Yesterday, buried on the second page in the Metro section of the Des Moines Register was a story about Iowa Families United For Our Troops. I bring this up for two reasons. The first of which is to shed some light on this great organization.
About Iowa Families United For Our Troops:
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission is a not-for-profit 501(c)(4) organization. We are a grassroots coalition of Gold Star families, veterans, families with loved ones in harm's way, and Americans who share a deep appreciation for our men and women in uniform and support them in their efforts to make America safer by winning the War On Terror.Collectively we will ensure that the sacrifices our courageous warriors have made are not in vain, and that the heroic soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines who have been charged with such a vital mission will be given the support they need to complete their mission. The members of our organization know well why these brave individuals choose to serve. We know that these humble Americans leave their homes and loved ones with the knowledge that they are making the world a safer place. And we know that these dedicated service members are committed, first and foremost, to seeing their mission through to completion.
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission provides a means for our Gold Star Families, who have lost loved ones in the defense of our nation, to find solace in each other's company, and know that many others share their love, admiration and support for our armed forces. We want all the friends and families of our troops to know that we share their vision of finishing the incredibly vital task at hand and look forward to welcoming them home when the inevitable victory is achieved.
To our heroic military men and women, and their families, we offer a humble and especially sincere, "Thank You."
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission has four basic principles. They are:
- The United States was attacked. On September 11, 2001, our nation was victim to an unprovoked attack by al-Qaeda terrorists. This horrific assault was the capstone of a series of al-Qaeda terrorist attacks on our country: the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Towers, the 1998 bombing of our U.S. Embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, and the 2000 bombing of the USS Cole. Our President and government leaders were right to defend our nation by aggressively pursuing the terrorists who took refuge in Afghanistan and Iraq.
- Our troops want to finish the job. Our all-volunteer Armed Services are comprised of brave men and women who believe in their mission, trust in their leadership, and strongly want to finish the job in Afghanistan and Iraq before leaving - and that means leaving behind self-governing democracies that can defend themselves.
- Democracy abroad is necessary for our security at home. Democracy can and will work in the Middle East. Iraqis and Afghans want to govern themselves and their twin successes will serve as the keystone for a more democratic, more peaceful world.
- We will not be safe until the terrorists are defeated. If we do not finish the job in Afghanistan and Iraq, terrorists will be strengthened and will eventually bring the fight to us here in the United States.
Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission was founded by Major Chuck Larson in the summer of 2005 after his return from a year's service in Iraq. Families United for Our Troops and Their Mission helped organize 30 events across the country in fall 2005, with our marquee event on September 24 in Washington, DC with 45 Gold Star families participating. We continue to expand our team by reaching out to more Gold Star families, War on Terror veterans, Veteran Service Organizations, and community partners. Our goals:
1. Support the troops. Ensure that the troops will be given the support they need to complete their mission.
2. Act as a network. Provide a means through state chapter organizations and state and national events for our members to find solace in each other's company.
3. Promote our service members' good work. Actively work to get the good news out by participating in media interviews and writing guest opinions; joining others at events to highlight the accomplishments of our soldiers; and sponsoring advertisements to ensure that the public knows everything our military is doing to defend us and to help people abroad.
Although anyone can join Families United who believes in our four principles, our organization expressly seeks to recruit War on Terror veterans, Blue Star and Gold Star families, all Armed Service veterans and Veteran Service Organizations, and community leaders and organizations.
Make sure you also read their blog.
Alright, second reason for this post is to rip on the Des Moines Register. Why was United Families buried inside the second page of the Metro section of Des Moines Rag? Are you guessing there was too much pressing news on the front page to warrant a cover story? Here is a rundown of the grossly important news items of Tuesday, January 17, 2005 as compiled by the editors of the DSM Rag:
- Metal Thieves Hit Metro Construction Sites: Owww, a real page turner. Guess what? The price of metal is so high right now, thieves are taking to pulling the wires out of homes underconstruction just to harvest them for the copper. Scintillating.
- American Idol Mania: Hey, didja know Fox has this really popular show called "American Idol" and the Rag's numb-nut columnists Erin "the President still needs to apologize for the hinterlands remark" Crawford and Kyle "the best music CD of the year is some band that you have never heard of because I know more about music than you" Munson will be live blogging it. I nearly wet my pants inanticipation.
- And finally the news story "everyone is talking about," Taste, safety trump cutting sodium: This was the lead story of the day do to its' location in the upper right hand column of the front page. This news-editorial story is just another example of how the Register keeps earning its' title of "liberal rag" on a daily basis [by leading off everyday with opinion and not the facts]:
Making food more healthful is a waste of time if people won't eat it.
That's what the Bush administration essentially decided in scrapping a decade-old plan to tighten limits on the sodium content of foods labeled "healthy."
So we have come to my problem with the Rag: Cindy Sheehan is schizophrenic, media whore who runs around the country saying vile things about the President and war her son wanted to fight, but the second other Gold Star families want to make their voices heard in the media we regulate them to an afterthought on the second page of the Metro section.
Lets face it folks [according to the Des Moines Register], the story of United Families deserves to be next to articles about drug dealers and wife beaters, because these Gold Star families certainly have something wrong with them if they aren't bashing the President and his illegitimate war. I mean, come on, it was started by a Republican for crying out...
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