Happy Thanksgiving, all!

As I think about the terrorist attacks in India and the still declining economy I am struck by just how little Bush ever accomplished. When he entered office, Clinton handed him a strong economy with a solid budget surplus, and a definite warning that al-Qaeda would be a top priority. Bush ruined that economy to the point where at NO POINT during Bush's terms was the economy outright good and at least twice it has entered recession territory. Bush squandered that surplus, giving us the worst deficit in our history. And he initially ignored the warning about al-Qaeda, and since 9/11/2001 has failed to stop Osama bin Laden and his network. They still operate worldwide, stronger than ever, hitting targets almost at will. Bush has failed miserably. So we are waiting, impatiently waiting, for Obama to, we hope, save the day. But, my god, Obama has a tough job ahead of him given the mess Bush is handing him. We are going to need some patience to get us through because no one could solve our current problems quickly. But even though he is not yet our President, he is acting Presidential and already working on America's problems:

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The Purple Heart is awarded for sustaining an injury in battle.  It was the first medal ever authorized by General George Washington and it remains a mark of respect among veterans.  I believe it is held in the highest of regard among civilians, as well.

The unfortunate fact for far too many veterans is that the wound they take in battle doesn't get noticed.  They get no Purple Heart because the wound can't be seen.  When they come home, they are expected to act as if they've never been wounded.  The gaping, gasping hole in their soul goes unnoticed.  Many times, they deny the wound themselves.

For a long time, the existence of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was officially denied.  Thankfully, those days are gone.  But the efforts at preventing, identifying, and treating PTSD remain painfully inadequate.  We have to change that.  Now.

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(Note: I posted this on DKos back in February, but it got ignored in favor of candidate diaries.  I figured I'd try again here.)

As we all know, Republican leaders are fond of saying that because we liberals don't support the disastrous war in Iraq, we don't support the troops.  It's a great illustration of the lack of logical reasoning skills on the part of Republican leaders, but why take my word for it when every single one of us can disprove the charge through our actions?  If we all commit to showing support to our soldiers in deed rather than in words only, not only will we make the Republicans look foolish, but we'll also help give hope and comfort to thousands.  So today, I'm calling on everyone to commit to as many of these "six steps" as you can.

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I as going to post this as a comment to the Paul Rieckhoff interview but it got way too long, kind of turned into a rant.

One thing that ticks me off about the Iraq debate is people say: I have a friend over there and he supports Bush, so your opinion means less. The opposite is true as well if a Soldier or Marine is opposed to the war, folks assume that person has more creditability than others. Well at least for the time being they do: at the campfire, bar stool, or wherever the conversation is taking place. Is this really true though, do they have more creditability? Do they really want to be seen as being more creditable then others around them?  

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Even Andrew Sullivan is outraged about this:

The U.S. military does not have a traditional of abandoning its own soldiers to foreign militias, or of taking orders from foreign governments. No commander-in-chief who actually walks the walk, rather than swaggering the swagger, would acquiesce to such a thing.... And where, by the way, is McCain on this? ... Silent recently on Iraq.  But vocal - oh, how vocal - on Kerry.

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