Good Morning World...

Up early...house is full of our children...his, mine, other's. I managed to sneak away the laptop from these cyber teens so I could review the news of the day and, in turn, post it to all through Hubris Watch.

The list of U.S. casualties in Iraq is 60 so far for this month. If you log onto lunaville.org you can see the lists and review local news regarding the death of a favorite son or daughter. Whether the death toll is relevant to this administration, I need to know and feel the stories from the mothers and dads, spouses, children,teachers, coworkers and friends of the fallen. Not out of morbid curiosity do I feed this impulse, but that too often in the news today front page is nothing but spins by the pols regarding events that happened thirty years ago in another war. Comparisons aside, I find it deplorable that Dubya has yet to attend one funeral for a fallen soldier. He instead spends his time denying accusations that he is less than truthful, that his administration is a economic failure, and the cost of the war in Iraq continues to spiral. While Bush ponders in deniability, soldiers and innocent civilians continue to die.

I have two yellow ribbons on my elm tree out front. One for a friend's son who is a Marine with the First Expeditionary Force, and the other is my soon-to-be-son-in-law, a SeeBee, who is also an expectant father. Both are in Iraq, the latter for his second tour. The impact of knowing someone who is in harms way, fighting a war that was wrought for the secret agendae of a powerful cartel, affects those here at home who wait, watch the news, and pray for the survival and safety of their loved ones. These boys are young, earnest and idealistic. They have chosen the path of the warrior and coming from a family of warriors, I do see both sides. Every generation has faced war. War has been around since the establishment of agricultural settlements as early as the civilizations of Sumeria and Mesopotamia. Will there be a time where civilized society no longer accepts the death and devastation in the name of nations, oil, turf, religion and tyrannical power? Have we not evolved into a species that can split the atom, send itself into the solar system, develop technological advances at a rate more accellerated than in any time of history? Yet, we can't escape war. This war was germinated in arrogance and deceit. The Bush administration has a somewhat cavalier attitude toward the cost of this faulty endeavor, and continues to justify its motives even when clear evidence suggests otherwise. Will Pace return to the deserts of the middle east? Eventually, and there will be another region that requires the sacrafice of our children. My son turns 18 in two years. Will I have to tie another yellow ribbon to my elm tree? I pray not.