conjectural navel gazing; jesus in lint form

senators and soldiers

Thanks to Micah and Susie for their heads up about this. I am a pacifist. But I want to underscore the responsibility I believe we have to care for the people who enforce or are called into action to fulfill the decisions made by our Federal government. Like the war and its related policies or not, I am responsible for the well-being of our sons and daughters in the military.

These are links to two stories in the Tribune. You will need a free registration to view them.
Marine, state senator's nephew, killed in Iraq

The Senate debate Saturday about whether to provide benefits to survivors of 41 Illinois soldiers killed during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan suddenly turned very personal when Sen. David Sullivan (R-Park Ridge) received a telephone call.

Sullivan's brother, Michael Sullivan of Western Springs, informed the senator that his nephew, a 22-year-old Marine, had been killed Friday in Iraq.

Lawmaker loses nephew in Iraq This is the AP story.

SPRINGFIELD, Ill. -- A state senator learned his nephew had been killed in Iraq as the Illinois Senate debated death benefits for military personnel during a special budget session.

This is the legislation.

Yeah, that about covers it for me too. I try to keep this in mind as I call "W" a goober. The thing about political debate for me is holding the extremes in tension...the extremes in views and in emotional responses to those views. Politics is not the realm of ideas alone. Far from it. We owe it our passion, focused on the realities that our ideas have consequences. Keep that in mind as we piss one another off this election season.

Posted by tripp at July 29, 2004 04:49 PM