Sunday April 17th, 2005 - On Friday, April 15, 2005, I stood in front of our local Court House protesting the War in Iraq. It was tax day and we were trying to make a point about how our tax dollars were being used. Many cars passed by and gave us an approving honk. Other drivers gave us a disapproving 3rd finger. Some of the cars had "support our troops" proudly displayed on their rears.

Support our troops? Does anyone question those words when they mindlessly slap the bright yellow sticker on their vehicle? What do those words mean? Is the "rah rah" supporter aware of why we are in Iraq? Has anyone told these cheerleaders that the Iraqis did not fly any planes into the World Trade Center? Has anyone told the "yellow ribbon crowd" that there were no Weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq? Can someone tell me what "support our troops means?"

Last week our small county had its first fatality in Iraq. Before leaving for Iraq in January, Army Spc. Manny Lopez had his wife record him reading bedtime stories to their newborn daughter, Isabella. Lopez made the video diary so Isabella wouldn't forget her father while he was in Baghdad for 18 months with the 3rd Battalion of the 7th Infantry Regiment. The two-hour videocassette is now the only memory Isabella has of her father. He was killed by a rocket-propelled grenade.

After the tragedy hit the newspaper, grief stricken people called the local radio station to give voice to their pain. One woman uttered, through her tears, "He died for our freedom."

He died for our freedom? Perhaps I have been sufficiently dumbed down, but, as I stumble around in my flouride induced fog, I wish someone would help me understand how killing innocent people in Iraq (and Afganistan) is keeping us free. What has sending soldiers to be poisoned and to die have to do with " keeping us free?." In my lexicon of logic, the belief that "he died for our freedom " is just about as meaningless as "support our troops."

On April 15th, we carried signs in front of the Court House. I chose a sign that featured a picture of an Iraqi Vet named Herold Noel. Unlike Manny Lopez, Herold Noel came home from the war. In fact, he came home a hero.....but it was not long before he wound up homeless.

Byron Pitts of CBS News did a report on Herold Noel on March 25, 2005.
When "Iraqi Freedom" first began, Private First Class Herold Noel was a soldier in the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division, pounding a path into Baghdad. "I fought for this country, " he said "I shed blood for this country. I watched friends die."

Herold began living in his jeep after most of his clothes and all of his military medals were stolen at a homeless shelter. He put in applications for housing but was told, three times, that they were lost.

"I have three kids. I fought for my country. My country shouldn't be doing this to me."

Mr Pitts' report talked about how the vets are coming home with mental health issues and substance abuse problems.

" Mental health issues? " Once again I am going to have to admit ignorance. That phrase is amorphous and ambiguous. I cannot help but wonder how many of these "mental health issues" are manifestations of depleted uranium.

http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/Depleteduranium081804.shtml . Leuren Moret is a geoscientist who has worked around the world on radiation issues, educating citizens, the media, members of parliaments and Congress and other officials Ms. Moret calls "Depleted uranium: Dirty bombs, dirty missiles, dirty bullets: A death sentence here and abroad"

A Japanese professor, Dr. K. Yagasaki, has calculated that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity equivalent of 83,000 Nagasaki bombs. The U.S. has used more DU since 1991 than the atomicity equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. Four nuclear wars indeed, and 10 times the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere from atmospheric testing!
No wonder our soldiers, their families and the people of the Middle East, Yugoslavia and Central Asia are sick. " http://www.rense.com/general63/dub.htm

"The long-term effects have revealed that DU (uranium oxide) is a virtual death sentence," stated Arthur N. Bernklau, executive director of Veterans for Constitutional Law in New York. "Marion Fulk, a nuclear physical chemist, who retired from the Lawrence Livermore Nuclear Weapons Lab, and was also involved with the Manhattan Project, interprets the new and rapid malignancies in the soldiers (from the 2003 Iraq War) as 'spectacular -- and a matter of concern!'" http://www.rense.com/general63/11.htm

Herold Noel was diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Unemployed and married with three kids, he couldn't get a job.

"Take two Prozacs and call me in the morning."

Waking people up from the nightmare is not easy. They are plugged into a controlled media and nod hypnotically as the pResident talks about the "war on terror" They sing "Proud to Be An American" as they continue to mindlessly display their yellow ribbons and fly their flags. They do not question the horror behind these symbolic gestures.

While the people busily "support the troops" what does the government do? Does our government "support the troops" as it cuts their benefits? Does the government "support our troops" when it sends them into battle with inadequate equipment? Does the government "support the troops" when it turns its back on the casualties of the war? Does the government "support the troops" as it casts Herold Noel and countless others onto the streets?

Henry Kissinger, in an honest moment (forgive the oxymoron) stated the globalists' true feelings about our troops. After the Vietnam war, when our soldiers came home ill from Agent Orange, Mr. "Killinger" stated "Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used for foreign policy."

Is that Mr.Kissmyass's definition of the phrase "support our troops?"


Not long ago I watched a powerful movie on television. It was called "Homeless to Harvard" and was based on a true story of a young girl, Liz Murray, whose both parents were drug addicts dying of AIDS. After dropping out of school and living on the street, this heroic young woman became determined to get an education. Though she ate out of dumpsters and slept on the subway, she ultimately finished High School in two years and got a New York Times Scholarship to Harvard University. It was a deeply moving story. It was a story filled with hope. And yet, it was obviously unique. Most young people in Liz's situation succumb to a life of hopelessness.

On Friday, April 15th, I stood in front of our local Court House protesting war. Yet, in my case, the protest was aimed at all the wars...past present and future. My protest was aimed at the abuse of people all around the globe. My protest was aimed at the lies and deception and greed of the globalists and the sadly hypnotized populace that is willing to kill and be killed without knowing why. I carried a sign that had a picture of Herold Noel. The sign read "From Hero to Homeless." It was a story filled with despair. Sadly, Herold's story, unlike Liz', is not unique. As many as 275,000 veterans will likely sleep out in the cold tonight.

Copyright 2005: Judy Andreas

Courtesy of Judy Andreas