Jack Dalton's Straight Speak 3.08.05
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by Jack Dalton , 08.03.2005 Buy Fantastic Progressive Stickers, Buttons, Tees, and more!
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http://jack-dalton.blogspot.com/
Note: After I had sent out the first piece
about Jonathan Barriga I kicked my self right in the arse! When I re-read it the
next day I knew immediately I had gone over the political edge in trying to
write about his situation. Today, I re-wrote the article about Jonathan and kept
it about Jonathan and not a political tirade like the first go-round. Anytime
any of you think I have lost my focus on who and what I am writing about, don’t
hesitate to say something. After all, I’m just an old
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The Plight of Pvt.
Jonathan Barriga, USMC
By: Jack Dalton
Jonathan was a young man in
high school when the Marine recruiter approached him about joining the Marines
“Delayed Entry” program. That’s where a young person under-age and still in
school, with parents permission, can sign on the bottom line, supposedly receive
an enlistment bonus, then once out of high school straight off to Boot Camp.
That’s pretty much how it happened with Jonathan; who is now at the Marine Corps
Base, Camp Geiger, N.C. This is the very same base Trent Helmkamp was at, and where
he underwent an outrageous ten month ordeal after submitting paperwork as a
Conscientious Objector. Not only is Jonathan at the very same base, but he is
also in the very same Separation Barracks and under the very same command as was
Trent. (open here to read the full—and more focused essay about
Jonathan and his situation)
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How many more mothers will have to
bury their children, husbands or brothers due to this Bush/Cheney & Co war
of choice; war of aggression; war against the peace in Iraq? How many more
children in school will we allow the military to target as military enlistments
plummet as a result of this war of aggression? See you in Washington during
the mass rally there this
Sept. 24-26.--Jack
Where Do
I Live?
By: Cindy Sheehan
Gold
Star Families for Peace
http://www.gsfp.org/
August 3,
2005
One very positive aspect of my public anti-war, pro-peace
stance is that it has put me in contact with so many people all over the world.
I believe that my willingness to share my heart and tragic story (and in the
process, tell the truth) helps people open up to me in ways that they cannot do
with another. In the past few days, I have been bombarded with horror stories
about what our government is doing to innocent Americans. (Read Cindy’s full article here)
===============================================================
A Young Man's Death: What Have We
Come To?
I repeat Tom’s question: “What have we
come to? (the full article is after my little tirade) The death
toll for American’s in Iraq is over 1800—at least that is the “official”
Pentagon numbers, which from all I have seen are seriously under-stated; the
death toll for Iraqi’s is over 130,000, with the majority of them women and
children. The U.S. Air Force recently contradicted the Pentagon in the number of
medically evacuated troops out of Iraq when it stated over 55,000 have been
evacuated. Yet, over half the people in this country fall in step behind
Bush/Cheney & Co when they state that to honor the dead, “we will stay the
course; we will; complete the mission.” Whatever in the hell the “mission” is,
is anyone’s guess at this point in time. (Read my full comment and Tom’s full
TomGram essay here)
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Jack Dalton is a disabled Vietnam veteran, activist and independent writer that lives in Portland, Or. He has a blog, Jack’s Straight Speak and is a columnist for the POAC as well as many other web publications.
