thanks for stopping by

Dear Affie Ellis,

Thanks for "personally" stopping by my house and leaving the flier. I thought I'd drop you a line and tell you why I am not voting for you in November.

I am a child of illegal immigrants. But I am white and my family invaded this country a few hundred years ago, so that hardly matters. (You too, are a product of illegal immigration -- crossing the land bridge like you did way back during the Ice Age. Also, I don't think your Navajo ancestors recognized the US as this country's legitimate government, but that is another issue altogether.)

I don't think that you should deny illegal immigrants non-emergency services. They are humans, just like you and deserve the same access to basic rights. Also, if this move is to save us money, then you are going at it the wrong way. Any insurance agency will tell you that the best way to drive down medical costs is through preventative measures. Immunizations. Health check ups. Pre-natal care. Regular teeth cleaning.

I let my teeth go for years. Now I have 7 cavities to fill and need 2 root canals. I'm betting my insurance would have found it cheaper to care for me if I had just gone to the dentist every 6mos like I am supposed to.

If you really want to save us money and make sure we have jobs, I would prefer you going after the top rung of the ladder, instead of the bottom. You can start with Wal-Mart. I pay more through taxes to support their workers than I do some guy who snuck across the border and now contributes to my Social Security without any chance of using that money for himself.

(by the way, when I say go after Wal-Mart, I mean the corporation, not the employees)

Thank you for your time.

~Lila Schow
Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Government
http://goodusgov.org/

Pulling Out: Premature Extractulation

I admit it. I'm a fool, I've been calling for troop withdrawals from Iraq since March 19, 2003. Maybe even before that. Full extraction, cut and run style.

Now, I'm not ignorant of history. I know that if we ever broadcast "White Christmas" throughout the streets of Baghdad with choppers poised on the rooftops it's not going to be pretty. In fact, it would have been prettier in 2003 than 2004, in 2004 than 2005, or in 2005 than 2006. Each day our involvement makes it worse.

We may be the most expensive armed force in the world, be we seem to be pretty ineffective. The money thrown at the defense industry is not making it to the places it is needed. Soldiers and training. And it shows. So just do us all a favor, Mr. Monkey in Charge, and bring them all home.

My view has become popular among the Democrats, a frightening turn of events, actually. Kerry, Edwards, Murtha, Feingold, Reid, Clinton, even Hagel and Pelosi are on my side. So right there I know there is something wrong with my idea.

See, here's the thing. It's going to fall apart. No matter if we are there or not. Being there gives the insurgency a common enemy and degrades our worth in the eyes of the world. That's a bad place for us and Iraq, (the people of Iraq anyway). We've put corrupt fools in charge, called a coup a democracy, and poured all our reconstruction money into the pockets of terrorists and soon-to-be terrorists.

Our troops are no good at keeping the peace, they have proven that spectacularly for the past three years. Our elections are no good at running the country. An international team of non-whities would do much better, but we all know the US won't let someone go in and arbitrate our fuck ups. (I don't need to bring up Vietnam again, do I?)

So pull them out. Let the power struggle take hold. Wash our hands and get back to checking shampoo bottles in the airport for explosives. Oh, wait...

I forgot one little thing. Private contractors. When we call for timetables and troop withdrawals and such, are we including our private armies as well? If we take our troops out and leave Iraq in the hands of companies such as Dyncorp and Custer Battles and Blackwater are we really doing anything except increasing the cost of this war?

Private contractors, usually retired veterans hired by security companies, can make $80k a year. Not a lot when compared to their CEO's, but still a hell of a lot more than an infantry grunt. And they can do things our soldiers can't. For example, they don't have a chain of command to answer to, so when they commit war crimes there is no puppet court in the US to try them. They don't have rules of engagement, so they can open fire on anyone and not feel the repercussions. And, as DynCorp has shown us in Bosnia, they can trade in slaves and rape children and pillage and then receive raises for their work.

I know, this lack of accountability sounds an awful lot like our troops, so what really is the difference? The difference is that under US laws, the military occasionally has to face up to their wrongs. The corporations never do.

Following news of Green's rape/murder/burning of an Iraqi child, Military Kill Counts and US cronyism ....to say that leaving our troops in might be the safest option is a scary thought.

~Lila Schow
Because Responsible Citizens Clean Up After Their Government
http://goodusgov.org/