Where's the outrage?
Another bloody week for American troops has come to pass and this citizen can only wonder, where's the outrage? Our men and women have been bogged down in this unprovoked, unnecessary war for over a year now, and while it's comforting to know nearly half the country shares my mindset, it's become extremely disturbing knowing that half do not.
Nearly 600 U.S. troops have been killed in Iraq; 450 have lost their lives since President Bush declared an end to major combat. Thousands of troops are seriously wounded and hundreds have gone insane or taken their own lives. The president sold this war on the grounds that the Iraqi regime presented an imminent threat to the United States, yet we now know that was not the case. The last time a president lied to the American people, a Republican-controlled House of Representatives voted to impeach him and, while shameful, that situation involved nothing more than two consenting adults agreeing to a sex act. This latest lie by a U.S. President is beyond the pale and has caused devastation and despair among thousands of families worldwide. The capture of Saddam Hussein does not justify the president's actions nor replace loved ones. The minimal success in Iraq does not reattach lost limbs or mend broken hearts. To make matters worse, because of the president's actions there is now no turning back. A job must be completed and in the process, more lives are sure to be lost. More families will be destroyed.
Some will say this president did not lie and that he made the best decision he could with information provided to him by inept sources of intelligence. That explanation does not suffice, for too many people have suffered at the hands of a president who doesn't understand "The Buck Stops Here" — with here being his own desk.
As cited by former Treasury Secretary Paul O' Neill and counter-terrorism adviser Richard Clarke, war for this president was always an exciting first choice rather than a grim last resort. The bottom line is that President Bush lied to the people and to Congress about weapons of mass destruction and the purported "grave and imminent" threat Iraq posed to the U.S., and that in and of itself is worthy of reprimand.
Ultimately, however, the American people can decide for themselves on November 2. Never has more been at stake.
Kevin King
St. Petersburg
No More
When Jo brought home this week's issue entitled "Southeastern Music Issue," I laughed to her and to my guitar-playing friend Glenn that "no one called me to talk," and I was only kidding. Though I do have many stories to tell after playing in bands here in the Bay area since 1982 and hosting "concerts" at my woodshop since 1984. We featured Tampa Bay's best original acts (A New Personality, The Fanatics, Voodoo Idols, Multi-Colored House, Dialogue, Empty Sky, The Shakes, Grassy Knoll Gunmen, Louder Than Lions, Monday Mornings, Megadog, Amandala Tunesmith, Tommy Tie Dye and on and on and on). So I am sincerely grateful to get an honorable mention in the column about "Dead Clubs."
I want to make sure, however, that Planet readers are aware of the fact that it was in no way "financial woes" that closed Club More. In 1998 I secured Club More's future by selling the building to our angel investor. Had Clearwater (and, in the opinion of many folks besides myself, the Church of Scientology) not taken our parking away from us, we would have continued to survive in the challenging arena of offering original live music in Tampa Bay.
—Flash Gordon
Clearwater
This article appears in Apr 22-28, 2004.