Me and Sen. Reid

I don't know where Sen. Reid was tonight. I'm sure he was strategizing on how to kill...er...bring our troops home safely. However, I was at a small town "music in the park" where I handed out a hundred cards and fliers to people who wanted to support our troops. Particularly after I read a letter from one of our guys and told them about our 3000 (updated from 1200) marines. A nice school teacher wants to inquire about doing a project for her high school class.

I didn't see Sen. Reid anywhere.

Somebody has to do the hard work of supporting our troops. I got home and ate some spaghetti I threw in the pan with some butter, basil, garlic, parsley and oregano around midnight. I threw it on a paper plate, chowed down and am now getting ready to go to sleep so I can get up in the morning and go to a send off of a local unit.

Somehow, I imagine Sen. Reid was most likely eating a lovely meal fixed by his personal chef, served on his personal china, reading news clips printed by his staff, contemplating how he can undermine the battle for Iraq and our troops while chatting with his wife over the location of their new Chippendale sofa and when to return to the family manse for their quadrennial break from the horrific living conditions in DC.

Friday morning, I will ride in my beat up Pontiac with a broken door and no air conditioner, chow down on a breakfast biscuit from some fast food chain so I can stand on the flag line in the heat and humidity to send off our guys by 7:30 AM.

Sen. Reid will be riding in his air conditioned limousine after a lovely omelet served on his personal china, made with fresh hand picked ingredients, delivered to his DC mansion. He will arrive in his air conditioned office and spend the morning having his staff think up new ways to undermine the war, insult our troops, and mock our support of our troops. He will call it "supporting our troops".

I'll be looking around the flag line and noting the real patriots there. I'm pretty sure I won't see Sen. Reid or any of his staffers who thought it was cute to deliver "care packages" to his Republican opposition while 1200 [update: 3000] marines are waiting for letters and care packages from home.

As Sen. Reid takes his mid morning break in the steam and massage room to relieve the stress of all his hard work and "sleepless nights" in the basement of the Congressional House, I'll be watching the spouses, parents and children of the 35ID bravely hold back their tears and wave their loved ones good-bye. He'll go back to his air conditioned office and try to figure out how to raise more support for his next earmark laden bill. I'll hand out Soldiers' Angels cards and information on how to submit these soldiers for support. I'll talk to more supporters about joining our organization and adopting these men and many more because the need is so great.

When Sen. Reid finishes up his half day at the Senate before scurrying home for a long weekend, the real support for our troops will be heading back to work having taken a half-day's PTO out of their vacation time, while the families of these deploying soldiers will go home or to work and try not to cry in front of the kids, friends and family. I'll be here making phone calls to companies asking them for donations for our cause and then calling the VA to set up an appointment to deliver more supplies that are beyond their budget (thanks Harry, et al).

Saturday, while Harry plays eighteen holes of golf, I'll be up once again, driving 150 miles round trip to go meet the mother of a deployed soldier so we can plan our "Support the Troops: Freedom Walk 9/11/2007".

Now, I ask you, who supports the troops?

Ask the wife of a Marine: Dear Sen. Reid