I know the American custom is to celebrate any reason for a three-day weekend, but I'd like to ask all my American friends to simply stop long enough to think about what Memorial Day really means. It's NOT a day to get drunk with friends, it's NOT a day you should spend having fun and it's NOT your usual holiday. It's a day of mourning.

Stop to think about the freedoms you enjoy (and those that have recently been returned to you with the ousting of the Bush regime) and to reflect on the contributions of those who ensured those freedoms. By all means take the time to enjoy the company of friends and family, but just stop occasionally to think about those who WON'T be able to do the same thing because of their sacrifice.

America is a great country because of the principles and values it was built upon, truth, freedom and justice for ALL!

We've slipped a little these past eight years because we've been led astray by a bunch of megalomaniacs who wanted to play RISK with real people. They say they've made the world a safer place, and one of them (Dick Cheney) is STILL asserting that torture is necessary to secure our freedom, but all they've done in actuality is to create a whole new generation of disabled veterans and fill the graves of young men who will never live to see their children grow up. It's a bad dream from which I hope we'll wake up from with our values intact.

I ran a poll recently regarding the ill effects of officially endorsed torture and I invite everyone to take a look at the thoughtful responses. Most people agree that if they knew friends, family or neighbors were being tortured they would do something to stop it. There is no reason to believe that people in middle-eastern countries don't feel they same way. Torture does not work - as a disabled veteran myself, the subject came up several times among friends when we were serving and everyone agreed (to a man) that we would say ANYTHING to stop the pain, and that included making up things that sounded good. Please read this article about the five myths surrounding torture: [link]

Of course, there ARE American politicians who argue that torture is necessary and that "waterboarding" ISN'T torture, but as I said in a poll response, I would bet my entire life savings that Dick Chency wouldn't allow his daughter to be waterboarded!

In conclusion - please peruse these veteran websites and support them however you can - even by passing them on to friends. And remember, the lives of our servicemen and women are too important to put into the hands of morons who see them only as figures on a strategy table.

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