She really did. She phoned on Veterans Day. I was sitting at my desk in my home in my lounge around the house clothes, working on my laptop. The dawning of the fullness of the recognition that I was on the phone listening to Michelle Obama, who will very soon be the First Lady hit me like a ton of bricks and blew me away. Wow, I'm on a phone call with the First Lady -- how cool is that!

Actually, it was a conference call, listen only, that Michelle Obama made on Veterans Day to Blue Star Families 4 Obama, to thank them for their pro-active help in the campaign, to thank them for their sacrifices as military families. We are a Blue Star family and I had joined the BSF4O group during the campaign at my mybarackobama - his campaign site.

So no, it was not a personal call specifically to me, and I was having a little fun with the first part of this post. Still, I was surprised at my own reaction and recognition -- this really is Michelle Obama, she really will be the First Lady, she is talking to us on a phone conference call, talking about her daughters, getting them into schools, getting ready for the inauguration. It had a surreal feeling to it for me. I am not used to being on a phone call from the First Lady and well, the Vice President -- an earlier conference call I got to participate in (listen only) with Joe Biden.

Towards the end of the campaign, I was on a listen only conference call from Joe Biden that he set up via his email listserv. He had just concluded his speech in Tacoma, WA, thanked us and was encouraging the many of us on the conference call to get out there and keep working, and not to take anything for granted.

The audacity of hope..boy, am I feeling it!

Do you remember Bob Woodruff, an ABC journalist, who while covering the war in Iraq last year (he was literally in Iraq in Jan 2006) was severely injured by IED explosion, along with the other soldiers in the humvee? If you didn't see the 'must see' airing of Bob Woodruff 'To Iraq and Back' you can still see it online at ABC website.

Traumatic Brain Injury - TBI - heard of it? Of the over 200,000 (that's right 200 thousand - much more than the figure cited by DOD) injured troops in Iraq, a quarter of those suffer with traumatic brain injury.

That is a quite high percentage but what is more astonishing is that the smaller VA hospital/centers don't have the knowledge, equipment, people power, staff or professionals to deal with it. I don't suppose it would surprise anyone to realize that TBI is another one of those 'issues' being sanitized and swept out of public view.

(Senators Murray and Cantwell - all our Congress Representatives - are you aware and are our VA hospitals in Washington state equipped to treat follow up care for TBI soldiers? For that matter, same question could be posited to Senators and Congress Representatives in every state. Wouldn't you want not one more soldier to have to face this kind of a homecoming? )

Thanks to the courage of ABC journalist/reporter, Bob Woodruff, and ABC's willingness to air it, special tv production 'To Iraq and Back' finds a middle ground arena (not slung with partisan politics) to try to educate the public on the plight of many of these injured, returning soldiers.

Bob Woodruff was injured while reporting in Iraq, and he has made a recovery from his own traumatic brain injury (TBI) many in the medical profession view as remarkable. Which isn't to say he has completely recovered, rather that he has learned to compensate and inspires hope for other soldiers trying to adjust to life with TBI.

It chronicles his life starting from the IED explosion he experienced in the humvee in Iraq, the evac and medical journey, and his efforts at recovery. You will see some graphic reality. You will see Bob (and other soldiers) with half his head blown off, in recovery, with what is becoming the traditional 'helmet' TBI survivors wear and you will see glimpses of his efforts to retrain his memory.

As Bob goes back to the medical and hospital staff to thank them, he interviews them along the way and the viewer gets some firsthand information from those who have an up close and personal view of the enormity of injuries sustained by our troops. He then visits some of the soldiers on the humvee with him when the IED exploded.

He visits with other soldiers who have TBI and talks with the soldiers and their families about the resources or lack of resources after being released from the primary hospitals - Walter Reed and Bethesda. As those soldiers return to their homes in communities across the nation, the VA resources are not up to speed in treating them for TBI. (Most of you who know much about VA resources, already know the shortages of hospitals, centers, staff and services) .

Bob talks also with new VA Secretary, Jim Nicholson, or perhaps interviews him, because it looks very much to me like Jim Nicholson, is very uncomfortable with the questions Bob Woodruff puts to him. And they are not challenging or difficult questions, more straightforward kinds of questions, deserving of factual and straightforward answers. Something Jim Nicholson does not provide. His responses seem to me like efforts to minimize the severity and seriousness and strike me as the kind of defensive answers one gives when one knows what one is being asked reveals a truth being cloaked.

Mentioned in the tv show is Wounded Warriors Project - please see their website and help in whatever ways you can.

Excerpt from Wounded Warriors Project on Bob Woodruff's 'To Iraq and Back'





Another excerpt:





An excerpt from Discover Magazine, article Dead Men Walking; What sort of future do brain-injured Iraq veterans face.





(posted to my blog Dying to Preserve the Lies and also to Washblog at Washington state netroots political forum portal. Adding it to my journal here at DU)

Note; Cheers for the live-blogging - Courageous Citizen Reporters - and I found the live blogging at Washblog to be factual, on the scene reporting. Whereas the 'traditional' media reports does seem to be colored by the opinions of the reporters - except for TNT - Michael Gilbert did seem to focus more on the factual aspects.

List of Media Reports

CITIZENS' HEARING ON THE
LEGALITY OF U.S. ACTIONS IN IRAQ:
The Case of Lt. Ehren Watada
Evergreen Tacoma, Jan. 20-21, 2007

LIVE BLOG at Washblog from the Citizens' Hearing Tribunal
http://www.washblog.com/story/2007/1/20/13...

VIDEO/AUDIO CLIPS FROM THE TRIBUNAL
http://www.wartribunal.org/testimony.htm

ARTICLES, RADIO & RELEASES below and at
http://www.wartribunal.org/press.htm

NEWSPAPERS:

400 attend forum on Iraq War
Tacoma News Tribune/AP, Jan. 20, 2007
http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates...

Antiwar activists hold hearing
Seattle Times, Jan. 21, 2007
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/loca...
g21m.htmlPanel explores Watada debate

Panel explores Watada debate
The Olympian
http://www.theolympian.com/112/story/61644...

Upcoming Watada trial drew Army deserter to Northwest
Seattle Times, Jan. 20, 2007
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/...
isplay?slug=anderson19m&date=20070120

Faux tribunal contends war in Iraq is illegal
Seattle PI, Jan. 22, 2007
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/300639...

Related:
COVERAGE ON DEMOCRACY NOW! TUESDAY, Jan 23
of Ehren Watada and Bert Sacks
9:00 am at KAOS 89.3 fm and at
http://www.democracynow.org

CBS EVENING NEWS possible coverage on Wednesday, Jan24

"In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies but the silence of our friends." Martin Luther King Jr.

First it was reporters being subpoenaed (Dahr Jamail, Sara Olson, and Gregg Kakesako) and now it expands to local activists in Washington state. The Army has issued subpoenas to local WA state activists to testify in the upcoming court martial of Lt. Watada. Veterans for Peace, Washington based organizer Gerry Haynes; Veterans for Peace organizer organizer Tom Burkhart; Olympia Movement for Justice and Peace member Phan Nguyen - received subpoena's to testify.





Planned Support Actions

The campaign to support Lt. Watada plans a protest and press conference at the gates of Fort Lewis this morning from 8 AM to 11 AM as the pre-trial hearing begins.


Supporters can also express their support writing to Fort Lewis Commanding General;
Lt. General James Dubik,
Commanding General Fort Lewis,
1 Corps Building 2025 Stop 1,
Fort Lewis WA 98433.

The Citizens' Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq: The Case of Lt. Ehren Watada

will be held on January 20-21 in Tacoma, two weeks before the court martial of Lt. Watada at Fort Lewis. The national event will put the Iraq War on trial, in response to the Army's trial of Lt. Watada.

Iraq War veterans, experts in international law and war crimes, and human rights advocates will offer testimony, in a format that will resemble that of a congressional committee. We are inviting testimony by Iraq War veterans and experts to inform military personnel and other citizens to reflect deeply on their roles and responsibilities in an illegal war." Testifiers will include:

Denis Halliday Former UN Assistant Secretary General, coordinated Iraq humanitarian aid;

Daniel Ellsberg Military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in the Vietnam War;

Richard Falk Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University;

Ann Wright Retired Army Colonel and State Department official;

Nadia McCaffrey Gold Star Families Speak Out; Brussels Tribunal advisory board;

Darrell Anderson Army 1st Armored Division in Baghdad & Najaf; awarded Purple Heart;

Harvey Tharp Former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and JAG stationed in Iraq;

Antonia Juhasz Policy-analyst and author on U.S. economic policies in Iraq;

John Burroughs Lawyers' Committee on Nuclear Policy Executive Director;

Benjamin G. Davis Assoc. Prof. of Law, University of Toledo; expert on law of war;

Geoffrey Millard 8 years in Army National Guard; now in Iraq Veterans Against the War;

Francis Boyle Professor of international law at Univ. of Chicago (via video);

Eman Khammas Iraqi human rights advocate (via video).


The hearing will present the case that Lt. Watada would, if allowed, make at his court martial. He maintains that the war on Iraq is illegal under international treaties and under Article Six of the U.S. Constitution. Further, Lt. Watada argues that the Nuremberg Principles and U.S. military regulations require soldiers to follow only "lawful orders." In Lt. Watada's view, deployment to Iraq would have made him party to the crimes that permeate the structure and conduct of military operations there.

article in Seattle Times today titled Soldier's lawyers seek OK to put Iraq war on trial





See also Seattle Post Intelligencer for another article; Anti-war camp gears up for Watada's trial

Who else has seen the actual Vietnam Memorial in Washington DC? I have, in DC, and the replica Vietnam Wall at the state capitol in Olympia, and the traveling Vietnam memorial replica wall - total of three times over the course of my 55 years. I know everyone who sees the wall is overcome by the sheer numbers of names engraved into the black walls. I know my experience of visiting the Vietnam Wall in DC was a visceral experience and personal experience for me....a vigil I dreaded to undertake, for it was the first time in my lifetime that I would see the actual real Wall.

My own history back to that era was firmly in a container with the lid tightly secured and tucked away in the cobwebs in my mental attic. Popular opinion back in that era was not favorable to returning Vietnam veterans or their families. It was safer for us as a family then to quickly put it away, leave it behind and try to move on....

You've heard that expression recently, I'm sure -- get over it and move on. That was one heard repetitiously after the last Presidential election. And yet, were it so simple to get over it and move on, would we be in another situation in Iraq not unlike the situation of Vietnam? I pull the container from my attic, brush off the cobwebs, loosen the lid and let the history wash over me.


I cannot be silent this time, I cannot let young wives and children endure what I endured in silence so long ago. I have something to say this time and I do, and it resonates with many, I know, I can tell by their reactions and actions. Others have something to say and it resonates with many, and eventually it will resonate strongly enough that the outcry of no more cannot be missed. But not yet, not this year, perhaps next year.


The Vietnam Wall Memorial in Washington D.C.


O walks by the first wall which is not so tall and I begin to take in the engraved names. I then walk to the next wall and the next and the walls grow increasingly higher with more engraved names filling out the growing spaces on the increasingly higher walls. By the time I am feeling hopelessly overcome and overwhelmed, I look down the length of the wall to see how much further I will have to walk and how many more walls and engraved names I will have to see before I have completed the walk. As the heighth of the walls reach peak height, the walls then begin decrease in size again until I have reached the last wall and the 'end of the Vietnam conflict' and can now exit the memorial walk of the walls.


That walk registered with me hard as I made that walk, holding my vigil candle, September 2005 in Washington DC. As I walked the walls, I remember thinking at that time, what will the Iraq memorial look like when it is built and how many names will have to be honored in that memorial. I remember reflecting back to when I was young and my then husband was drafted and sent to Vietnam.


I was a young military wife, pregnant with our first child, in my first 'real job', marking time anxiously, hoping he would come home alive to participate in the life of our first child - or even wounded and alive, but please, not dead, not killed in action. I felt empathy wash over me as I contemplated the young wives and children of the young men and women deployed in combat today in Iraq and Afghanistan. I could feel so strongly their youth and the acuteness of loss...how will the new memorial begin to encompass the magnitude of the loss is what was reeling in my mind. It is so much more than numbers.


What I didn't notice until reading David's story at Washblog was that indeed the Vietnam Wall Memorial is designed to reflect back your own reflection. It occurs to me how appropriate that symbology was then in Vietnam war era and now in Iraq/Afghanistan era....we are each and every one of us complicit somehow and deep reflection is encumbant on each of us as we memorialize today at this milestone marker that as of today 3,000 U.S. troops have been killed - we go into the new year with that number as a marker. It is all we have because no other symbology is permitted at this by this Administration.


We have no way to acknowledge, reflect, mourn, honor except for what the civilian community provides in the way of vigils to try to grasp the overwhelming loss, to try to honor what has already been lost, to try to scream attention that the future memorial to honor the war dead in this era already has too many names...


But then today is the day before a new year, and traditional celebrations tonight ought to be a bit muted to reflect that today is also the day our country has reached another milestone in Iraq. Perhaps when the fireworks are shooting off from the Space Needle in Seattle after an evening of drink, merry-making and celebrating, some will remember to remember that for 3,000 families it is not a celebration. Rather it marks that our country will move into another new year the same way we did last year - with our military still in Iraq, adding more names to the future memorial that will mark this time.


Let us reflect and be reminded it is our own reflection we see in the Vietnam memorial - and we see our reflection because we are the living, mourning the dead. Perhaps it will strengthen resolve in each of us who reflect today that with a new year we must act to do something different so that we are not re writing this memorial next new year's eve.


by Lietta Ruger on Sun Dec 31, 2006

Citizens’ Hearing to Put Iraq War “on trial” Before Watada Court Martial;

Tribunal Announced on 60th Anniversary of Nuremberg Principles.

The “Citizens’ Hearing on the Legality of U.S. Actions in Iraq” will be held on January 20-21, 2007, in Tacoma, Washington, two weeks before the February 5th court martial of 1st Lieutenant Ehren Watada at Fort Lewis. Organizing Committee members Rob Crawford, Associate Professor at the University of Washington, Tacoma says that the national event “will put the Iraq War on trial, in response to the Army’s trial of Lt. Watada, the first U.S. military officer to refuse deployment to Iraq.”

Organizers announced the upcoming tribunal today, December 11th, on the 60th anniversary of the United Nations General Assembly’s affirmation of the Nuremberg Principles, which--in the aftermath of World War II--disallowed soldiers from following unlawful orders that can lead to war crimes.

Nuremberg Trials prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz, 86, said that “The enduring lessons and principles of the Nuremberg trials were that aggressive war is ‘the supreme international crime’ since it incorporates all of the other crimes. In addition, Nuremberg held that those responsible for crimes against humanity and major war crimes will have to answer before the bar of justice.”

Iraq War veterans, experts in international law and war crimes, and human rights advocates will offer testimony, in a format that will resemble that of a congressional committee. According to Dr. Lawrence Mosqueda, member of the Organizing Committee and Professor at Evergreen State College: "We are inviting testimony by Iraq War veterans and experts to inform military personnel and other citizens to reflect deeply on their roles and responsibilities in an illegal war.” Testifiers include:

*Denis Halliday, Former UN Assistant Secretary General, coordinated Iraq humanitarian aid;
*Daniel Ellsberg, military analyst who released the Pentagon Papers in the Vietnam War;
*Richard Falk, Professor Emeritus of International Law at Princeton University;
*Nadia McCaffrey, Gold Star Families Speak Out; Brussels Tribunal advisory board;
*Harvey Tharp, former U.S. Navy Lieutenant and JAG stationed in Iraq;
*Antonia Juhasz, policy-analyst and author on U.S. economic policies in Iraq;
*John Burroughs, Lawyers’ Committee on Nuclear Policy Executive Director;
*Eman Khammas, Iraqi human rights advocate (via video).
*Benjamin G. Davis, Assoc. Prof. of Law, University of Toledo; expert on law of war.

The hearing will present the case that Lt. Watada would, if allowed, make at his court martial. His defense attorneys maintain that the war on Iraq is illegal under international treaties and under Article Six of the U.S. Constitution. Further, Lt. Watada’s defense argues that the Nuremberg Principles and U.S. military regulations require soldiers to follow only "lawful orders." In Lt. Watada's view, deployment to Iraq would have made him party to the crimes that permeate the structure and conduct of military operations there.

A panel comprised of military veterans, members of military families, students, and representatives of labor unions, local governments, academia, and religious organizations will hear the testimony, examine witnesses, and issue a fact-finding report. Panelists will focus on the legality of the war, whether the invasion of Iraq in 2003 constituted a "crime against the peace,” whether the military occupation and economic constriction of Iraq constitutes a "crime against humanity," and whether individual soldiers have an obligation or duty to refuse unlawful orders.

David Krieger, who was a U.S. Army 2nd Lieutenant stationed in Hawaii during the Vietnam War, and is currently the Director of the Nuclear Age Peace Foundation will serve as panel chair. Krieger, who was a member of the Jury of Conscience at the 2005 World Tribunal on Iraq, observes, “The Citizens' Hearing will place the legality of the Iraq War on trial. U.S. soldiers have always had the duty to disobey unlawful orders. That obligation was strengthened at the Nuremberg Tribunals following World War II. Following superior orders to commit unlawful acts is not a defense.”

Krieger asserts, “Lt. Watada's position is that if the war itself is illegal, which he believes it to be, then orders to participate in the war must also be illegal. There is a duty to disobey such orders. If this position cannot be tried in U.S. courts, it must be tried before the court of public opinion.”

Lietta Ruger of Military Families Speak Out (MSFO), Washington state chapter, says: “this hearing will focus attention on the role of the U.S. government--rather than that of individual soldiers--in perpetrating the crimes of the Iraq War.”


Tribunal organizer and Evergreen State College geography professor Dr. Zoltan Grossman comments: “The Citizens’ Hearing will focus critical attention on the underlying premises of the Iraq War at a critical time when its future is being decided. The Citizens' Hearing will heighten the discussion of the Iraq invasion and occupation in the public--and within the military itself--as similar tribunals did during the Vietnam War.”

Nuremberg Trials prosecutor Benjamin Ferencz concludes, "The best way to protect the lives of courageous young people who serve in the military is to avoid war-making itself. One cannot kill an idea with a gun, but only with a better idea. If people believe that law is better than war, they must do all they can to enhance the power of law and stop glorifying war."

The Evergreen State College’s Tacoma Campus (1210 6th Ave.) will host The Citizens’ Hearing on January 20-21, 2007. The organizers of the Citizens’ Hearing are also launching a new website: http://www.WarTribunal.org to provide regular updates about the project. For more information about the case of U.S. Army Lt. Ehren Watada, go to http://www.ThankYouLT.org

-END-

For immediate release: December 11, 2006

Contact: Cindy Sousa 206-734-5040 cindy@sdmcc.org

I don't know if her position is evolving, but I do know she is now at least talking about her position on Iraq war. From what I am given to understand that is not something she has done these past months. I've been a participant in 2 of the 3 meetings with the Senator scheduled specifically to discuss her position on Iraq. I've now heard her first hand on two separate occasions in these meetings.

My participation in both meetings with Senator Cantwell has been representing Military Families Speak Out. We do have a chapter in Washington state with 60 + WA military family members. That means military families with loved ones who have or will deploy to Iraq/Afghanistan, have returned and will redeploy in repeat deployments, or have died in Iraq/Afghanistan deployment. I posted my perceptions of that second meeting with the Senator on April 10 at Washblog; Sen. Cantwell explains her position Iraq war in Monday meeting with us April 10, 2006.

Prior to the third meeting of May 6, 2006, which came about as her response to a sit-in that took place in her Seattle office April 25, 2006, Senator Cantwell placed her own guest op-ed article in Seattle Times, May 4, 2006; The year of transition in Iraq stating in her own words her position on Iraq. Another article in the Seattle PI, May 4, 2006 Cantwell clears the air on her Iraq stance addresses what the Senator has now publicly stated as her position.


Then another article in Seattle Times on May 5, 2006, a day before our third meeting w/ Senator Cantwell; Cantwell's stance on Iraq keeps volunteers away, party chief says

Reporting on the May 6 meeting with the Senator, Seattle Times on May 7 Cantwell speaks to pary faithful, then meets with critics in private

My husband attended with me the May 6 meeting with the Senator and posted his perceptions of that meeting also at Washblog; It wasn't Camp Casey and Maria Cantwell is not George Bush.

At this point, the Senator and I share common ground on one point; she feels a responsibility to her Senator's vote in favor of U.S. invading Iraq and believes stability and security of Iraq must be established in this year of transition 2006; I feel a responsibility for my vote of confidence in the Senator in the last election and believe stability and security of our U.S. troops and Iraq must be established by responsible Congressionals taking a leadership role in defining a clear exit strategy in bringing them home now. Furthering this catastrophe furthers continuing catastrophic devastation to our troops who have become targets in what looks like civil war; and to the Iraqi people who become the collateral damage to our troop presence in Iraq.

Questions and information were shared with the Senator in all three meetings and in some instances she was given room to address and respond. Other times, imo, she was not given nearly as much opportunity to respond as I would have preferred. Essentially though, with her now stating a position, what is not yet clarified for me is the definition of Iraq stability and security in the year of transition 2006. In the second meeting with Senator Cantwell, April 10, 2006, it was shared with her by Iraqi/American citizen participating in the meeting that the 'standards' of what defines for the U.S. and what defines for the Iraqis are very different standards. In other words,if training Iraqis according to U.S. standards to take over their own security/stability is the objective, has consideration been given to the Iraqi standards as they define it for themselves?

Somehow to me, that is a relevant question that provides far too much wiggle room for Congressionals to take the 'safe' stand and continue to push the timeline for withdrawing U.S. troops further into 'indefinite' future.

Lietta Ruger, military family with 2 returning Iraq veterans facing multiple deployments;


Since March, 2003, on average, over two service men and women have died each day as a result of the war in Iraq; that fatality rate continues in May, 2006. Discussions in Congress about the war in Iraq and exit strategies include many proposals for bringing troops home after the mid-term election in November, 2006. If Congress waits until November to act, it is likely that 350 or more U.S. servicemen and women will die along with countless Iraqi children, women and men.

"This is a poignant and painful addition to the Eyes Wide Open exhibit, but one that all decision-makers should see," stated Larry Syverson of Richmond, Virginia, whose son in the Army is currently serving a second tour of duty in the Persian Gulf. "I hope every member of Congress and Senator visits this exhibit and reflects on the urgency of ending this war. Their failure to act could mean that the next pair of boots that is moved from this section to the section devoted to the boots of the fallen could be my son's."

quoted from Military Families Speak Out press release, May 10, 2006 announcing 'Silence of the Dead; Voices of the Living' vigil in Washington DC May 11-14. Senator Cantwell was given personal invitation to attend at our May 6 meeting with her, and I sincerely hope she will take up that invitation as a time for reflection.

Sorry for the brevity of earlier post in putting link only. At the link site are two reports from two of the participants in the meeting with Senator Cantwell on Monday, April 10, 2006; the day before the fundraiser in Seattle for Sen. Cantwell that had Sen. Kerry and his wife as guests.

There were 10 participants in the Monday meeting with Sen. Cantwell; the entire focus of the almost 2 hour meeting was to discuss -- have Sen. Cantwell discuss her position on Iraq war.

One report at the link is from me, as I was invited to present at the meeting representing
Military Families Speak Out - Washington state chapter, along with 9 other representatives from diverse interests. I recommend the second report from David Edelman, which is more global in scope in reporting on all 10 of the participants viewpoints. Both reports attempt to convey what Sen. Cantwell conveyed to us in the meeting about her Iraq war position.

again the link to the reports is at Washblog, a part of the netrooting efforts of Pacific Northwest Portal

Participants; Senator Maria Cantwell with 2 of her staff
-- Alice Woldt (Washington Association of Churches, 36th District Democrats, etc.)
-- Carl Schwartz (5th District Democrats, Korean War veteran, former machinist union local President, military family member)
-- Judith Shattock (Washington State Progressives, 45th District Democrats Executive Board member, etc.)
-- Lietta Ruger (Military Families Speak Out)
-- Mike Dedrick (Veterans for Peace, Vietnam veteran)
-- Yousef Harjo (sp. ?) (Iraqi-American architect)
-- Bert Sacks (Voices in the Wilderness, etc.)
-- Dan Merkel (attorney at law, with experience in social justice issues)
-- John Repp (34th District Democrats, King County Labor Council, West Seattle Neighbors for Peace)
-- David Edelman (36th District Democrats).

Link Sen. Cantwell explains her position Iraq war in Monday meeting with us April 10, 2006

Quietly, some dedicated veterans in WA went to work on getting together a proposal for legislation funding for exposure of WA Natl Guard troops to depleted uranium in Iraq/Afghanistan. It surprisingly moved to a Bill (SB 6732 and HB 3107), to Hearings in a short space of time (Dec 05 - Feb 06) Links to both bills state House and Senate = Access WA SB 6732.

I was invited into the process to give testimony at State Senate hearings on the legislation. I deferred to give the oral presenters more time to make the case for the scientific data and there were to be 4 presenters with about 4-5 minutes each. I did, however, send in written testimony which was entered into the record.

As the legislative session was coming to a close, it looked like the bill was considered dead due to time constraints. I'm not too knowledgeable on legislative process and couldn't believe there wasn't some sort of 11th hour save, so I placed a call to my State Senator Mark Doumit's office. I was surprised by the cooperative reception to my call and even enthusiastic encouragement from his Sr. Legislative Assistant, Vicki Winters. She explained that while it appears the bill might be dead, it is not too late to ressurect it by encouraging calls from citizens to their legislative representatives. She thanked me for the call and again was strongly encouraging in how important the individual phone call is and mine was important. (At the time I thought she was just giving the polite formal response to my call - I was wrong, she meant it and it did make a difference).

I sent out email to the group working on this legislation that I had learned it was not yet dead, but still in play, and to please send out email to their networking for people to call their legislative reps and ask them to endorse this bill. Not to elevate my own efforts as we had the advantage of having a lobbyist working with our group. He had told us the bill was dead, not going to happen this session. I phoned him to get better sense of the process and to make a plea for some sort of midnight hour save on this bill. He said unlikely but again, I'm a novice, so took my ignorance directly to my State Senator's office, learned a save was possible and in renewed enthusiasm phoned lobbyist back to explain what I'd learned.

Long story short; see below; the bill was funded. Not quite in the original proposal, but it was funded and this is a beginning to a most important, ongoing issue for our troops and their families. We were fortunate to have a lobbyist working diligently with us on this and I can see the value it lent to the process; a most Special Thank You to Roger Kluck, lobbyist for the Friends Committee on Washington Public Policy.

I want to give a Shout Out of Special thanks to WA Senator Mark Doumit (District 19) and his Sr Legislative Assistant, Vickie Winters for your responsive help. It's given me encouragement in this time of a most discouraging political climate that from time to time the political process works!

Reminder to self; one person can make a difference and one by one by one, We All Can Act to Make A Difference.


Language of the Bill;

Budgeted for $150,000 for a Military Department to study the scope and adequacy of training on exposure to depleted uranium received by Washington state members of the National Guard serving during the first Gulf War or reccently in Iraq and Afghanistan.

link The Seattle Times: Local News: Editors strive to offer "all layers" of Iraq war, March 26, 2006

Media REACTS to the President's accusations that it is the media's fault for the growing unpopular support for the never-ending war. Seattle Times weighs in; not many reports of the 'good things' happening in Iraq for them to report on...hmmm, I wonder why those anectodal feel good stories aren't making their way to the Seattle Times? Perhaps because the rationale of doing good ie, building schools that are likely bombed shortly after or the rebuilding of infrastructure in Iraq that still leaves the people without basic services, much less an operating sovereign goverment is getting harder and harder to hold onto as a sustainable rationale. I believe it is a distorted rationale that has served as a lifeline to justify why our country is at war in Iraq. And it's a rationale politicians and media use as political footballs to secure their own positioning in the 'safety zone' of homeland while consigning our young to a war waged by this very homeland.


I can't say I'm disappointed to see media having to rethink their coverage of Iraq war this past three years. It is only an opinion, my opinion, but I found myself keenly disappointed often times in what looked to me like a cowering media (national and local) in the face of the patriotic/unpatriotic rhetoric that flourished in 2003-2004-2005. And yet, per a report from a group called Reporters Without Borders, 86 journalists and media assistants have been killed in Iraq from March 20, 2003, to March 20, 2006. That's not indicative of feint heart and some degree of earnestness in getting to the stories to make the reports.

I earnestly hope that media will find their own balance in future reporting. Reporting on the reports is not exactly what I consider 'the news' and yet it does seem to be a fact that it's dangerous in Iraq and news staff can die there, just like the troops and civilians.

Do I want to hear the feel good reports? Sure, but not at the expense of reporting on the actual condition of the war. There were 'good things happening in Vietnam' too, but anecdotal feel good reports don't reflect the overall condition of the war itself. If I wanted 1950's newsreels of how great our military is doing in this changed world of post 9/11, I would think I would have to be somewhat stilted in my growth as an adult to embrace such as other than propaganda bits.

After intently watching television reported newscasts, talkie personality news reports, through 2003, 2004 by 2005 I quit tuning in to hang on every word, every report. With two deployed loved ones, every day of deployment is an anxious day. The final straw came for me when watching in disgust during the 2004 elections news reports without some degree of indignation as the Commander-in-Chief in war-time insulted our entire military and their families with his pardody of 'searching for weapons of mass destruction' under his desk at the White House. A fund-raising event played out to his wealthy base intended to be humorous for the occasion.

I was grateful to have internet, bloggers, independent media, and everyday citizens trying to carry forward the 'unreported' news on Iraq; our deployed service men and women in uniform and conditions on the ground in Iraq; the state of the war in Iraq. In time it became apparant though, that blogoshere reporting on both sides leaned in favor of their own agenda.

My own activism as a military family speaking out put me in the position of doing national and local media interviews, a not entirely comfortable or familiar position for me. Initially it did have the appearance of balanced reporting; different views from military family stakeholders. Over time it became formulaic in that media seemed to want one military family speaking in what was considered oppositional to the war with another military family speaking in what was considered favorable to the war. I do have to give credit though to our own media here in Washington. I did not have what I consider to be bad or awkward experiences and am grateful for the mostly accurate reflection in reports of the interviews media has conducted with me.

I think the challenge comes in stating clearly what it is we want media to report regarding the war in Iraq. Your thoughts?

posted at Washblog, one of the feature blogs at Pacific Northwest Portal

By Lietta Ruger
Fri Mar 24, 2006

Disclaimer: my political allegiance lies more in supporting our troops by bringing them home (and taking care of them when they get home). The efforts of our organization, Military Families Speak Out(and see also Military Families Speak Out - WA state chapter are to challenge our elected officials on their position on Iraq war. Begging off taking a position in favor of 'staying the course' in alignment with the Commander-in-Chief's position does not translate to a plan of action for our troops, their families, our country.


In that we expect this 'volunteer military' in their repeated deployments x 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 to do their jobs with their very lives; it is not unreasonable to expect Senator Cantwell to do her job with a similar level of integrity. New paradigm for how this war is being managed requires new paradigm in the political playing field. Playing it 'safe' while others are dying is not an act of courage. The vested voice of military families and troops are the real stake-holders in the policies and policy-makers in this war in Iraq/Afghanistan.

Apparantly the editorial board of Seattle PI has a definite opinion about Cantwell's war position...see Iraq War: Cantwell's choice SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARDarticle

See also Joe Colgan's op-ed in Seattle PI Feb 22, 2006;The Killing Has Got to Stop.
Joe Colgan,(Kent, WA), is a veteran and father of Army 2nd Lt. Benjamin J. Colgan, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad in November of 2003 while serving in an artillery unit.

brief history; some WA military families met privately with Sen. Cantwell in Dec 2004 to express their concerns and ask her to state clearly her position on war in Iraq. While I was invited and included, I was not able to travel up to Seattle to attend that meeting. The meeting was scheduled for 1/2 hr prior to one of her fund-raiser events and she did shift the appointment to an earlier time to allow longer than 1/2 hour meeting. We believed that was indicative of some sincerity on her part to fully hear what those most invested had to say = Joe Colgan, veteran and father of son killed in Iraq 2003; Joshua Farris, returning Iraq veteran; Elizabeth Falzone, cousin killed in Iraq Nov 2004.

I had the privilege of representing several of our Washington military families at presentation in Tacoma rally and march last Sunday, March 19, 2006. My presentation followed Rep. Jeannie Darnielle D- Tacoma who is also a military family with deployed loved ones. I was proud to give part of my 10 minute presentation to include Joe Colgan along with Joshau Farris (Seattle, WA), a returning Iraq veteran.

see news articles:
Tacoma News Tribune article; Community marches against war


Tacoma Weekly article; Opponents of Iraq war march through Hilltop


Tacoma News Tribune article: Families keep peace at talk on war


(if links don't work due to registration required, I can post the text of the article)

1,000 gather in Tacoma including:

Military Families Speak Out;

Iraq Veterans Against the War;

Veterans for Peace;

labor unions of Jobs with Justice;

Associated Ministries Tacoma - Pierce Coungty;

Youth against the war; and other activist/peace groups came together Sunday, March 19, 2006 to acknowledge third anniversary Iraq war.


Presenters included State Rep. Jeannie Darnielle, D-Tacoma; Lietta Ruger (Bay Center, WA) of Military Families Speak Out- Washington state chapter and included Gold Star father, Joe Colgan (Kent, WA) , veteran and father of Army 2nd Lt. Benjamin J. Colgan, who was killed by a roadside bomb in Baghdad in November of 2003 and Joshua Farris (Seattle, WA), a returning Iraq veteran. Also Dexter G. Gordon, professor of African-American Studies at the University of Puget Sound.

See article in Tacoma News Tribune; Community marches against the war

Photos - see at my blog Dying to Preserve the Lies