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George “Flimflam” Bush is back with his traveling medicine show, trying yet again to sell us that old elixir he calls the “National Strategy for Victory in Iraq.”
In his current sales pitch, Bush insists that America must not lose its nerve in Iraq. However, this war is not about nerve – it’s about people dying for a pack of lies. Of course, no one in Bush’s family has their lives at risk in George’s war, but other families are not so fortunate, with their loved ones facing bombs, bullets, and death everyday. They want to know how Bush has the nerve to talk about staying the course when he still – still! – has not provided all of our troops with the armor needed to help them stay alive.
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One angry family member is Tammara Rosenleaf, who has launched a grassroots campaign called, “Bake Sales for Body Armor.” Tammara’s husband, Sean, is fighting in Iraq, and she was both shocked and outraged to learn that he had been deployed without adequate armor. He finally got properly outfitted, but Tammara wanted to make sure that all soldiers are protected. “[The Bake Sale Project] is what I decided to do about it,” she says.
Backed by Veterans for Peace, Rosenleaf and a hardy crew of volunteers are literally holding bake sales around the country, offering cookies, cakes, and other goodies. They also hold virtual “bake sales” online. All of the money they raise is spent on body armor, medical supplies, and other gear that they then ship to soldiers.
Bush’s Pentagon has not been nice about Tammara’s group, assailing them as “ludicrous,” and mockingly saying that their shipments to Iraq troops are only helping puff up the profits of the U.S. post office.
This is Jim Hightower saying… What’s truly ridiculous, is that our $500-billion-a-year Pentagon has to be supplemented by bake sales. To learn how you can hold a bake sale, make a donation, or sign up a soldier to receive gear, go to www.bakesalesforbodyarmor.org.
Sources: “Bush, Conceding Problems, Defends Iraq War,” The New York Times, March 13, 2006.
“Angry About Armor,” www.helenair.com, February 13, 2006.
“Bake sales for armor aim to aid U.S. troops,” Austin American-Statesman, February 11, 2006.
“Imagine My Surprise,” www.bakesalesforbodyarmor.org, February 13, 2006.