This family is not impressed

It’s Aug. 30, and the Republican National Convention is in full swing. Many people there are feeling great about the world’s condition, and they are expressing their gratitude for what a great job George Bush is doing. Steven Baldwin was just on TV saying he was voting for George Bush because he was closer to God than the other candidate. When asked by Ron Reagan which God George Bush was closer to, Baldwin did his “deer in the headlights” impression and said, “You got me there!”

Today George Bush said some very comforting words. He said the Iraq war was a “catastrophic success.” What the hell does that mean? He went on to say the war on terror was a war that couldn’t be won.

How do you think the parents of Second Lt. Therrel S. Childers, age 30, of Harrison County, Miss., feel about that? What about the parents of Omead H. Razani, age 19, of Los Angeles? Second Lt. Childers was our first causality in George Bush’s war, dying on March 21, 2003. And Mr. and Mrs. Razanis’ son was our most recent causality, as of Aug. 27, 2004.

From a personal prospective, the family of Benjamin Joseph Colgan, the 420th coalition soldier to die in this war, is not impressed. We cannot accept incompetence when it comes to the welfare of the youth of America, so we must speak out.

Thus far 114 Californians have died in this war. Our dead range in age from 18 to 50, and they leave behind many, many loved ones. Ben left behind a pregnant wife and two young daughters. Chico resident Arron Clark, age 20, was the 532nd person to die in Iraq.

In a time when many soldiers are being called back to service for extended stays in Iraq (even though they have served the time they committed to), why isn’t Tommy Franks, the architect of this war, being called back from his retirement? Why has there not been an announced plan for peace?

Before you vote in November, I urge you to put a face on this war and visit www.lunaville.com/oif/Details.aspx. George Bush is not the hero of this war. The people listed here are. They all have a different story. They all had different beliefs, and they are all dead. Though we appreciate their sacrifice, we must ask ourselves whether our leaders could have done a better job. Did we put our loved ones in harm’s way when there were alternatives? Did they really die in a “war on terror that can’t be won,” as George Bush says?

God bless America.