Bill anyway.
Also I mentioned that they would accept donations. I want to clarify that any monies received will be used to keep the show on the air. Unlike other talk shows that are paid to be aired by local stations, Paul’s show has to pay an hourly fee to the local stations to buy the one hour air time!!!
True North Radio
PO Box 652
Burlington, VT 05402
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Conservative Danger Zone
Outright Vermont Creating A Queer Youth Community Since 1989
The above organization was exposed for their attempts to infiltrate our Vermont schools by Paul Beaudry the lone conservative voice on talk radio over the past few months. Despite their alleged efforts to silence him, suport for his show in the 11-12 am (est) time slot is growing and remains number one.
Intolerate people have called his advertisers and some have stopped supporting him; others in true Vermont fashion will not be bulled. They have directly mailed his frequent callers, petitioning them to not support the show. Now, they've taken it to a higher level with threats of personal bodily injury and slashing his tires.
Paul announced on the show today that the police are now involved. He has also notified all the local news affiliates and Fox News via Bill O'Reilly of the threats and actions of the intolerant cowards. You may recall that Paul has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor a few times regarding the senseless sentencing of child predators here in Vermont (i.e. 60 days sentence for the man who repeatedly raped a young girl).
If anyone would like to support this effort to continue the lone conservative voice in Vermont, donations are accepted at:
True North Radio
P.O. Box 652
Burlington VT 05402-0652
The above organization was exposed for their attempts to infiltrate our Vermont schools by Paul Beaudry the lone conservative voice on talk radio over the past few months. Despite their alleged efforts to silence him, suport for his show in the 11-12 am (est) time slot is growing and remains number one.
Intolerate people have called his advertisers and some have stopped supporting him; others in true Vermont fashion will not be bulled. They have directly mailed his frequent callers, petitioning them to not support the show. Now, they've taken it to a higher level with threats of personal bodily injury and slashing his tires.
Paul announced on the show today that the police are now involved. He has also notified all the local news affiliates and Fox News via Bill O'Reilly of the threats and actions of the intolerant cowards. You may recall that Paul has appeared on The O'Reilly Factor a few times regarding the senseless sentencing of child predators here in Vermont (i.e. 60 days sentence for the man who repeatedly raped a young girl).
If anyone would like to support this effort to continue the lone conservative voice in Vermont, donations are accepted at:
True North Radio
P.O. Box 652
Burlington VT 05402-0652
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
From SPME - Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
As usual, Caroline Glick has again accurately described one of the most disturbing positions of the "left" (see below) and "progressive Zionists". To read the entire article click here.
Instead of accepting this paradigm-shattering truth, "progressive Zionists"
have chosen the path of radicalization. Rather than calling on the
Arabs to abandon jihad and accept Israel, they have turned to
criminalizing Israel for defending itself from the jihadist forces bent
on the wholesale slaughter of its citizens.
Instead of accepting this paradigm-shattering truth, "progressive Zionists"
have chosen the path of radicalization. Rather than calling on the
Arabs to abandon jihad and accept Israel, they have turned to
criminalizing Israel for defending itself from the jihadist forces bent
on the wholesale slaughter of its citizens.
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