Bloomberg--Three soldiers were killed by roadside bombs in Iraq, the U.S. military said, bringing the number of American deaths in April to as many as 35, already exceeding those for all of March.
Thirty-five Americans gone forever barely rises above the threshold of footnote in the chronicle of White House atrocities. Yet each was a person. They each had dreams and hopes, talents and skills, families, friends, and neighbors. Each death will reach out to change the lives of many, each quiet tragedy will bestow shock, then hellish grief, perhaps followed by somber resignation to thirty-five communities. Those who mourn this month will join thousands of parents and spouses and children whose lives have already been shattered.
George Bush will smirk and stutter through PR shows disguised as Townhall Meetings, Dick Cheney will avoid all but the most loyal, cheering audiences, Donald Rumsfeld will explain how well things are really going with impressively uniformed senior toadies standing all around him nodding in agreement. An army of right-wing ragamuffins will trail behind their heroes, frantically picking up after each lie and putting more spin on each glaring inconsistency. Right-wing religious ideologues will eagerly accept the sin of our leaders, purify it in the Church of George Bush, sacrifice critics on the Altar of the Neocons, and distribute the improved, guilt free product back into the minds of their victims. The media will be onto the next Big Story.
And across America there will be thirty-five funerals attended by thirty-five heartbroken families.