before you vote 2008

Look although it seems like George W. Bush cannot make things worse than he already has I am afraid that Americans can. If we elect a Republican as the next president. I have not heard anything that indicates they will do anything different from George Bush if they become President. They all say that they will keep our troops in Iraq as long as it takes to win the war without understanding that there are no winners in a war Now as far as the Democratic candidates they both have very similar platforms. So if you want change and don't know who to vote for I suggest you vote for Hillary Clinton, some reasons I say this are that
1. if Obama were to become the Democratic candidate there is still a lot of racism here in America and many people will not vote for him just because he is black
2. Obama says he has opposed the Iraq war from the beginning. Although that may be correct where was he back then did he have any pressure for him to support it, and ever since he has voted almost exactly as has Clinton has on issues concerning the war. It also astounds me that his biggest advantage over Hillary is his lack of a political record (hard to understand). Now I don't know who is going to be the presidential candidates but I would like to ask a question I have not heard addressed. With everyone seemingly worried about winning or ending the war no one is saying what we are going to do with all of the Veterans coming home with a disability of some kind. I cannot complain about the benefits provided by the V.A (Department of Veterans Affairs) but they should be better especially for those that become disabled in combat.
Thank you, Lenin Patino
LeninPatino.com

Bonds and Steroids

Steroid use does not make Barry Bonds' or anyone else's' career stats or accomplishments any less meaningful, I am sick of hearing people infer that because an athlete takes steroids they do not have to work hard to be good at their respective activity. It is a fact that we as humans pride ourselves in our ability to adapt. Yes Barry like many others might have used steroids but when you think about it steroids are a part of professional sports now just as new diseases are a part of life now. Its not like if steroids are this magical thing where if you use them you are instantly a hall of fame candidate. I see everyone getting worked up about steroids however like in the Michael Vick situation wouldn't it do more good if instead of suspending these players, the respective league or authority garnishes a portion of their earnings and use that money to enforce steroid policies educate our kids aabout the dangers of using them...

Iraq?...

Let me begin by saying thanks to all the United States military men and women serving all over the world, this of course includes their families who support them.

Me personally I was wounded at the age of eighteen and spent nearly two years in military, and V.A hospitals.

As quite possibly the youngest ever United States disabled Veteran it is tough enough to think back to the almost two years I spent as an inpatient in various military and Veteran’s hospitals where I saw first hand the disabilities faced by previous generations of veterans without thinking how there is another generation or two of soldiers headed down the same path.

Their physical injuries might be different but the emotional scars and mental traumas, which are probably worse to live with, will be quite similar to those of previous generations.

On top of the physical conditions they will have to live with conditions such as Post Traumatic Stress Disorder, memory loss, apathy, and countless other mental conditions.

Through my personal experience I know that although some of these disabilities are less prominent than the physical ones they are just as awful if not worse to live with, perhaps the worst ones being the ones that are not easily noticeable.

You see if someone doesn’t know your problem they can’t understand why you behave the way you do, if someone doesn’t feel the constant pain you are in they cannot understand your bad mood; if someone hasn’t gone through what you have how can they tell you that what you feel or don’t feel is normal.

In the past few years as I have visited the Local V.A medical centers periodically I have not only seen the usual middle aged and elderly patients, but also a growing number of young men and women who recently came back from combat.

In an effort to help I have spoken to a number of them who seemed lost, lost in a world they did not understand; all unaware of the full benefits they are entitled to, some who had just discovered they were eligible for medical care.

Even though I am proud of my service to this country and know I deserve all the benefits I get, I can’t help but to feel that they deserve them more after all they were in combat and I wasn’t I hate to see the present generation or even future generations faced with similar problems to those from earlier wars.

I have strong opinions about the current war I am not a politician nor intend to be so I feel I can say what I feel. I am tired off all the bickering be it private or public going on while our soldiers are risking their life’s in Iraq fighting a war that is not ours, fighting an enemy that is not defined, looking for a victory that is undetermined. Trying to impose a Democracy on a country that does not want it.

Yes we appear to be doing a lot of good in Iraq but wouldn’t it be better to fix things here at home first after all our country is not short on problems. Although I try to follow the news on a consistent basis I do not consider myself a political expert but I tend to side with most of the Democrats on the issue of funding the war.

I recently heard an analogy that compared time line for withdrawal to telling a football team “okay we’ll play until the end of the 3^rd quarter then go home.” It made absolutely no sense to do that, but then I gave it a lot of thought and came up with one of my own along that same line that is “not setting a timeline for withdrawal is like playing a football game without knowing how much time is left in the game or what the score is.”

Now that to me makes even less sense but yet that is what is happening. Besides the loss of life and burden it is placing on our military I have questions about other aspects with the Iraq war. The first being is a Democracy really a Democracy if it is forced on someone?

I always thought a Democracy was about having the ability to choose. That brings me to my next question, which I believe everyone regardless if they follow the news or not is asking themselves.

Why are the United States Armed Forces involved in another country’s civil war?

That I have not heard a good answer for, we were all led to believe that it was because there were Weapons of Mass Destruction, then when there were none found, it was to liberate a country and to stabilize the region and make the world safer.

I know that without a doubt getting rid of Saddam was a fabulous thing, but why is it that despite all of our military efforts instead of spreading peace and democracy in the middle east, it has brought out more chaos and violence?