April 01, 2003
This is where I draw my line.
I come from a very conservative Republican family.
My mom, my uncles, my aunts, my cousins..
Every single one of them voted for Bush.
Every single one of them supports the war in Iraq.
In fact, most of them wanted us to go to war six months ago.
The day it was officially announced I remember heading out the door and saying, �Bye mom. Love you.�
And she replied, �Shhh. Bush is talking.�
I remember walking back inside and sitting next to her on the couch. �So it started?�
�Yes. About time too.�
My mom�s always said that if she could go back and do it all over again she would have joined the military. Put in her twenty years just like my dad did.
I thought of doing that when I was younger. Going career military. In fact, I�m still thinking about it.
So maybe it won�t come as such a surprise that I�m proud of my country and I support my president, my government, my military, my troops. And yes, I�d go fight in Iraq. Go die there if I had to. I�m not looking at the military as just a way to pay off my student loans, I�m actually quite patriotic.
That said, if there�s anything I feel strongly about - fanatically strongly about - it�s animal rights. And the fact that the Pentagon is using the overly patriotic feelings that are running through so many of us right now. Using them to try to get the military exempt from laws that protects our animals and environment.. that makes me physically ill.
�The Readiness and Range Preservation Initiative proposed by the Defense Department would exempt the military from provisions of five key environmental statutes: the Clean Air Act, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (the Superfund law), and the Marine Mammal Protection Act. These changes would allow the DoD to leave munitions releasing toxic substances on or in the ground without independent oversight or regulation. The proposal would also change the Clean Air Act so that emissions from military facilities would not be included when determining whether an area is in compliance with statewide air quality standards. This proposal could be attached to the FY04 Defense Authorization bill or the anticipated supplemental spending bill that would fund the war in Iraq. Both bills are "must-pass" legislation that would be difficult to defeat in floor votes.�
p.s. After reading this entry, Tom dug this up.. so go check it out already.
1:24 p.m.