I am for civil unions, don't call it marriage. The voice of the people has spoken in many states - it has been outlawed. So as a whole, we are not there yet. People still prefer the don't ask don't tell approach. When I think of the gay couples i know, these folks contribute to our society in a big way: teachers, policemen, business people. I really beleive most people have a "Hollywood queer" in mind as they consider this issue! My DH has Parkinsons, but even that aside, I would say the US needs to pursue stem cell research, or we'll all be paying premium prices for that treatment from another country. All this debate over it here, and other countries are laughing all the way to the patent office! The national debt is also something people don't understand. Me included, but I know enoguh to be very much against that approach. It's exactly like living on credit card debt...only this time we are putting our eggs into foreign investor's baskets. That money did not come from the thin air, folks! There will be a terrible price to pay for this, and we all skate around it.

I appreciate your reply; thank you for taking the time to expand on your previous reply. I apologize for the lengthly response, but it's close to my heart and I feel like it's really important to respond to your response honestly... which has found it's way out in a short novel form lol I'm interested in understanding your thinking on the following: "Point blank....we need to be there, these people are a huge thret to us and also the innocent people over there need our help. If we backed out now, we will be in serious trouble" Can you explain where you get/got your information that brought you to this conclusion? Which people are a threat to us? Are the innocent people the Iraqi civilians? How are we helping them? Why would we be in serious trouble if we backed out now? What would having more troops do to help the situation, and how do you think we can support sending those troops and still remain safe from terrorist groups still remaining from 911, terrorist groups that have formed in response to our invasion of Iraq, and places like N. Korea and other nuclear forces? My husband and I are both against troop escalation. Most of the guys I've talked with at Walter Reed are against troop escalation. Many, if not most, of the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and dependents I know are against troop escalation. Many of these people agreed with the decision to go to war in Iraq in the first place , and their minds have been changed. I did not agree with going to war with Iraq. I'm from the school that says we should focus on the specific 'terrorists' who attacked us. They are in many countries, not associated solely with Iraq. We actually trained some of the 911 terrorists. We continue to train terrorists at Ft.Benning, where my dad was trained as a paratrooper for the Vietnam war. Can you imagine what it would be like to sign on with the military and put your life in the hands of the government? It's an interesting thing. I find that most of the military people I talk with don't even like to be involved or informed about politics. While it's hard for me personally to swallow, I can understand and respect this because I know first hand how it feels to have the government have control over your LIFE in the biggest (okay, second biggest. My husband has the biggest) sense of the word. Bush's administration has a responsibility to those who have 'signed on' as much as we (I have to follow them too) have a responsibility to follow orders. They have not lived up to their responsibilities by any stretch of the imagination. Have you ever talked with a recruiter? It's hard to enter into something with an open mind when you already have it made up, but I suggest going in with an 18 year old and just listening. They don't talk about dieing. They talk about how they can give you a career. Check out recruiters in uneducated areas especially... it's amazing the things they say. Yes, the people who sign on with the military know they have a potential for going to war. They have to trust the government in this, and in this case the government has failed them. Why do people have an easier time talking about the individual soldiers responsibility to his (or her) country and not discussing our countries responsibilities to our soldiers? That seems so grotesquely backwards to me. I live in an area that is surrounded with all branches of the military. I am a military dependent. I shop, work out, and walk the dogs on a military base almost daily. The people who sign on just to go to Iraq are a huge minority, especially at this point. It's our LIVES, and we are belittled by people who say, "you knew what you were getting into." No, most of us didn't know our government would wage a war for money in the name of democracy, freedom, and national security. I know officers who have worked extensively with the Iraqi government, they will flat out admit this war is not about freedom, security, liberating the Iraqi's and/or all the other propaganda; it's about money. EVERY person I know who has worked with the Iraqi government AND with the people have been totally disheartened. Those 'in the know' are disgusted. Bush does not listen to his military advisers, he listens to his non-military neocon executive advisers who are making a killing... if you'll forgive the pun. What would I say to the burn patients who were victims of a terrorist attack? Well, what I DID say was we should find out how we let this happen in the first place, and yes, I talked about revenge. You really don't understand how I've been touched by this. A little background: I was a small business owner in N.Ca and visited friends in NYC frequently. I went to 'The Greatest Bar On Earth' (Tower 1) on the Friday before it went down. I was back in CA on the 11th. I had a friend who's stock broker was in one of the towers; he had an appointment that morning. He was in the area, but not in the building. He sustained some injuries; his stockbroker died. Equally terrible for me was talking to the folks I know in New Orleans (where I was married- my husband was in school in Pensacola FL)... where the government also failed, all while spending billions in this misguided war. We are still failing the people of New Orleans. I have heard the most morally reprehensible comments from defensive conservatives about the people of New Orleans, just because they (the conservatives) are so unwilling to admit any mistakes of this administration. How can you not admit at least SOME of these blatant and abhorrent mistakes? I have been profoundly touched by these events, and I am grateful for those experiences because it gives me a depth of insight I don't think I would be capable of without them. Here's the bottom line. The WTC went down on GW's watch and he's spend years and BILLIONS of dollars NOT FINDING THE AGGRESSORS. Start looking at some numbers, it's awe inspiring when you compare our military and financial resources with ANY other country. The most conservative comparisons show an unbelievable difference in power and wealth. My stance is so far from non-support of my country it's silly, I struggle not to take offense, and yet you still find it reasonable to assume because I disagree with this administration that I'm less patriotic than you. How awful. From where I stand, my patriotism is REFLECTED in my non-support of this administration and it's total disregard for it's responsibilities towards us as it's people. This is a point I take serious issue with; when people confuse my educated and first hand opinions an experiences to not support troop escalation, or even this entire war in Iraq, with not supporting 'the troops.' I am, in many ways, part of 'the troops.'

Ok my answers will be paragraph by paragraph..... If you are against the war....you are not supporting the troops, the media and protesters make it very hard for them to do their job. People had issues with vietnam, but my father went 3 times, he knew they needed help. Bin Laden is not our only threat, Sadam was just as big of a threat....explain to the people of Iraq that we won't go over there to help them and get the ******* who has murdered so many people, and if everyone agrees their country is the way to live, why is america filled with so many of them, many here because their countries are just like the ones we are fighting in. I highly doubt the women in the middle east enjoy not being able to leave their house without a male escort or being draged down a streat with a rope around their neck for showing their face in public. These people need our help. I am a single mother of a 14 month old with no support. I work my @ss of to support him and will continue to do so. He is only 14 months and already has 500.00 in his college fund, so his college will be taken care of as I am a responsible parent and started this fund the day he was born, why wait till he is 18 to start worrying? My opinion on liberals is they are super good at pointing out what is wrong, yet when asked the question how to fix it???? no one knows. The democrats have 2 years to prove they can do no better and then a republican president will get re-elected. So you tell me, how exactly do we fix what is wrong here? Now my own statement..... As I said, I am a single mom with no support, I have no parents and very little family, yet I find a way to get by and feel lucky not to live in a country where men can rape women whenever they want without consequenses and where I can show my face, speak my mind, choose what god I want to believe in and not be murdered for it. THEY NEED OUR HELP and we are Americans with compasion and WILL help. If I wasn't so worried about them and Americans I would say pull the troops and lets see which state gets the next terrorist attack, and then maybe liberals will learn. The terrorists came from all over the middle east so they all need a little visit. George Bush will go down in hystory as the man wo FINALLY got Sudam and killed the ******* We may never get Bin Laden and who knows, he is probably already dead, but that does not mean another head isn't growing in his place and we need to let them all know we need business. Sorry about miskeying but I have a child trying to type with me. Jess

I'm just guessing but you're against it, right? Thank God you have healthy children...I had my 2nd child 17 yrs. ago and he was born with a craniofacial birth defect. After 3 surgeries and one yet to go, it was fixable and not genetic but unless you walk in someone elses shoes (life) you should try to be more open minded and open hearted. I really hope that you don't vote on just one issue...there's so much more out there at stake.

Just received this from my cousin wife (my cousin is in Iraq) A mother asked President Bush, "Why did my son have to die in Iraq ?" Another mother asked President Kennedy, "Why did my son have to die in Viet Nam ?" Another mother asked President Truman, "Why did my son have to die in Korea ? Another mother asked President F.D. Roosevelt, "Why did my son have to die at Iwo Jima ?" Another mother asked President W. Wilson, "Why did my son have to die on the battlefield of France ?" Yet another mother asked President Lincoln, "Why did my son have to die at Gettysburg ?" And yet another mother asked President G. Washington, "Why did my son have to die near Valley Forge ?" Then long, long ago, a mother asked... "Heavenly Father, why did my Son have to die on a cross outside of Jerusalem ?" The answers to all these are similar -- "So that others may have life and dwell in peace, happiness and freedom." IF YOU DON'T STAND BEHIND OUR TROOPS, PLEASE, FEEL FREE... TO STAND IN FRONT OF THEM !!!