By now, you may have noticed the ads here at DKos and Huffington Post for this Sunday's James Gandolfini-produced "Alive Day: Home From Iraq"
Between the police and court harrassment over which freaking adhesive to use to put up posters for a protest in D.C. and which type of table to use at a press conference publicizing the event, and the comments of Gen. Patraeus that the surge hasn't "worked out as we hoped" (no fucking duh surprise), and Bill O'Reilly's braindead mouthing off, and having predicted all this outcome in 2003, wondering why there were no stories in the corporate war-mongering media about what was going to happen when the wounded started coming home, I'm already pretty worked up with anger and righteous disdain again tonight. And then I click on the ads and website for this documentary.
You want some perspective on how absurd this country is in September 2007, the month of the "Well, Let's Check In On the Iraq Occupation Once Again To See How It Is Going & Then Play More Games" report? Go to the HBO website. You will see photos like this...
And read stories like this:
Michael Jernigan
Marine Lance Cpl.Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL (currently lives in Arlington, VA)
Age: 28
Date of Injury: 8/22/2004
Hospital: National Naval Medical Center, Bethesda, MA
Unit: Weapons Platoon, Easy Company, 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines
Date deployed to Iraq: March 2nd, 2004
Location of Injury: Outskirts of Mahmudiyah (between Baghdad and Kuwait)
List of Injuries: Loss of both eyes (resulting in blindness), loss of frontal cranium (forehead area - ear-to-ear, eyebrow to top of head), loss of bone structure that supports the brain (brain now sits on titanium mesh), fractured left cheek bone (titanium plate to stabilize), frontal lobe bruising, severed left femoral artery, fractured left patella (kneecap), Right hand damage (little finger mostly severed and reattached, loss of knuckles (between hand and fingers, the hand was crushed from the explosion)
And this:
The bio for the 22-yo with TBI, Eddie Ryan, has a link to his fundraising website.
From their website:
The Ryan Family have welcomed Eddie home and now the task of getting him back on his feet continues. Eddie needs extensive rehabilitation and the financial strains are tough on the family.
While the federal government will help out, Eddie is eligible for only $10,000 in aid at this point. The government says another $40,000 is reserved for Eddie's use later, Chris Ryan said.
If you'd like to help, click on the button below. Any amount you donate will helps us meet our goal.
http://www.helpeddieryan.com/...
I hope that everyone will watch the special, and publicize it at other blogs and among your circle(s) of friends. Americans need to see the results of their ignorance and complacency.
See you in D.C. on Sept. 15. The Rally has permits, but be aware the Die-In is a civil disobedience action