Rather than wait for their city to throw a parade for returning Iraq war veterans, grassroots organizers in St. Louis started a Facebook campaign to raise $25,000 for a parade and veterans' resource fair. They exceeded that goal, and with the help of veterans' group The Mission Continues, the event is on track to take place on January 28th.
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Mr Romney or Mr 15% says that he would send the troops back to Iraq if he is President of the United States. Is he sending any of his five sons?
I would like to see Rachel Maddow discuss this comment.
I'll discuss it.
If brains are a prerequisite for headaches then Romney lives a pain free life. You can clearly hear that other people do all of his critical thinking for him when you listen to him during the debates.
I understand the frustration with the conservative party but it is a little ignorant to think that they are the only government officials to abuse tax laws and financial policies in this country! Until we run this country like a business and get rid of the divided "I WON" mentality is the only way we'll move forward.
It's a stretch by any rational persons thinking that any sort of food stamp fraud, welfare fraud, Medicare fraud or any other wasteful government spending caused the financial collapse. This type of commentary is nothing but a red herring. As to your belief that government should be run like business, what pray tell do you think caused the financial disaster? The government stopped governing! It relinquished all market controls over to business. These events have been repeatedly described in multiple reputable media outlets since 2008. Home loans were marketed to people who could not afford them under misleading terms and they were foreclosed on. These bad loans were bundled and sold as excellent investments. There was an orgy of this activity. Bank on Bank fraud. That's what caused the collapse. The institutions failed but the people that ran them profited obscenely. Do you want to put your government back in their hands?
By being the first to comment, I go back to my return from Viet Nam. Lots of protests, but no one caring. Only politics. So, now a welcome home? Spare me. For years, people have vilified the military. Yes, there are a few bad apples, but most are good. For those who served, protest. For those who didn't, shut up.
I realize a lot of Vets see it your way. However the truth is that the military is under direct civil authority so of course it boils down to politics. Good for you for serving what others saw as a corrupted government's private war for profit. Others went to jail in opposition to the war and paid a heavy price for simply saying no.
Funny how my brother talked about being spat on when in truth he came straight back to Charleston to a loving family and was never spat on. We are all manipulated by those willing to force their way into a position of power. We are all dupes.
By the way just what did you fight for?The right to tell Americans to shut up?
On this, there is no opinion I have desired to hear, aside from those who have served, continue to serve, and continue to carry the terms of their service with them.
This is about celebrating the end of this war, and the remarkable job our military did. And it is also about supporting these servicemembers as they try to re-enter society. It's about healing. It is remarkable that this event has come together through a grassroots effort!
Actually you need to ask us vets. Many of us feel that it is NOT time to celebrate yet because many of our brothers/sisters are still in harms way serving in Afganistan. We can have a parade when everyone is home. It's nice to have good intentions but are you doing it for political purposes? Ask a vet what he/she thinks.
We cannot go back and change the past. We can only do something in the present. We are a new generation and these men and women did an awesome job of what they were asked to do. It isn't about if you agree or disagree with why we were in Iraq. It is about the men and women who served. I think it is awesome that they will be having a parade to welcome them home. We need to thank all the people who serve today and served in the past. We are a country that is free because of these people protecting us. We also need to thank their families for their sacrifice too.
Tom--It's a travesty that you were treated that way upon returning from Vietnam. Let's not make the same mistakes as a nation. This past Veterans Day, my children and I had the honor of hosting my father-in-law at our elementary school assembly. With tears in his eyes, he said it was the first time he was ever formally honored since his return from Vietnam 40 years ago. A sincere thank you goes a long way--even when horribly long overdue. ALL veterans deserve our respect and appreciation, even if we don't agree with the wars they were sent to fight. Let's use this opportunity to get it right. I see this event as not just honoring our most recently minted Veterans, but collectively showing that when you risk your life for us, we will at the very least honor your sacrifice and welcome you home with open arms. Take note the rest of America--St. Louis is leading by example. Thanks, Rachel, for shining a spotlight on this.
We are a nation of people, and as people we make some mistakes, but our better character, our goals, hopes, and kindness, are all among our most winning attributes. We are not defined by the mistakes we have made, but by how we handle them. Let's welcome home the hundreds of thousands of service men and women, and civilians alike, who went to Iraq, did the right thing for their country and for Iraq, and came home our heroes.
They were put into harms way by us and they most assuredly deserve our thanks for wearing the uniform and serving. Warriors do not declare war they fight wars . Politicians declare wars and then send their kids to camp "Hide Them Here"
It's about people, not about politics. Help if you want to.
I'm one of the 'helpers' to this shindig we're doing. My reasons are so selfish, no one would believe it. Here's how selfish I am. I want to see these soldiers...men and women...(kids to me...I'm old enough to be the mother to most of them I bet) smile.
I hope to see some amazement on their faces when thousands cheer their coming home. I hope to see pride and joy.
And in the process of that, I hope I can express my thanks and gratitude. I hope by helping, and going to this parade, I get to look some soldiers in the eye and tell them thank you.
And I want to leave that event knowing I HELPED MAKE IT HAPPEN.
the nation has no idea what's coming its way on the 28th yet. Imagine the resources, manpower, and motivation of an entire CITY, from the mayor's office down, working together in real time on Facebook to do what everybody in the nation told us was "impossible."
Then imagine adding to that muscle the organizational power, dedication, strong backs and quick minds of veterans' groups from St. Louis to New York to LA to the Florida tip to frozen Alaska. That's what's happening. And we are doing it all ourselves, we didn't need an order to come down on high before we stepped up for the vets.
Why? Because this is about people, not politics. Welcome home, vets. We're glad you're back.
heya, if anybody is still interested in this...There's a live 'Virtual Fundraiser' going on right now in realtime at the group's facebook page.
Also, the Budweiser Clydesdales will be in the parade. So that's cool.
We DO love our Clydesdales!
Hard to believe how much time you dedicated to that st. louis parade. Seemed like overkill after 90 seconds. I switched and went looking for news and serious commentary.
After Germany's defeat in WWII we had large parades to celebrate the troops and we were still fighting Japan at the time.
Hey, we in Wisconsin did this 18 months ago. June 16, 2010. We did a welcome home parade in Stevens Point for more than 3000 Iraq War vets and provided free lunch and entertainment for them and their families.
Did not supported the war......But I did ...and continue to support our soldiers Ill make sure to see some good footage from the parade specially ..the women, lgbt , and the wounded units .... aside from the killed in battle they had the hardest part ..... for they had fought two wars ..... you know what I meant
If the rich people who invest and want 15% tax rate becuase of the risk associated with it, then I suggest we give the men and women in the armed forces zero % tax at least during the time they are deployed in the field.
To me this is entirely baffling. We as a nation have just expended massive amounts of manpower (i.e., the lives of our citizens), years of time and trillions of dollars -- for what? To invade and utterly devastate a country that posed no threat to us. We were the invaders. We were the occupiers. We were the killers, the torturers ... you know, the bad guys. Now we're done, and we're trying so so hard to wipe our hands clean of the mess we made of millions of Iraqi lives, and to find some way to deal with the mess we made of thousands of American lives who served in Iraq.
In this context, the big deal for TRMS is: a parade. Great, wonderful! A parade! TRMS scarcely mentions any longer the ongoing moral responsibility we have for the ruined lives of Iraqis (not that TRMS ever made much of a big deal over it in the past). But a parade for the troops coming home is something the show can stand behind wholeheartedly.
This is just utter BS. If you really want a parade, have one for the handful of troops who refused to accept the lies. Have a parade for the deserters and the COs. Have a parade for Bradley Manning. They are the only heroes.
The troops who served in Iraq were complicit in a massive crime against humanity. I'm sure most of them did it unwittingly. But regardless of the reasons for their participation or their apparent ignorance, it is simply wrong to celebrate that participation as if it were something admirable. It is not admirable. It was wrong. The U.S. should not have sent them to Iraq, but since they received the order to go, they had an obligation to refuse. Because the invasion and occupation were WRONG -- illegal, immoral, evil. Parades are just another excuse to ignore that moral reality, and to go on ignoring the facts about what we did to Iraq.
Parades call attention to the servicepeople and make people think about the wars. Whether or not we agree with the reasons for war, it is important that we honor these brave young people and their selfless service. Kudos to St. Louis for starting the trend.