I suggest that Kerry and the Democrats hold a prayer vigil for the

one thousand soldiers dead in Iraq.

that such overtly political displays of faux-religiosity are beneath us.

Cheney and Bush are doing just fine with their BS w/o us interefering.

would not even bother to show up for their return in the caskets. This has nothing to do with religiosity. It is simply an acknowledgement that the soldiers come from our kind of people, that we are proud of their sacrifices and we remember them with affection and gratitude. I would even go so far as to say we should include the Iraqi civilian dead in our thoughts too.

by espousing a sane military/foreign policy and fulfilling our promises to veterans.

A partisan prayer ceremony is just grandstanding.

Nice sentiment, but I think you misunderstood Dookus's point.

Have a moment of silence and/or prayer. It would work well and show respect for the soldiers.

show our respect in secular ways? If Bush held a prayer ceremony, wouldn't you find it obnoxious?

respect for the soldiers, but also to make it clear that the Republican Party which constantly trots out the public display of the flag and impugns our patriotism, is not the party that can claim our flag as its own. A display, even if it does not square with our normal good taste, is needed in this season where the Republicans can seize an advantage over us by trashing the courage of John Kerry and other purple heart winners.

by a cross and a flag is not going to vote for Kerry.

But, again, the American flag has nothing whatsoever to do with prayer.

Kerry needs to keep campaigning.

He doesn't need to wrap himself in the flag & salute the Cross. Leave that to the Republicans.

Rep. Rahm Emanuel was on C-Span yesterday and he has a press release on his website. Emanuel and Rep. Jim Turner co-wrote a letter to House Speaker Dennis Hastert asking that a temporary memorial be put in the Capitol Rotunda. Here is an excerpt of the letter:

<snip>

We believe it would be a fitting tribute to the memory of these brave troops to display placards honoring each of the fallen in the Capitol Rotunda. This temporary memorial would provide pictures and biographical information for each serviceman and woman and will include space for people visiting the Capitol to write notes and tributes to be shared with the families so they know that their loved ones will always be in our thoughts and prayers.

It is fitting that we use the Capitol Rotunda to honor our heroes. The Capitol Rotunda has been used for public viewing of the most highly honored decedents throughout our history. Most recently it was used to honor President Ronald Reagan, and has been the site of similar honors for many elected officials and military heroes, including the Unknown Soldier brought back from Europe after World War I. It has also been the site of tributes to dedicated citizens who have fallen in the line of duty, including two Capitol Police officers who were fatally shot in 1998.

As of this writing, we have lost 133 servicemen and women in Afghanistan and 971 in Iraq. This is an opportunity for the entire U.S. Congress to show its strong support for the families and respect for the men and women who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Link: http://www.house.gov/apps/list/press/il05_emanuel/tribute_troops_war.html

The only reason this is a partisan issue is because the Republicans don't want to think about, talk about or look at dead soldiers.


I started a thread about this last night:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x2324340