Always the marketer, I had created a neat little souvenir for that excursion, too. It was the Desert Storm Support Kit. The prototype of the kit is shown above. That is not a black & white photo...it was a black and white prototype, as an Apple Laser Writer was considered the state of the art in what was then known as "desktop publishing." It is all that remains of what I still think was a pretty cool idea. I did actually print a thousand bumper stickers, and sold stacks of them to a few liquor stores and mini marts in the area, and sold quite a few at those suport rallies at the base. The kit was to consist of a one of the bumper stickers, a butane lighter and an Iraqi flag.

Thankfully, I never got a chance to produce it. George Bush the Elder managed a relatively short battle, but my entusiasm for this waned long before those C5's began making the homecoming flights back to Chicopee.

SO WHATS DIFFERENT NOW?

Clearly, you're not going to find any Iraqi Invasion Support Kits on this site now. So what gives? I wanted to post this picture as a demonstration of how difficult it is to pigeon-hole anyone. I have been accused of being blind to the world situation, I've been called a Saddam apologist. A lot.

It seems the right cannot seperate disagreement with an official policy from disagreement with the entire country in general. This is the most aggravating, ridiculous factor in trying to have a political discussion while we have troops fighting abroad. Blanket assumptions applied to every situation. It is if people feel I came to my conclusion about this war based upon an MTV ad or something. Believe me, I disliked W long before the 9/11 tragedy.

It is all about policy and integrity. I was horrifed when Bush the Elder was elected, too, due to the tremendous baggage he was bringing with him from his stint running the Iron-Contra gig for Ronald "The Hollywood Actor" Reagan. But Bush the Elder was at least a diplomat. He had a strong knowledge of world history. He held a passport. When he sent the word that we were going to drive Saddam's forced from Kuwait, I sent up a cheer. I rallied behind him. He had rallied the world behind him. He had made a compelling case.

Unfortunately, it is my (heavily-researched) opinion that this Bush's War simply did not need to have been launched. I don't care aboute Saddam having 12 years to comply with UN resolution 1441...the cases of ignored UN resolutions are legion; why is this the one to trigger war? If we sent in a battalion of weapons inspectors and kept them there forever, it would be infinitely less costly to America in both dollares and allies. Why the need for the most horrific last resort first?

The wording of 1441 is troublesome, and its eventual passage was based upon strongarming and promises made by Bush that the issue would be revisited before action was taken. Now, some claim W tried...but that is simply not true. It is a fact that the war being waged now has its genesis in a plan drawn up well before Bush was even put in office, by many of the same people he has now charged with prosecuting it. And it is also a fact that Bush's evidence has been contradicted by everyone from the weapons inspectors to the college kid whose paper was plagiarized to help Blair and Bush make the case.

"IT'S THE CONSTITUTION, STUPID"

If there were no Bush issues to begin with, this would still be a troubling war. But we are inflicting the death penalty on innocent people based upon the weapons conviction of their leader....a conviction that was not beyond a reasonable doubt. So now the propaganda war is well underway, from both sides. I continue to research this, and I have come close to saying, "You know, they're right...we needed to get that guy out immediately!" But then all the nagging questions arise. And if a president cannot answer the nagging questions, while the largest protests in the history of the planet roil in the streets all across the globe, it is my belief that president has no business dragging the country to war.

But that's just my opinion. And I am very grateful to every soldier who fought for my right to voice that opinion publicly without fear of persecution for it. I would be beyond criminal if, after nearly 230 years of reverence for the principles and freedoms laid out in our Constitution and Bill Of Rights, we allowed Osama Bin Laden (remember him?) to win his Jihad by allowing George Bush to take away our civil rights. If you don't believe it is happening you are watching too much Fox and CNN. Try some of the links to the left.

And be afraid. Be very afraid.

WHAT DO YOU THINK? YAK BACK!