.... I'm in a spin, loving the spin I'm in! Oh yeah, and I paid for it! gadflyer.com/articles/?ArticleID=259 (don't bother to add a www--it doesn't need it)

(Excerpted from MSNBC) My son is an army reservist and he returned from Iraq last March. He was ordered to attend one of the inauguration parties. I am prior service myself, so I felt very proud that he was chosen from all the people in his group. This particular gathering was to honor many of the soldiers and their families who have been to Iraq. A group of five drove down from Long Island to Washington last Monday morning, and they were to return Tuesday evening. Around midnight on Tuesday, my son returned home, looking tired from the drive. The next morning, he told me he didn't have a good time because they basically stood around and watched the president say a few words. He said there was no food provided for them, so they ate after the event at some fast-food restaurant. They spend all this money for this celebration and can't feed my son? He stayed at a local military base with the rest of the group, but they made him pay for the room. Apparently, there was a mix-up, or they were short a room. I don't care what the problem was, he was told to go, this was not an option, orders were cut for this excursion! I am disgusted and horrified that he had to even show his wallet for this event. In addition to serving as a medic in the 310 MP Batallion, my son is a full-time student and works part-time to fill in the gaps the military doesn't. He takes his responsibility as a soldier very seriously. I am angered at the way he has been treated. People need to know how some heroes are being treated by their own government. --Rebecca Lawson, West Babylon, N.Y. msnbc.msn.com/id/6863629/ (add your www)

Because, you know.... it's in trouble (or so some would have you believe). So... why, oh, why, oh why, is it so important to do what this administration wants to do when they themselves admit that "there was no way that individual accounts would help solve the solvency problem of the Social Security system."? mediamatters.org/items/200502040012 (no need to add a www) Not only does it NOT solve the "solvency" issues, but it CUTS BENEFITS!!!!! Cut benefits in order to solve nothing? Can't we do better than that?

Putting your foot in your mouth has nothing to do with whether or not you respond to my posts. It has to do with you continuously contradicting yourself. I've been swamped at work, swamped at home, sick and just plain to exhausted to even think about you. So I guess, if I'm here a lot, I need to get a life, and if I'm not here, I have my foot in my mouth. Sounds just like your kind of logic.

Mike, you wrote.... Why does the USA always have to be the ones to defend the freedom of these other countries? Well if WE don't, who will?? Because freedom is OUR value and it isn't everyones. Many cultures value other things higher than Freedom. It's hard for us Americans to understand because it's so important to us. Maybe the French value personal pleasures above providing personal freedom for other nations. In many Muslim countries fighting for the will of Allah is higher up on the priorities list than personal freedoms. So if the majority of Iraqis value our concept of freedom above everything else and they are willing to preserve it after we leave, than great. Otherwise it's just a great big waste of lives.