(e:Paul) - I haven't had the opportunity to respond, but I will now. Actually I had no idea you had responded until a couple of days ago when I was looking at some back journal entries. At any rate I owe you a response.

If I gave the impression that I have a problem with people protesting, I want to fix that impression right now. Protest is responsible, in part, for socioeconomic changes that benefit us all today. I have no problem with anybody taking their issue to the streets. I can disagree with them, I can tell you why I think they're mistaken - but in no way does that mean I have a problem with the fact they are protesting. There is a difference, and I hope we all can appreciate this, between disagreeing with people and saying that they shouldn't be allowed to protest. Now that I think about it, the first sentence I wrote before perfectly articulated this point (albeit in a more blunt manner). I'm really not sure how else I can say it.

I didn't approach it from this angle, but yes I know that politicians mix issues all the time. Although from my perspective most people are sort of by-the-issues, politicians can't be only about one or two issues - in order to get elected they have to be knowledgable about issues all across the spectrum, and they have to speak on those issues. This is part of what politicians do. I wasn't arguing that politicians shouldn't do this. To me there is a difference between being a politician, and having to speak on these issues, and participating in a protest, where the premise is based on only one topic.

Protests shouldn't be this way - if someone is protesting war, or abortion, or trade policy the message shouldn't become diluted by the obligations people have to other organizations which have nothing to do with the topic being protested. I'm not talking about people tagging along, of course this happens during most every protest, I'm talking about non-related organizations who employ active participation in something that has nothing to do with their area of interest, donating funds, paying for people to arrive on-site, building up the camp site, so on and so forth. Although many of these people care more about anything else than Sheehan's kid, they are smart and recognize that the opportunity for exposure couldn't get any better - they know how many cameras are there and they want to make sure they get some face time. The exposure they get, and the voice they get is the reward for the money and time they spend on a protest that is about anything but their own area of interest. When people told her she was being taken advantage of, Sheehan went out of her way to make sure that people knew she was supportive of these other organizations' efforts. What conclusion can someone come to other than the movement is not about the war - it is about the broader leftist ideology? If you can imagine the NRA building a protest site and flying people to an abortion rally, and the abortion protesters saying "Hey we welcome the NRA" you will understand the point I'm trying to make about the left mixing all of their eggs in the same basket. To me any protest is much more effective when everyone is focused on the same thing.

The only reason I bring Sheehan's name up, or the protest in Crawford is because all of these satellite protests are allegedly modeled after the one in Crawford. If that is really true then I should expect the very same things out of the Lafayette protest that I saw in Crawford - a "war" protest which is actually less about war than about peddling the broader ideology of the left. To be fair to the Lafayette protesters, I was not able to get there to see it, so I cannot say for certain that it is how the whole thing went down. If someone was there or can tell me about it, I would happily retract my statement when it comes to that protest. I would love to be able to say that here, in Buffalo, we are smarter than to do what has been done in Crawford.

None of this explains why I call these protesters assholes. I do not get pissed off by anything that I've written about so far in this post. What gets me really upset is when they incinuate that their message is carried by all military families. They go ahead and put up crosses for people whose families may diametrically oppose everything the protest is about. They get on the microphone and say they represent the military families. They drag MY FAMILY and many others into their protest when we want nothing to do with it. This is why they are such assholes. To make matters worse, Sheehan goes on camera and BELITTLES AND INSULTS other military families who don't see eye to eye with her. These other families will never ever be able to get in front of a microphone or a camera and plead their case, becase the mainstream press is not interested in peddling anything other than what the Sheehan movement says.

Thank you for your compliments, but I'm really not interested in going and changing peoples' minds about what they are protesting. Some, not all of the protesters have family members serving and I would have no right to tell them how they should feel when it comes to their family. This immediately makes me better than the movement. If anything all I would say to them is that they shouldn't mislead people about who they are representing, and they shouldn't go on the attack against other military families who don't agree - they will never have the opportunity to respond on the same scale. I'm not a violent person, and I am against violence against women, but when I heard Sheehan talk like that I wanted to knock her out. Who the fuck are YOU to start belittling and insulting people who have gone through the very same tragedy? People come to different conclusions for different reasons, and as far as the movement is concerned people should either come to their conclusion or be insulted, forced or shamed into agreeing with them. To me, even if I am against the war in Iraq I am honest enough to look at what they do and say, and come to a conclusion that it is not appropriate for that kind of shit to go on - ESPECIALLY WHEN THEY ARE TRYING TO GET PEOPLE TO SEE THEIR WAY.

Hopefully this clarifies how I feel about the subject.

Jason

Edit: I forgot to address this - (e:Paul) you bring up an interesting point about Yugoslavia and Clinton. I never saw such an outpouring against Clinton when he unilaterally attacked, or citizens perished, so on and so forth. In addition his bullshit, mamby-pamby way of handling Mogadishu cost lives, yet the anti-war left seemingly did not blink an eye. Why is this? If I'm wrong about this please tell me but it seems to me that it is only because Bush is in office that people care about this stuff.

Yeah, Roberts better answer all of our questions! He better be open and candid with those answers too! We're going to drag you through the mud and smile! Oh, and by the way, don't bring up quotes from our past when we were advocating exactly the opposite when a Democrat nominated someone. That stuff doesn't matter! Things are different now, really!

Jason

PS - Oh yeah, if you want some entertainment go ahead and tune in to C-SPAN over the next few days. Watch Judge Roberts run laps around those Libs intillectually!

I do not oppose someone else expressing themselves. If someone wants to park their chubby asses in protest, that is fine. But there are a couple things about this phenomenon that really bother me to the core, and I want to share those things with you all.

They say "We represent the military families." No, this is absolute rubbish. You represent yourselves, your families, and your half baked politics. Just because Cindy Sheehan thinks she represents everyone, and just because the mainstream media only gives attention to those of Cindy's ilk does not mean that you indeed are representative of all military families. Next time you feel those words coming out of your mouths, just shut the hell up. It pisses off the rest of us (i.e. the vast majority of military families) when you do that.

Although the protest is supposed to be about "Bringing the Troops Home", I can't help but wonder if every Lib organization fighting any Lib cause won't take the opportunity to go down to Lafayette Square to show "solidarity" with the others, just like it has gone down in Crawford. People aren't stupid - they see it for what it is - using a dead soldier to push the broader Liberal ideology. If you're there because you want the troops home (pretending to support them, while at the same time comparing them to Nazi soldiers and basically declaring them the lowest of the low), then fine. But if you're there to tag along and start going off about Gay Rights or Abortion or anything else unrelated to bringing the troops home, you are a scumbag filthy opportunist piece of shit who needs to get their teeth kicked in. I really hope that this protest has a shred of credibility to it, unlike Crawford.

This brings me to the point where I have to talk about my desire to join a peace group. I would love to join a peace group, but the problem is you can't join one Lib group without having to support all the others - Libs bunch every little thing together under the same umbrella and attempt in vain to link them together. You can't be for peace unless you accept all of the other Liberal doctrines. If I want peace, then I'm forced to ally myself with environmentalists, pro-abortion folks, race baiters, and a slew of other types that I want no business dealing with. I don't know why it is set up in such a way, but these groups are hurting themselves by basically declaring you have to be a card carrying tin foil cap liberal before you will be welcomed. That doesn't seem quite like the way to go about getting support for your cause, especially when it affects all of us.

Jason

Where was the elusive (e:Jason) Saturday night? You're not saying it, but I know you're thinking it - Jason was missed on Saturday. For what it's worth I missed you all as well. I saw the pictures and it looked like one hell of a party. There was much kissing going around, and you guys can thank my absence for the kisses you received. Without a doubt I am adorable and that would have been me instead of you, so you're welcome. Another effect of my being so adorable is you can't stay mad at me for long. I know you're upset I didn't go to the party, but over time you'll get over it.

Ahem.

Seriously though - there are some days when my body shuts down and I am barely capable of getting out of bed. Saturday was one of those days. I wasn't even able to get on the phone and harrass my friend in Florida (He is a Notre Dame fan, I'm a Michigan fan). I spent most of the day unconscious, except for the Liverpool match. (e:Joshua) told me that (e:Theecarey) came upstairs to say hello, but I was face-down on the couch. (e:Joshua) wasn't feeling up to it either. Of course I would have liked to chill with all of the (e:peeps) but there are a few I want to single out.

(e:Ladycroft) - I know I said I was coming but I felt like garbage. I'm sorry.

(e:Alison) - I said we would chill. Sorry! I also had some A Grade nug.

(e:Terry) - He is one cool motherfucker. One of the funniest guys I've met.

(e:Paul) - It is always a pleasure. Yeah, I do suck.

(e:Matthew) - I still have that Jazz DVD! I'll stop over this week to drop it off.

(e:Jill) - Someday maybe we will meet. I have a lot of questions about the UK.

(e:Mike) - This one isn't afraid to strut his stuff. He parties HARD from where I sit.

(e:Leetee) and (e:Uncutsaniflush) - Man I really wish we could have chatted.

(e:DrChlorine) - The man's man of (e:strip)! I like chatting with you.

So there you have it, I've made my shout outs. One thing I don't regret is going and getting sloshed. I'm glad that didn't happen on Saturday. Other than that I regret not being there to enjoy the festivities with you all. It looks like everyone had an awesome time! Please keep on posting the pictures!

Jason

It's that time again. My friends and family want me to clean up. I've got a helmet of hair right now - my hair doesn't grow long, it grows OUT. I look like Eric from That 70's Show, except much more handsome.

Here are my choices for a haircut:
A) Cut it into a Mullet
B) Cut it into a Euro Mohawk
C) Fade it up like usual
D) Let (e:Lilho) decide

Hmmm

Jason