DC,
Everyone here knows of your support of the troops over in Iraq. I support them, too. After all, I am grateful that they are over there, putting their lives on the line. However, my heart breaks for them and their families, because I disagree with this war (well, pretty much any war).

However, I don't think that John Kerry meant this the way that it came out. And, yes, unitnentioned or not he owes the TROOPS an apology by making a remark that was open to such an interpretation. I think this is an attempt by BOTH parties to put a negative spin on something the week before election day.

And although I STRONGLY disagree with the name-calling and the negative posts that Mad Johnny made, because I believe they were disrespectful, I think that he made a valid point that was buried underneath a pile of refuse.

It's ALWAYS been the poor and uneducated that have fought wars. If you go back and look at our troops, I'm sure that many of them chose the military because they felt that they had no other choice. I would bet that they are mostly poor, uneducated, come from an area with high unempolyment, etc. That does NOT mean that it's a BAD choice. It does not mean that they are stupid. It doesn't mean that this might not offer them a fine career and/or a way out of an otherwise dead end. I simply believe that many chose it because they felt themselves out of other options.