Cindy Sheehan

[Phoenix44]

Yeah, you're right, I'm not familiar with google research services, but I offer my own citations. Whose opinion is that of google research services?

But whether or not he's gone to funerals isn't even the issue. The issue is whether he can spare an hour for Cindy Sheehan. I don't see it as real big deal. A Gold Star mother feels so strongly about it she's willing to travel a thousand miles and camp out? Geez, spare her an hour.

 

[Tgace]

She already had one...

 

[Phoenix44]

Well, to be exact, she had 6 minutes. OK, so I guess you disagree with me, and you don't think she deserves an hour. Fair enough.

 

[Sapper6]

she was afforded the opportunity. period. she's met with senators, national security advisors, department of defense officials, and the president of the united states of america. and now, a denial of a "2nd chance" encites a politically motivated tantrum.

placing bets she's not there by the end of the month :idunno:

 

[Feisty Mouse]

And that's a key point. Cindy Sheehan has no idea what her son sacrificed his life for. I've heard her speak: She said that her son believed we should go to Afghanistan to capture Bin Laden, and in fact he believed he was going to do that. That was a cause he believed in, but Iraq? That's the question.

George W. Bush is not the Pharoah. He works for us, and unfortunately I think that many of our elected officials seem to forget that. We paid for the war, and we deserve to know what and why we paid for it. Cindy Sheehan paid more than some of us. She wants to know what is the purpose of this war.

This President has spent no time going to the funerals of the soldiers--other wartime presidents somehow found the time. He spends time meeting GOP contributors. He's taking a 5 week vacation...he could take an hour and spend it with Cindy.

Do you really think that's too much to ask?

I leave for a while, and the "we're at war, and you have to love the war and die for the war and put up and shut up!" folks have arrived. lol!

Simply because other families have not been granted an audience by no means limits Mrs. Sheehan from demonstrating to get the President to listen to her. Remember guys, this isn't a communist country where you stand in line and receive your bread and then cower away for fear of the Big Bad Government, right? ...right?

So you think the Drudge Report is a great source for news. Way to be. Still doesn't change the fact that she can demonstrate peacefully - and many pro-war, supporting our troops = sending them to their deaths, folks don't want to see a military mom suffering in full view - it would be more tasteful out of the limelight.

This whole "flip-flopping!" charge as a viable way of addressing what someone has to say is kind of ridiculous. Why not apply that to your President and his Administration as well, then? I think Americans who are supporting this war - with their lives, with their money, with their country's best - should never be afraid to make sure that when we ask our troops to make that ultimate sacrifice, they are doing it for a good reason, and not a reason that amorphously floats around as politicians see fit.

 

[Matt Stone]

I hate these political threads, mostly because armchair generals and armchair presidents believe that, in their omniscience, they are fully aware of all that the President shoulders as his personal burden both simply as President and as a President of a nation at war.

Our country has been a bastion of freedom and personal liberty for hundreds of years. Our Government has been only as good and correct as the flawed and all too human people elected to run it. When our country was small and new the Federal Government answered to the people directly; it could, because there weren't that many people to have to address. As our country grew, both from those who were here at the foundation of it as well as those who flocked to our banner from oppressed countries around the world, the distance between our elected leaders and the populace grew into a vast gulf, requiring additional elected leaders to bridge the gap.

War is not a pretty thing. People die, are maimed, and go insane. Killing another human being is the very highest of abberations to the human mentality, and is codified as the first prohibition from the mouth of God, Himself. Sometimes, however, in order to defend the greater good, or the nation as a whole, it becomes a "kill or be killed" decision; do you lay down and die quietly, or do you refuse to be slaughtered by the enemy? The unfortunate consequence is that some of our own are going to die anyway, whether they lay down or resist. It is a fact of war that casualties are produced on both sides, and it could easily be said that war is a contest of will moreso than anything else... Who's will is stronger, which side is willing to bear the cost before one side concedes defeat?

This is going to be long, but please stick with me... Some cold, hard, factual statistics from the U.S. Civil War Center:

In the Revolutionary War we had approximately 3.5 million citizens; there were approximately 200,000 people in the military, amounting to only 5.7% of the population under arms; 4,435 soldiers were killed in action, 6,188 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 10,623 war casualties over a period of 80 months.

In the War of 1812 we had approximately 7.6 million citizens; there were approximately 286,000 people in the military, amounting to only 3.8% of the population under arms; 2,260 soldiers were killed in action, 4,505 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 6,765 war casualties over a period of 30 months.

In the Mexican War we had approximately 21.1 million citizens; there were approximately 78,700 people in the military, amounting ton only 0.4% of the population under arms; 1,733 soldiers were killed in action, 11,550 died from other causes, and 4,152 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 17,435 war casualties over a period of 20 months.

In the Civil War, the Union had approximately 26.2 million citizens; there were approximately 2,803,300 people in the military, amounting to 10.7% of the population under arms; 110,070 soldiers were killed in action, 249,458 died from other causes, and 275,175 were wounded by not killed, for a total of 634,703 Union war casualties over a period of 48 months.

In the Civil War, the Confderacy had approximately 8.1 million citizens; there were approximately 1,064,200 people in the military, amounting to 13.1% of the population under arms; 74,524 were killed in action, 124,000 died from other causes, and more than 137,000 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 335,524 Confederate war casualties over a period of 48 months.

To summarize, in the Civil War, when we were killing ourselves, the United States had approximately 34.3 million citizens; there were approxiimately 3,867,500 people in the military, amounting to 11.1% of the total population under arms; 184,594 were killed in action, 373,458 died from other causes, and more than 412,175 were wounded but not killed, for a grand total of war casualties caused by fellow countrymen of 970,227 over a period of 48 months (amounting to 3,846 war deaths per month).

In the Spanish-American War, we had approximately 74.6 million citizens, with approximately 306,800 people in the military, amounting to 0.4% of the population under arms; 385 were killed in action, 2,061 died from other causes, 1,662 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 4,108 war casualties over a period of 4 months.

In World War I, we had approximately 102.8 million citizens, with approximately 4,743,800 people in the military, amounting to 4.6% of the population under arms; 53,513 were killed in action, 63,195 died from other causes, 204,002 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 320,710 war casualties over a period of 19 months.

In World War II, we had approximately 133.5 million citizens, with approximately 16,353,700 people in the military, amounting to 12.2% of the population under arms; 292,131 were killed in action, 115,185 died from other causes, 670,846 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 1,078,162 war casualties over a period of 44 months (amounting to 6,639 war deaths per month).

In the Korean War, we had approximately 151.7 million citizens, with 5,764,100 people in the military, amounting to 3.8% of the population under arms; 33,651 were killed in action, 103,284 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 136,935 war casualties over a period of 37 months.

In the Vietnam War, we had approximately 204.9 million citizens, with 8,744,000 people in the military, amounting to 4.3% of the population under arms; 47,369 were killed in action, 10,799 died from other causes, 153,303 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 211,471 war casualties over a period of 90 months (amounting to 526 war deaths per month).

In the first Gulf War, we had approximately 260 million citizens, with 2,750,000 people in the military, amounting to an all-time low (with the exception of the Spanish-American and Mexican wars) of only 1.1% of the population under arms; 148 were killed in action, 145 died from other causes, approximately 467 were wounded but not killed, for a total of 760 war casualties over a 1 month period.

Statistics for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were not available on that site. I suspect that is because the current conflict is ongoing...

The point of all that? That we haven't really yet begun to lose soldiers; history bears out that this is one of the safest conflicts in American history. Though a single death is too high a price, but objectively speaking we're still doing pretty damn well overall...

Our country has grown soft. We are fat and weak, and though no price can be placed on a single human life, we value Freedom and the ideals of the Framers too little. In our ongoing success, we have grown apathetic and detached; we no longer believe anything to be worth fighting and dying for; we are so wrapped up in our own "pursuit of happiness," we forget that sacrifice, hard and bitter, is what allowed our country to drag itself away from its own oppression and to come to the call of our allies time and again.

Bush is an idiot. Nobody would dispute that. Were it not for the fact that he is not personally running the show in prosecution of the War on Terror, that that is left to his advisors and generals, things would be far worse. But he is not the worst President we have had, and his track record and the wisdom of his decisions will be borne out by history.

In all this pointless debate, let's not lose sight of what the troops on the ground are fighting for - each other (something I don't expect those of you who have never served to understand). They work for the safety and security of the Iraqi and Afghani people, whose countries have been immeasurably benefitted by our presence - they have schools where once they did not, they can vote where once they could not, and have a voice where once they were silenced by oppressive and murderous regimes. That is enough for me. Granted, the original stated purpose of our efforts have changed. That is upsetting, but it is a marginal issue. The grander issue is that we remain embroiled in combat action in these countries, and will continue to be so "until."

What's disgraceful about Mrs. Sheehan's behavior? That she cheapens her son's sacrifice by whining about her own lack of an audience with the busiest, most powerful person in the Western world. She has no concept of the responsibilities of the President, yet she pesters him like a bored child wanting attention from a parent who has immediate responsibilities for the good of the family to attend to. She says her son's death was pointless and wasted - that is an insult to her son, his service, and his sacrifice, as his efforts and the efforts of other war dead have allowed others to live free...

A few quotes, and my solitary contribution to this nonsensical thread is done:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life."

(Interesting degree of sacrifice, don't you think? Especially worthy of emulation, given the religious bent of so many Americans...)

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends."

(The true measure of what a soldier believes in, don't you think?)

Peace to all of you. May you never have to bear the burden of defending your own freedoms, that others far stronger defend them for you. May you never have to bear the burden of a family member, child, or comrade falling to the enemy to ensure your own liberties.

And may this all end sooner rather than later...

Pax.

:asian:

***EDIT For those who repeatedly talk about all their "taxes" that are "paying" for the war, shut up with all the talk like you've just bought a new appliance and now want the manufacturer to answer questions about the thing... You aren't "buying" a war. Your taxes fund the efforts of the Government, and ensure their ongoing activities. Certainly, the wages some of these jackasses are paid are beyond exorbitant and they should answer for that, but too many people act like they are personally funding every bomb and missile sent "down range." Get over it...

 

[Tgace]

Said much more eloquently than I could manage....:asian:

 

[Tgace]

And I too am done here.

 

[Feisty Mouse]

What's disgraceful about Mrs. Sheehan's behavior? That she cheapens her son's sacrifice by whining about her own lack of an audience with the busiest, most powerful person in the Western world. She has no concept of the responsibilities of the President, yet she pesters him like a bored child wanting attention from a parent who has immediate responsibilities for the good of the family to attend to. She says her son's death was pointless and wasted - that is an insult to her son, his service, and his sacrifice, as his efforts and the efforts of other war dead have allowed others to live free...

Really? The President is so busy he can take a month vacation at his ranch? Wow. We should all be so busy.

I think it's ridiculous to say that a mother is cheapening her own son's death. I believe Mrs. Sheehan finds her son's death cheapened by being used to continue a war which fewer Amercians are believing in. Please remember, the reasons the President has given from why we are in Iraq has changed what, 3 or 4 times now? We didn't find any WMDs. Then Saddam Hussein was caught. We have no set plans on how or when to pull out and leave the country of Iraq to run itself. So we see an indefinite war being waged there...and mothers like Mrs. Sheehan find the excuse "soldiers have died, therefore we need to send more soldiers in to die" pretty weak.

Of course war is a terrible thing. Simply because many people die in a war does not mean that we should give up on understanding why we are there, and what our goals are. Treating soldiers like used Kleenex is beyond disgraceful. Military families like my own believe in our troops, but want them being put in harm's way FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.

I think the mother of a dead soldier is allowed to ask whatever questions she wants.

Matt, I believe that you are insinuating that we are in Iraq for "freedom". Why then are we not in North Korea? Why then have we not defended Tibet? Why have we not stepped in in other countries?

"Freedom" was about the third or fourth reason (excuse?) Bush gave for being in Iraq. Waffling on why we are at war just doesn't cut it with me - and I suppose even less so for a mother who has lost her son to the war.

 

[Matt Stone]

Really? The President is so busy he can take a month vacation at his ranch? Wow. We should all be so busy.

Yes, I'm sure that when the President "takes a vacation" he's completely out of the loop, alone, unplagued by the daily, endless updates and reports on every situation ongoing around the globe. The President, being the most powerful person in the Western world, has no right whatsoever to get away from the White House, step out of the business suit, and do a little Presidential work in more comfortable surroundings, right?

People should speak only about what they have direct knowledge of. Assumptions that "vacation" means the same to the leader of the Western world as it does to some middle class family in Podunk, Iowa, are ill-advised...

I think it's ridiculous to say that a mother is cheapening her own son's death.

Think what you like. When a son's sacrifice, one that he believed in (according to what I've read thusfar), is used for the mother's political agenda, it cheapens his death. You may find it ridiculous. I find it ridiculous that you can't see how his mother is using his death for her own purposes...

I believe Mrs. Sheehan finds her son's death cheapened by being used to continue a war which fewer Amercians are believing in.

Whatever. Being a parent, I know there is little that could soothe the loss of one of my children. I would be insane with rage and grief. I've never said that her loss was any less than the loss any other parent or spouse has felt. But she isn't alone, and she isn't the only one. What makes her so special?

Please remember, the reasons the President has given from why we are in Iraq has changed what, 3 or 4 times now?

Please remember, as you sit on your couch, or call in sick to work, or do whatever it is you do, that I am the last person you need to remind about any particular aspect of this war... You aren't the one fighting it. Keep that in the front of your consciousness every day you go about your normal activities... I, however, along with thousands of my comrades, are the ones that get sent into the meat grinder, not you.

Take this as politely as I mean it, though it's going to come across wrong - "Sit down and shut up." Have your opinions, but don't presume to preach to a soldier about all the evils of war, unless of course you have the intentions of popping down to the local recruiter to sign up...

We didn't find any WMDs. Then Saddam Hussein was caught.

I've never once argued that Bush was anything other than what he was, nor that our reasons for being in the places we are are unclear at best. Back off that part of the argument. Address the things I spoke to, or bring up something new... The whole "why are we there" discussion smells a lot like dead horse...

We have no set plans on how or when to pull out and leave the country of Iraq to run itself.

That you are aware of, you mean. There are plans, but like so much else in our narrow-minded, tunnel-visioned country, it isn't something you announce to the world. If we were to tell CNN every single troop location, the intended missions of those troops, to include the schedule for their withdrawal, there'd be a lot more bodies piling up...

Since this is a martial arts forum (and remember that "martial" means "pertaining to war"), let's think on the words of Sun Tzu -

If you know neither yourself nor your enemy, there is defeat in a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, the odds are even. If you know yourself and the enemy, victory is assured

By not announcing our intentions on any given operation (and withdrawal is an operation just like a combat patrol is an operation), we at least keep the odds even...

So we see an indefinite war being waged there

No, uninformed and overly nosey civilians see the war as being indefinite. Even our slightly retarded Commander in Chief knows we can't fight a war "indefinitely." Things like attrition to troop numbers through regular ending of enlistment contracts, retirements, low recruiting goals, deaths, reduce our warfighting capacity. Longer deployments, increased deployments and time away from spouses and children, make soldiers reconsider remaining in the service. The Government is fully aware of that factor, during war or peace.

...and mothers like Mrs. Sheehan find the excuse "soldiers have died, therefore we need to send more soldiers in to die" pretty weak.

So, when at work, if you are in an office with 9 other people, and 5 quit, are you still able to accomplish the same 10 person workload with only 5 people present? Certainly not, and you'd be complaining incessantly if you were expected to. The military is already doing a 10 person job with only about 7 or 8 people present. If a couple of those get killed, replacements are needed. It is part and parcel of the soldier's job, something that we all understand and accept.

Of course war is a terrible thing.

Especially for those of you watching it on TV, right?

Simply because many people die in a war does not mean that we should give up on understanding why we are there, and what our goals are.

I tend to leave that up to the people we elected to run the show... If they weren't competent to lead, we shouldn't have elected them. We really have nobody to blame but ourselves for our choices in Governmental leadership, since it was either our action or non-action that put them there in the first place...

Treating soldiers like used Kleenex is beyond disgraceful.

How are they being treated as "used Kleenex?" Soldiers fight, are killed, and new ones brought up to replace them. That's part of being a soldier. We are, in the grand scheme of things, pawns to be used to execute the grand strategy set in place by our generals. That's how war is fought. If you don't like it, don't join. But that's how our job is done...

Military families like my own believe in our troops, but want them being put in harm's way FOR THE RIGHT REASONS.

No kidding? When you say "military families like my own," what do you mean? Who in your family is military? If it is further away than a sibling or parent, personally I don't count it. In my book that just means you have someone in your family that was/is in the military. My uncle was in the Marines, but that doesn't make his generation a "military family," nor does it make our extended family (his generation, mine, and my childrens') a military family. My family, my wife and children and I, comprise a military family. Are you saying the same thing?

I think the mother of a dead soldier is allowed to ask whatever questions she wants.

Certainly. She can ask all she wants. But expecting the President to drop everything so she can ***** about how wrong she thinks things are is, as you put it earlier, ridiculous...

Matt, I believe that you are insinuating that we are in Iraq for "freedom". Why then are we not in North Korea? Why then have we not defended Tibet? Why have we not stepped in in other countries?

Give it time... :ultracool

"Freedom" was about the third or fourth reason (excuse?) Bush gave for being in Iraq. Waffling on why we are at war just doesn't cut it with me - and I suppose even less so for a mother who has lost her son to the war.

Whatever. Sometimes it is enough to just be doing the right thing. Sometimes the right thing is unpleasant, sometimes it's painful. Sometimes it gets you killed. As a soldier, a husband, and a father, I've tried to make it clear to my family that this is exactly how I see it. If I die in combat, so be it. The grand politics of "why" isn't my concern, nor should it be theirs. I chose to be a soldier, one of a great Army of volunteers, all of whom knew the potential outcome of their service when they enlisted. It is no shock to those on active duty, nor should it be a shock to their families, when our Commander in Chief places us in harms way, that the Ultimate Sacrifice may have to be paid.

It's what we do. It's what we are. Honor the fallen by honoring their sacrifice. Honor the dead by remaining resolute against those who have declared war on our homes and our people. We have too many touchy-feely neo-hippies wanting world peace, ignoring that there are elements in the world who don't want that peace, and who have dedicated their existence to killing our people and crippling our country. They want to eradicate our way of life. For me, that's what I'm fighting against. Let Bush worry about oil. But for me, and for many of my Brothers and Sisters, we're fighting to put enough fear in the hearts of these pseudo-Muslim terrorists that they won't dare raise a hand to us, our children, or our grandchildren.

If you want to discuss this more, email me. I hate political threads. I go to these boards for martial arts discussion. I get enough politics at work...

Pax.

:asian:

 

[Sapper6]

BUSH PROTESTING MOM CALLS FOR 'ISRAEL OUT OF PALESTINE'; VOWS NOT TO PAY TAXES
Anti-war protestor Cindy Sheehan, whose soldier son Casey was killed in Iraq, is calling for Bush's "impeachment," and for Israel to get out of Palestine!

"You get America out of Iraq and Israel out of Palestine and you'll stop the terrorism," Sheehan declares.

Sheehan, who is asking for a second meeting with President Bush, says defiantly: "My son was killed in 2004. I am not paying my taxes for 2004. You killed my son, George Bush, and I don't owe you a penny...you give my son back and I'll pay my taxes. Come after me (for back taxes) and we'll put this war on trial."

"And now I'm going to use another 'I' word - impeachment - because we cannot have these people pardoned. They need to be tried on war crimes and go to jail."

The 48-year-old California mom remains tented up in a ditch along the one-lane road that leads to Bush's Texas ranch.

As her protest entered its second week, hundreds of people with conflicting opinions about the war in Iraq descended on the area.

what's next, naming a room in the white house after her...? it's getting pretty damn rediculous now. oh wait, i guess she has a right not to pay taxes since she lost her son to war.

i give her 2 more weeks. she's back in her comfy house watching dr. phil.

 

[Phoenix44]

i give her 2 more weeks. she's back in her comfy house watching dr. phil.

I guess you never buried your child. Don't bet on it.

 

[Sapper6]

I guess you never buried your child. Don't bet on it.

no, your right. i buried my sister. not quite the same i know. but i certainly wouldn't sell my loved one's death for political agenda.

mindset of Cindy Sheehan:

first, i lose my son to federal service that he openly volunteered for (and re-enlisted for)

second, i wanna meet the commander-in-chief. i level with him on his outlook for the Iraqi people. he's so sincere. mission accomplished.

third, i meet and speak with several democratic leaders of the senate, have a few drinks.

next, i wanna meet with the president, again, and tell him how worthless of a leader he is and he killed my son.

i want him to fix the problem in palestine and until he does, i'm not leaving this mosquito infested ditch in texas.

i don't think i should pay taxes again either, because you killed my son.

i'm so happy, there making a movie about my story next year. watch Lifetime television for women for more details. a couple book deals forthcoming.

it's pathetic. how many mother's have lost sons and daughters to this war? to any war, since the inception of our country, they might not have agreed with? excuse me if i appear so damn heartless but what makes this women so special? she lost her son to combat, a service he volunteered for, twice! of course this lady deserves a folded American flag and the condolences of her nation, a huge thanks for experiencing such a loss. the same loss that hundreds of thousands of mothers before her experienced. you don't see them demanding not to pay taxes ever again. i'm sick of hearing about her. she's clearly got an agenda. so who's the man behind the curtain? who's pulling the strings? politics. it's disgusting.

hey phoenix44,

get off your box chief. you wouldn't know the first thing about war or the price of it. you know and believe only what the TV tells you. you know not the mindset of a soldier or why they do what they do. just because i never buried a child to combat does not mean i'm oblivious to what is happening. my child is 5 years old. she wants to be like her dad when she grows up. she wants to be a soldier. and when that time comes, should she ever find herself in harms way, and God forbid she loses her life to service to this great nation, i shall never disrespect her service, actions, and memory like this women has done to her own.

 

[Phoenix44]

get off your box chief. you wouldn't know the first thing about war or the price of it. you know and believe only what the TV tells you.

Do you know me? Because if you don't you have certainly made a lot of assumptions about me. All wrong, BTW.

you know not the mindset of a soldier

I never claimed I did, but I do understand the mindset of a parent who buries her child.

 

[Sapper6]

Do you know me? Because if you don't you have certainly made a lot of assumptions about me. All wrong, BTW.

taking a chance i guess. :idunno:

I never claimed I did, but I do understand the mindset of a parent who buries her child.

you speak from experience. sorry for your loss, but no two different people will deal with parental grief in the same manner. there are those that accept the loss, as tragic as it may be, and then there are those that are going to endlessly look for someone to blame. cindy sheehan obviously falls into the latter, and to make outrageous demands of people that they cannot possibly make happen, that is sad. it saddens me to see her succomb to that. please accept my apologies if i've offended you in any way.

 

[Marginal]

no, your right. i buried my sister. not quite the same i know. but i certainly wouldn't sell my loved one's death for political agenda.

mindset of Cindy Sheehan:

first, i lose my son to federal service that he openly volunteered for (and re-enlisted for)

second, i wanna meet the commander-in-chief. i level with him on his outlook for the Iraqi people. he's so sincere. mission accomplished.

The actual conversation went more like
"Hi mom! Sorry whatsisface died."
"His name was..."
"Thanks for commin' by mom!"

 

[Sapper6]

The actual conversation went more like
"Hi mom! Sorry whatsisface died."
"His name was..."
"Thanks for commin' by mom!"

of course, you were there, you would now huh. :idunno:

 

[heretic888]

taking a chance i guess. :idunno:

Y'know, its funny...

The "chances" you took in reference to Phoenix44 sure sound an awful like what my first-year critical thinking perfesser called "red herrings".

Funny, that. :idunno:

 

[Marginal]

of course, you were there, you would now huh. :idunno:

Glibly paraphrased granted, but that is how the news reports I've read have painted it. Bush didn't know Sheehan's name, and called her "mom" during the entire meeting.

 

[ginshun]

The longer this goes on, it seems to be getting more and more like a politcal platform and less and less like a mother grieving a son.

She has already had one meeting with the president, what makes her any more deserving of a second one than all the other parents who never got one at all?

She has my condolences for her loss, but I really don't know what she thinks she is going to accomplish. And now the stuff about not paying her taxes and throwing out her stance on Isreal? Come on lady.


And honestly, every time somebody brings up the presidents "month long vacation" it just makes them look silly. I am sure you people know as well I do that regardless if the President is conducting buisness from DC or from Texas, its not like he really gets to take a vacation like you or I do. He still has briefings all day and has to do his job no matter where he is. Everybody knows this, even the people critisizing him for his vactaion.