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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
 Posted - 05/26/2001 : 20:38:38 [Permalink]
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Write letters and generally raise a stink, I guess. I want to see your letter. I tried to sit and compose one, but the words "brain dead idiot" kept creeping in, and things tended to go downhill after that.
I will be so glad when my husband gets home. He's in an embassy over in the middle east. Talk about a sitting duck!
Lisa
Who do you serve? Who do you trust? |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2001 : 23:22:15 [Permalink]
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Lisa, here's the rough draft of the letter, I am deleting my address for reasons I think most will understand.
Letter:
May 26, 2001
Patricia E Gaskins
XXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXX
Representative Name
Rep Office
Rep Address
City State Zip
Dear Sir:
I am deeply disturbed to hear of the United States supplying the Taliban with money for any reason. The Taliban has proven to be a suppressive society, endorsing acts which most of humanity, for varying reasons, should find extraordinarily repulsive. Supporting this regime is detrimental to the national and international view of the United States and it's citizenry.
Supplying a regime with 43 million US dollars that has enacted laws closely paralleling those of the Third Reich with extreme anti-US views is irresponsible, in my view. Supposing the Taliban was actually to use these funds for anit-drug making policy or to support the masses of its citizen is, by virtue, irresponsible. The Taliban is believed, by our own government, to be harboring Osama Bin Laden the terrorist believed responsible for the bombing of US embassies in Africa, resulting in the deaths of many innocents. The Taliban also requires women of any faith, by it's own admission, to wear the burkha, an act that results in the dehumanization of women. It allows male citizens to beat women to death for what would not even be considered a minor infraction in this society.
Our citizens cry out against the heinous crime of female circumcision and the dehumanization caused by the enforced wearing of the burkha. Yet our government, elected officials, choose to ignore its citizenry and supply a society, that we as a whole declare anathema to our own beliefs and our support of the Constitution and its relevant Amendments, with 43 million of our tax dollars in support of their view on the drug trade issue. This issue then begs the question of how long the Taliban will support the anti-drug issue in the face of support the mass of its own citizenry. Though, I doubt, the veracity of the claim that the Taliban will use these funds in the manner which the US government intends.
Consider the whole picture instead of the rosy parts of policy that coincides with the particular view the US government holds. Do not in any way approve support for a society that suppresses any human rights. Do not ignore history and fail to see the close relation between the current Taliban doctrine and that of the Third Reich. And ask yourself, how long before the Taliban begins its own concentration camps composed of Hindus and Arabs. Are we, by your vote, supposed to support the mass murder and annihilation of thousands of individuals? This is not why I served my country.
Respectfully,
Patricia E Gaskins
Please, I would appreciate any input, as this is currently a work in progress and I need to research some supporting evidence for these statements. Thanks
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 05/26/2001 : 23:50:07 [Permalink]
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Trish, I think I'll share this with my next door neighbor. She's an ex-Army Major, now an educator. She's upset that WIC has been slashed, and Headstart and RIF deleted altogether by the tax cuts. Yet we can still send $43 million to people who will no doubt use it for weapons to toss back at us. Maybe that's too bold a statement to make, but that's how we feel. None of their actions since taking power have indicated they'd do anything else. My blood is still boiling over this. What surprises me the most is that Colin Powell seems to be going along with it. What is he thinking?
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 00:00:06 [Permalink]
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Lisa, please share away, and I would appreciate any input she might have on the subject. As I said, right now this is the first draft of the letter.
I think the cut in funding for science based education and education in general should be addressed as well. Superficially brought into the subject of the letter, but more along the lines of better educating our young people regarding the effects of drugs on the human body and their effects upon society in general.
Sorry took so long to get this posted, but the dog needed a walk because he's still a puppy and trying to jump on the couch and generally tear up the house.
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 00:02:52 [Permalink]
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Whoops! also meant to include a blurb on the destruction of the ancient Budda land marks that the Taliban used for target practice.
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 00:17:10 [Permalink]
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I'll let her cool off a little first. Her immediate comments made my "idiot" statement looke pretty mild. She works exclusively with challenged students (IHP) who can use all the help they can get. She knew about the education cutbacks, but the Headstart program was news. She thought all programs were biting the bullet equally. While in the Army, most of her postings were in Europe. Then I haul off and tell her we just gave 43 big ones to a bunch of terrorists. Oh yeah, she's really happy, you betcha!
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 01:20:58 [Permalink]
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Lisa, I can understand that her upset. I feel the same way about these cutbacks. It affects the future of the US and humanity in general. Don't suppose we can impeach him can we?
Anyway, didn't want to even contemplate ad hominem attacks in a letter of this nature. Guess that's what spending time as a Tech Writer gets you. Any thoughts on the letter
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 02:01:50 [Permalink]
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I shall try this again. For my latest rant about this computer, it's on the BA board. I was about to hit "post" and crashamundo.
You compared them to Nazis several time. Apt comparison, but was it on this board or BA where we said "Hitler's Socks!"?
Oh yes, include the statues they blew up. I still can't believe that one.
Focus on the terrorism aspect. Wasn't it a Republican president, Reagan, I believe, who declared a "war on terrorism"? And now we're handing them $43 million. Am I missing something here?
You know, it's the potential terrorism aspect that has me the most upset. While I was TDY in Saudi, there were quite a few attempts to breech the base perimeter. (Don't you guys love it when Trish and I talk like that?) Anyway, I think that $43 M can go a long way on the black market. The stuff is out there, they just need to get their hands on it. I still have friends and family sitting in Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Oman.
Your letter is excellent, and better than anything I could come up with. Keep editing away, and I'll keep printing. Think I'll send a copy to my Dad (Lt. Cmdr, Ret) he'll have a field day. He's the kind who will pick up the phone and call his Rep in a heartbeat.
Lisa
BTW - check out the very bottom of the BA Board ;)
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 02:10:52 [Permalink]
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Lisa, your computer can't be much worse than mine. Little 850 MB Hard Drive, with 16 MB RAM and 36K modem. Eek! Too bad I crashed my P2. Won't even let me use the back button in my browser!
I think your right about Reagan, that was in response to the embassy if I recall correctly.
During the Operation Desert Sheild we had two attempted breeches on the base here in the states! Both by recognized terrorists. Yeah, I remember haveing school buses loaded with sandbags parked at two gates and fully armed guards at the other two. Yikes!
Left for base about an hour before normal too. Every vehicle was subject to search by dogs, they didn't let anyone slide. Worst scares was in PI when the guerillas were coming over the fences in the jungle. RPA kept trying to come into the womens quanset hut and we kept chasing them out. Hated being under armed guard!
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 02:13:19 [Permalink]
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Does the "chat" section work yet?
Yup, I got in. Join.
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done
Edited by - Lisa on 05/27/2001 02:16:08 |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
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Lisa
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 03:23:53 [Permalink]
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Gosh Trish, that should help me sleep better tonight!
State Department must be crapping solid lead bricks at this point.
Hey, another point I just thought of. The DEA is always bitching that they could stop more drugs from coming into the country, but they're undermanned and underfunded. $43 M could train a whole lot of drug puppies, no?
I guess what is still blowing my mind (I'm still seething and spinning over this) is that we just 43M to known terrorist supporters. Do grunt lives mean that little to this administation?
Lisa
Chaos...Confusion...Destruction...My Work Here Is Done |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 05:19:08 [Permalink]
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Apparently Lisa. I have a bunch of friends who are grunts!
Here's the revised version!
May 26, 2001
Patricia E Gaskins
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Representative Name
Rep Office
Rep Address
City State Zip
Dear Sir:
I am deeply disturbed to hear of the United States supplying the Taliban with a large amount money for any reason. Though the Taliban has recently declared they will stop the production of poppy, a prime ingredient in the production of opiates, this is insufficient reason for such an amount of US tax dollars to go to a suppresseive regime like the Taliban. The Taliban has proven itself to be a regime of extreme secular origin unsupported by the majority of Muslims. With the exception of the drug issue the Taliban has still failed to comply with UNSCR 1267.
Would not the 43 million be better spent educating our young people to the effects of drug use. Or training our own law enforcement to better deal with the drug trade. Increasing the number of law enforcement officials dedicated to preventing the import of illegal narcotics into the US would also be more preferable.
Osama bin Laden is still free to practice his Jihad, holy war, against the US and its citizenry. Various terrorist organization are still free to use Afghanistan as a base of operations, avoiding international prosecution for acts of terrorism. These are the facts regarding terrorism against the US: over 500 are dead and 1000 injured in the past 18 years. Americans who enlist in our Armed Forces are well aware of the potential threat to their lives the average citizen is unlikely to be aware they are a taget. On a personal note, I have lost a friend to terrorism and nearly lost my brother to the same.
Please recall, bin Laden has been indicted by the UNSC for the bombings of US embassies in Nairobi, Kenya and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. During these attacks over 200 innocent civilians were killed and over 4000 innocent civilians were injured. The US also believes bin Laden is behind the attacks at the World Trade Center and the USS Cole in Yemen. Remember, bin Laden fought with the Mujahideen against the Soviets. The Afghani regime feels some gratitude toward this man for his efforts with the Mujahideen.
Is the citizenry of the US to accept the payout of 43 million US tax dollars to Mullah Mohammed Omar and his Taliban regime while gross human civil right violations are perpetrated daily? Recently his regime called for all Hindi citizens of Afghanistan to wear identifying badges. Niid I remind you...Jews were required to wear indentifying badges during the reign of the Third Reich? Supplying a regime with clear anit-US sentiments that enacts laws closely paralleling those of the Third Reich is, at best, irresponsible.
Continued... |
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Trish
SFN Addict
USA
2102 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 05:20:03 [Permalink]
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continued from previous...
They have, in addition to forcing Hindus to wear badges, declared that women of any failt wear the burkha, an act that results in the dehumanization of women. It allows male citizens to beat women to death for what would not even be considered a minor infraction in this society. Our citizens cry out against the heinous crime of female circumcision and the dehumanization caused by the enforced wearing of the burkha. Yet our government, elected officials, choose to ignore its citizenry and supply a society, that we as a whole declare anathema to our own beliefs and our support of the Constitution and its relevant Amendments, with 43 million of our tax dollars in support of their view on the drug trade issue. This issue then begs the question of how long the Taliban will support the anti-drug issue in the face of supporting the mass of its own citizenry. Though, I doubt, the veracity of the claim that the Taliban will use these funds in the manner which the US government intends.
The Taliban is also responsible for the destruction of several peices of our world history. They destroyed the largest known statues of Budda located in their desert. They did this despite cries from other countries to let them remove the statues.
Consider the whole picture instead of the rosy parts of policy that coincides with the particular view the US government holds. Do not in any way approve support for a society that suppresses any human rights. Do not ignore history and fail to see the close relation between the current Taliban doctrine and that of the Third Reich. And ask yourself, how long before the Taliban begins its own concentration camps composed of Hindus and Arabs. Are we, by your vote, supposed to support the mass murder and annihilation of thousands of individuals? This is not why I served my country.
Respectfully,
Patricia E Gaskins
Spinnin' my wheels and gettin' no where - fast |
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rubysue
Skeptic Friend
USA
199 Posts |
Posted - 05/27/2001 : 15:39:49 [Permalink]
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Excellent letter, Trish! I'm glad I got everyone stirred up about this atrocity; what else can you expect from this administration, though? I think we should all send a similar letter to our representatives and Senators.
Every day, the Taliban government does something else to horrify the rest of the world, but we sit back and let them keep doing it because they are a "religious" state. Their draconian and deadly interpretations of islamic law are very similar to the ideological totalitarianism perpetuated by the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia in the 70's (not to mention the Third Reich, as you noted in your letter). It actually makes me physically sick to think that we have given this dreadful regime (that still shelters one of the worst terrorists in the world)one thin dime of taxpayer's money. I wouldn't be surprised to find out that Shrubya and his staff secretly admire how the Taliban leaders deal with the evil influences of music, television, and educated women.
The "war on drugs" is the biggest farce ever perpetrated on the American people. It's a war that will never be won, as we all know, but our government (especially those on the right wing) keep chipping away at the Bill of Rights (in particular, the fourth and fifth amendments) in a pathetic attempt to "make us and our children safe from this scourge".
We should also protest the loss of funding to the various government science organizations. Of course, I'm sure our "genius" in the White House would be happy to have those secular egghead scientists struggle for funds; they can always go work on missile defense if they're looking for employment!
my rant generator is now turned off...
rubysue
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