YESTERDAY WAS MEMORIAL DAY-- THINKING ABOUT OUR SOLDIERS-- ALIVE AND DEAD-- SHOULDN'T BE A ONE DAY OCCURANCE

Yesterday was the commercialized version of Memorial Day. The real Memorial Day is Friday, May 30. But what would you say if I told you that Memorial Day started as a subterfuge for treason? Hard to believe that this most patriotic of American holidays had its roots in a bit of a conspiracy among Confederates to gather and talk crap about the Union after they were defeated in 1865. Afraid that they would be arrested for treason, Confederate officers had their wives and daughters organize activities around honoring fallen rebels and "the men were figuratively hiding behind the skirts of these women." Sometimes as many as 60,000 white southerners would gather at these reveries for their accursed "Lost Cause." After the Spanish-American War and World War I, the Confederate finally started observing Memorial Day with Americans.

Their sick and perverted "Lost Cause" isn't what Tom Allen had in mind when his campaign sent out a tribute from Maine veterans for their fallen comrades. Tom's powerful and aggressive support for veterans and, recently, for the GI Bill, has forced Bush rubber stamp Susan Collins to break with Bush and McCain, something she rarely does, and vote with the majority to the Senate to update the GI Bill and give Iraq and Afghanistan war vets an opportunity to get an education after serving-- even though McCain was hysterical about Republicans not falling into line and following his leadership.

Back to the "Lost Cause" for one moment. Not all Southerners-- and none I know-- are unreconstructed Confederates. One southern lady sent me a heartfelt note this morning about killed and wounded servicemen and women from Georgia. Unlike me, my friend Regina Thomas organizes a good deal of her life around church. She's a devout and dedicated woman whose belief in Jesus' message has led her in a very different direction from the so-called "Religious Right." Hers (and Jesus') religion is about the Gospel of Love and Inclusion, not the ranting of hatred and bigotry. The first e-mail I read this morning was Regina urging me to pray.

Pray especially for our families of all military personnel and by all means our troops. I read a very sad story today in the Savannah paper. A young (22) trooper who had been burned over 97% of his body 3 years ago-- German is the name-- fought for his life as he struggled to overcome the burns, the surgeries and the pain-- the feeling of not ever being loved by a woman and of all things what he saw when he looked in the mirror and the image looking back. The story will bring tears to your eyes.

This story happens far to often-- the world needs to be able to share the pains of all the families of the fallen, the slain and the injured. God Bless them all and GOD BLESS AMERICA!

This Memorial Day weekend is intense for so many-- this war-- this one war has changed America; it has changed and adversely affected so many lives. Our troops are tired, our families are weary, our children are losing parents, parents are losing children, spouses are losing spouses and the list goes on and on.

Just think... when it is time for a soldier to be relieved of his duty because the time has come for either getting out or staying in, this president issued a "Stop Loss Order" - holding our very own American citizens against their will. And what can be done about it? Congress must act to change this; legislation can change this. If soldiers (no matter the branch) want to get out, then they should be able to do just that. I cannot imagine what they are going through. What are our congressman/women thinking. If they would only put themselves in the shoes of our troops. Maybe those that support the war need to go over to Iraq, sleep where the troops sleep for one night, I can assure you that they will not get any sleep. May God have Mercy on us all!

Regina is a state Senator from Savannah challenging a Blue Dog, John Barrow, who has supported Bush every step of the way-- who brags about supporting Bush every step of the way. Listen to him bragging on the floor of Congress halfway through this song we turned into a viral video for Regina's campaign:



Yesterday, Ken posted a very powerful Memorial Day message from U.S. veteran Bob Geiger, Dead Troops Remembered By President Who Had Them Killed. If you missed it yesterday, I assure you it's relevance hasn't diminished at all since then and I urge you to go back and read it.