To US Veterans...

[Atomic Lava]

I had two grandfathers that served in World War Two. One on my fathers side and the other on my mothers side. One served in the Pacific theater on Christmas Island and the other was in Europe. The one that served in the Pacific - I have a photo of him as well as his side cap. Both hold incredibly great value to me. However, I do know if both of them were alive now they would be absolutely disgusted by the coward we have in office. It is important to thank them for their service, as just because they are my relatives does not mean their service is my own. I know some people have this weird mindset, but not me.

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I was proud to have served in the US Air Force during the first Gulf War to expel the Iraqis from Kuwait. It was a noble effort, IMO. Even then though, there was the issue that Sudaam Hussein did not place his dedicated troops along the Iraq-Saudi Arabia border. He drafted innocent farmers and placed them there - and we mercilessly carpet-bombed them. When we finally sent in the ground troops, the surviving Iraqi "soldiers" surrendered to news camera crews. We taught them to sing the Gilligan's Island song and they were ecstatic - happy to be alive.

So, mixed feelings.

I feel like we did what we had to do but it's nothing to beat our chests about and feel superior.

Luke: "I'm not looking for a friend; I'm looking for a great warrior."

Yoda: "Great warrior? Wars not make one great."

That's how I feel about it.

I had a boss who was in Desert Storm. Incredible guy. When we invaded Iraq in 2003 he was really pissed off. I remember him telling me that Bush should have been the one on the front line of that invasion since it was something HE wanted and America did not want.