I gotta get cable.

I think it’s really easy for us to judge other people on their behaviors and actions and criticize them for their mistakes; however, this is life.

That being said. Fuck George W. Bush. I try to make this blog about my life and not about politics or religion, but fuck him – and if you don’t agree let me reiterate that this blog is about me and my decisions, I’ve decided to not back him. On New Years I was at my dad’s and watched the names of Wisconsin soldiers who died the past year scroll across the screen. Two things hit me, the first being that these were just kids. The screen replayed over and over, 22 years old, 21 years old, 20 years old, 23 years old. These are young adults that went to war for our country, to be a hero, and they were taken away. The second thing that hit me was just thinking about how many of those people that didn’t die are so messed up. My sister’s ex-husband is psychotic, often threatening to kill himself or her when he returned from the war. Granted, part of this is just him but I’m sure the fact that he wielded a gun for 4 years and saw people, both supposed “enemies” and countrymen die, had a little something to do with it. Her current boyfriend, also a former Marine in Iraq is more stable but still wakes up to nightmares. He won’t discuss how many people he killed or how many people he saw die.

And then there’s a kid from my high school that is standing trial for a murder allegedly committed by him and 2 other fellow soldiers. He’s 21. He has a 2 year old daughter. He was one of those kids in school who never ruffled the water. When it became news that he, of all people, was coming back to the states to face the charges we were a small town in shock. At this point I look at George W. Bush and can’t help but blame him, this kid could have grown into a fine young man, had a fine family, had a life – but his service to his country cost him everything. Yes, it was a decision he made to join, but life could have been so different.

So send 21,500 more of our young men and women to war, but know one thing – the majority of American citizens don’t look at these veterans as heroes, they look at them as poor people that have lived their short lives fighting a war that they didn’t belong in. Or look at them as young bodies in cold wooden caskets, and go to bed every night knowing that your daughters are fine but you’ve ruined other people’s lives.

That being said. I need to get cable so I'm not faced with the decision of watching the presidential debate, One Tree Hill or the Antique Road Show.