Many people make the case that Jenna & Barbara Bush should be sent to Iraq and while it is a nice argument, it just doesn't make logistical sense. The Secret Service protection alone would preclude their unit from accomplishing anything. Jenna and Barbara should make some kind of commitment to serve our country if indeed daddy's war plan in Iraq is a noble cause. You know, making a good example for the rest of us.
The Bush family is a great example of the current administration and so many of our elected officials not being touched by the war.
I only know of one elected official who shares the pain that 2322 families are suffering due to the loss of a loved one in the War in Iraq. Becky Lourey, a state Senator from Minnestoa has a unique platform in speaking out against the war. Becky Lourey lost her son, Matt in Iraq May 26, 2005. On Democracy Now, Amy Goodman described her this way:
Lourey was a leading opponent in her state of the invasion of Iraq. In March 2003, she authored an antiwar resolution signed by eighteen other state senators. She said she spoke out against the Iraq war because “this war is alienating us from the rest of the world, and I believe that this occupation in Iraq is making Americans less safe."
I do know that if the younger members of the Bush family think this is such a noble cause they should all be doing more to serve the country. We don't know if they have been encouraged to do so, but with the matriarch of the family, Barbara Bush making statements like this
"Why should we hear about body bags and deaths? It's not relevant. So why should I waste my beautiful mind on something like that?"
I just don't think that joining up is anywhere on the radar of anyone in the Bush family. Here's a list and here's a pretty picture of all of them, too. Big smiles, because they aren't going to war.
Military Service Eligible Children of George W. Bush 
Jenna Bush
Barbara Bush
Military Service Eligible Children of Jeb Bush
George P. Bush
Noelle Bush
John Ellis Bush Jr.
Military Service Eligible Children of Neil Bush
Lauren Bush
Pierce Bush
Military Service Eligible Children of Marvin Bush
Marshall Bush
Military Service Eligible Children of Dorothy Bush Koch
Samuel LeBlond
Ellie LeBlond
My son, Lt Ken Ballard will always have been a better man than any of them will ever be.
6 comments:
In World War 2, FDR's sons served, though that was pre-Secret Service protection.
I was a little surprised to learn that Justice Scalia's son had served in Iraq, but for the most part the message of "how important the alleged cause of Democracy really is" is conveyed by these lists.
The Twins wouldn't have to serve in Iraq fwiw. They could, say, join the Texas Air National Guard.
Barbara Bush somehow got very favorable press during her time as First Lady, but I've often wondered if image and reality matched in her case. I suspecdt the real Barbara was the lady wandering the Astrodome post Katrina.
The Bush could would probably need only mnimal SS protection, given that they'd be embedded in the US military.
These kids will avoid service and then years from now run for office as hawks.
I know how you feel and agree with you 100%, as my brother died nearly two years ago in Iraq. The problem with the majority of our country's so-called "leaders" is that they see the war as a video game, that the men and women lost are some how expendable U.S. citizens. Expendable? No one will ever be able to relive what my brother and I had together, the things we've overcome together, the laughs we had together. Who - can they tell me - is going to be there for me when our mother dies, or in some other event that only he would be able to share with me and help me through? There isn't any other person on this planet who knows mom the way we do, who will feel the way I do when she's gone. SSG Edward Carman was also the man of our family, as our dad wasn't around much. If he is so expendable, why is my life so empty now?
I guarantee that if any of the Bushes ever had to experience such a loss, they wouldn't be so quick to start or back a war. The problem is that they live on a different level, one that you and I see in movies - a level that isn't reality. I mean, can you imagine a life in which you wanted for nothing and got everything you wanted? It would sure skew your reality.
Well, I'm done ranting. Thanks for listening.
Hey Gold Star Sister-
Thanks for visiting (and ranting). I checked out your borther's website that you made for him, it's a great tribute to a great brother and a great man.
Chance-
I wonder if Barbara Bush's image was protected by the media as they did the indiscretions of John Kennedy. The media was different in those days with a sense of decorum - perhaps misplaced.
Now, if the media isn't doing their job by telling the truth and the whole story, they are assassinating someone's reputation without warrant.
What happened to the media, where are the real journalists?
I so wish that Mr. Bush could be given a selection of these heartfelt pieces by gss and gsmso -- or have them read out loud to him if necessary? -- so he could begin to feel the reality of the shattered lives of the loved ones. And some anguished thoughts from all the Iraqi mothers and sisters too.
He's so shielded. Empathy is more painful than the satisfactions of patriotic bombast. If you bestride the world like a colossus, who needs it?
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