Today is Christmas Eve. I have a miserable cold...or possibly the flu. My husband has been sick for a week. But with that said, once again I anticipate sharing Christmas with all members of my family around the table although happily, that celebration won't occur until December 26 giving me a bit of time to recover from my least favorite and totally unreturnable Christmas "gift."

Yesterday, I picked my son up at the airport - complete with his usual travel drama stories and conversation peppered with bad language and Army lingo. He still has not figured that you attract more flies with honey when it comes to dealing with stressed out O'Hare employees who would rather be home with their families than dealing with stressed out and unhappy travelers. He wanted to talk into the wee hours of the morning...but with a snort and a sneeze, I slinked into my warm bed - complete with three down comforters and a heating pad for my back. I considered putting on my fleece hat but decided it was really taking the sympathy thing a bit far.

As I write this, my boys, now young men and my daughter...still the mature one have taken my folks to church after trying to get me "better" all day. I refused to be typhoid Mary to all of those who gathered today to pray for peace and goodwill among all peoples to honor the birth of Christ and will watch the midnight services on television with my box of kleenex, vaporizor and bottle of aspirin close by and my dogs who will lie strategically on my bed to keep me toasty warm. And I will dream of first Christmases with tiny babies - toddlers running around the tree with eyes full of wonder - school aged children who learned that giving was indeed as good as getting on Christmas.

With all of my heart, I will pray that next Christmas will see all of us gathered around the table again - safe and healthy (and perhaps without a cold but what can I say?). I will say a prayer for the thousands of families who have loved ones in dangerous spots and I will pray for comfort for those who will always have an empty place at the table and in their hearts.

Happy Christmas and Peace on Earth - Goodwill to all of God's Children. 

This picture first published as a Christmas card in 1917 shows a little girl waiting by a Service Flag for a loved one serving a world away. As we celebrate the upcoming holidays, I believe it is important to remember the families of those who serve...especially the children.

May their fondest wish be granted and their absent loved one be safe over the holiday...and on their way home soon so they will be present for all of those important family events and celebrations.

Elections

On Friday, the Iraqis voted in large numbers to elect their own parliament. I applaud their courage and hope that those elected representatives show the same courage as their supporters.

It is my belief that we, in this country, ought to demonstrate the same democratic principles that we are encouraging from the Iraqi people. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Congress passed a bill forbidding inhumane treatment of any prisoner held by ANY U.S. entity and clarified in the Military field manuals what proper interrogation procedures entail. It is sad that our government did not appear to know any better when it scuttled the Geneva Conventions as they pertained to Iraq and Afghanistan. Extraordinary Renditions, CIA torture planes and sending people off to states where torture is permissable are not American values...and have proven to be poor substitutions for good intelligence.

This week the New York Times reported that the President had approved spying on Americans living in the U.S. Following the scandals of the Nixon era, laws were passed to stop that behavior. Appearantly, once again, our President feels himself "above the law" because on the extraordinary threat of terrorism. No public official is above the law and it is my strong hope that the Congress will inquire into this matter and sanction any violations of our laws in a non-partisan manner.

Closer to home, a group of 12 citizens delivered a petition from residents in our congressional district to our congresswoman who has stated that this district supports the President's mission in Iraq. Our petition requested an open debate to honestly discuss Congressman Murtha's proposal to withdraw troops back to a position that would protect innocent Iraqi citizens while giving the new elected government more room to establish its leadership role. Among those chosen to deliver this petition were 5 Military Family members representing all branches of the military, 1 Active Duty Military member, three vets representing service to this country since Korea, a flight attendant who serves on flights that take our young servicepeople to Kuwait and assists in bring wounded soldiers back from Germany and four peace activists representing different groups in the district. The petition had signatures of several hundred residents who live in the district. Similar petitions were delivered all over the U.S. to the offices of Congressional Representatives. We will have to wait and see what, if any impact, the petition will have on our hawkish Congresswoman. Happily, the district is fielding a couple of candidates who feel that war is not the first option of diplomacy.

On a personal level, rumor and speculation abound that deployment orders and dates will be cancelled and/or delayed while we re-evaluate our presence. My son's unit was one mentioned by name as slated for cancellation. However, they continue to pack their gear in preparation for war in anticipation of deployment early next year.

Hopefully, 2006 will be marked by peace and diplomacy in Iraq and Afghanistan....and the U.S.

It is time to bring our soldiers home. Merry Christmas, Happy Chunakah, Happy Holidays, and Happy New Year to all. May it be marked with peace, prosperity and hope.

Strategy - What Strategy?

The Administration published a booklet called the "National Strategy on Victory in Iraq" (available on the whitehouse.gov site). All I can say after reading all thirty five pages is "wow, are we really paying these guys for putting out this stuff?" Basically, it was a neatly bulleted document encouraging the public to "stay the course" even as the Congress moves to cut funding to programs that benefit the poor and elderly in this country.

Further, there was no explanation of what victory looked like. It is important in a strategy to have a clear goal in mind. There was no explanation of how that victory will be achieved and who is going to achieve it. If it is the Military, that could be a problem: reports indicate an ongoing decline in recruitment which has lead to decreasing standards for enlistees. National Guard units will not, under law, be permitted to return to combat IF they have already spent a specified time away. Congressman Murtha, who is quite knowledgable about Military Affairs, has stated that the Military is tired...and reaching a breaking point. Others in Washington state that within 6 months, the numbers deployed will HAVE to be cut back...citing lack of adequately trained replacements, fatique and other issues

If victory is to be achieved politically, that too presents a problem. In case the reader has missed it, our President is unable to go anywhere in the world without protesters following. Even in carefully venued places in the US, opposition voices are heard. The Vice President is hardly ever heard from. Rice is going to face the hot button issue of CIA secret prisons in European countries who face expulsion from the EU if found complicit.

And then there is the ongoing loss of life in Iraq...on both sides. And for what? An incomplete strategy that only serves to document the inadequacies of this Administration? A strategy that goes against the will of the majority of Americans?

It is time for both new leadership...and a new strategy. It is time to bring our soldiers home and care for them when they get here.

Thanksgiving...and after

I know that I don't talk in specifics about my son...and where he is or where he is going. He will be deployed within the next couple of months...and that is scary. His job will put him in danger since he is an infantry soldier.

However, due to some good fortune (at least to my way of thinking) he was home unexpectedly for Thanksgiving this year. My son is a drama king when it comes to travel, however. His travel arrangements never work out as planned and this trip was no exception. On the day before Thanksgiving, the busiest travel day of the year, he arrived at the airport 10 minutes AFTER his flight was scheduled to depart, due to car problems. Since there was bad weather in various places in the US, the flight was delayed and he made it home to the most traveled airport in the country. Picking him up was a challenge.

But this year, his chair was occupied at Thanksgiving and for that I am grateful. Too many friends have chairs at their Thanksgiving tables that will be permantly empty.

It is time to bring our soldiers home.