Posted on 03/20/2006 1:21:41 PM PST by pabianice
GARDNER, MA — Brian Hawkins kept coming up with new words to describe his feelings about the war in Iraq.
“Embarrassed that we torture people. Embarrassed that we detain people without due process,” said Mr. Hawkins, an information technology consultant who lives in Fitchburg.
Later, he added “ashamed” to the list.
The United States’ duty to democracy is to protect it here, he said.
“That’s how we spread freedom and democracy, by being a model country,” Mr. Hawkins said.
He was among a small group of people with a great deal to say about the war as they held a vigil yesterday at noon at Monument Park in Gardner.
Events were held across the country to mark the third anniversary of the start of the Iraq war.
Gray clouds smothered the sky and a bitter wind whipped at the signs held by the group in Gardner. Some participants left after a while, but others arrived to take their place. Occasionally, passing motorists honked and gave a thumbs-up, but not everybody was backing the group.
A girl in a car shouted out, “Yay for the troops!” And a man in a pickup truck shook his head as he drove by the vigil.
Karen Leger, a preschool teacher from Hubbardston, said she organized the vigil when she realized there were not any events marking the anniversary in the area.
“I have strong feelings about the war and this administration,” Ms. Leger said, citing “the lies, the death and destruction.”
Bella Kaldera, a Hubbardston resident who works in Gardner as a residential counselor for a group home, brought a U.S. flag, saying, “I object to the symbols of patriotism being co-opted by those who have no interest in the common good.”
Mrs. Kaldera said the war had nothing to do with the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
“But the lies have just kept on coming,” she said. “And who’s profited? Halliburton.”
Mr. Hawkins’ wife, Leanne, held a “got democracy?” sign.
The war is unjust and the country was led into it under false pretenses about weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, she said.
Mrs. Hawkins said this war is about the will of neo-conservatives and the Bush administration.
“They’re just really doing it to fuel the military-industrial complex,” she said.
Gary H. Sebastian, a high-school teacher from Fitchburg, said, “I’m basically opposed to this war because I think it’s pretty obvious that the Bush administration’s policies about oil have a lot more to do with this than freedom of the people of Iraq.”
Allan and Frances Armington of Fitchburg turned out, with Mrs. Armington bundled up in a muffler to fight the cold.
Mrs. Armington, a retired teacher who is a literacy volunteer, said it is ironic that the country is using up so many resources to protect its dependency on oil.
Instead, the government could be going to the root of the problem and using the money to fund alternative energy sources, she said.
Unless the women are burqa'd from head to foot and the men are cutting each others heads off, they're all damed hypocrites.
First off, the President when he takes his oath office says this......
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States."
Do they thing that just means the words of the Constitution? I would think someone trying to fly a jet plane literally into the original document would be enough reason for a President to follow his oath of office!
THIS is what they tried to destroy...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Us_constitution
Whoa, what is that? Is that the jaw grip cops use on them? I saw a movie on that once where a cop had both hands on this guys jaw bone, he took both his hands and put each on opposite sides of this guys jaw bone and dug his fingers in, and lifted the guy up like he was a fish out of water. Total incapacitation in in one swift move, the lefty didn`t dare even blink. Try it on yourself and you can see...Dig your fingers under your jawbone, you can see how much pain and lack of control can befall someone from that one maneuver. You don`t dare try to pizz off someone who has you in that grip.
hard rubber ball from a PaintBallGun... 8^)
OW! Damn that must of hurt! I got hit by one of those once but with a paintball from about 10 feet away in the belly, daaaamn that was stingy. It hurt almost as hearing Hillary won the Senate race.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.