In Memoriam
I was checking out the weather on our local KOMO-TV web site yesterday, and found out that even meteorological reports can be politicized.

The beginning of next week is looking like morning clouds and afternoon clearing with highs in the mid to upper 60s through Wednesday. Enjoy your three day weekend and don’t forget on Monday to remember those who gave their lives so that we can enjoy this wonderful beauty.

Maybe I'm going a bit overboard (it's a gut reaction since I could probably be accused of being a HAF--Hate America Firster). But truthfully, I've never really given proper reverence to the military overtones of Memorial Day, again because of the HAF thing and also because I'm a peacenik who believes, like Jimmy Carter, that most violent conflict can be averted through negotiation as well as sensible policy. But as we continue with the Iraq War, I will take some time this weekend and meditate on the tragedy that has befallen the over 1,600 US troops and hundreds of others from the ranks of contractors and the Coalition of the Willing. (Nightline will also be honoring The Fallen for the second year in a row; so far, no grumbling from the Sinclair Broadcasting group that refused to air last year's memorial).

But we should also turn our thoughts/meditations/prayers toward the Iraqi civilian population, which has suffered an enormous loss (somewhere between 20,000 and 100,000) that's rarely reported or eulogized. Daily Kos diarist Diane has an excellent posting (note that it includes graphic photos) that provides faces and stories to 100 Iraqis who have given their life for BushCo's imperial hubris.