Woodward Oklahoma, July 4th: Fathers of Killed Vets Protest Bush Visit

Posted on July 4, 2009
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Former President George W. Bush went to Woodward, OK for its 4th of July celebration, and two Oklahoma fathers who lost their sons in the Iraq war had something to say about his visit.

Warren Henthorn wrote: “I am Warren L. Henthorn, father of lost soldier Jeffrey S. Henthorn, lost in Iraq 8 Feb 05. I understand former President Bush is coming to Woodward OK on the 4th of July. Should he be welcomed? No.

This President lead our military forces into a war of choice, a war that should not have happened, a war that has cost the lives of 4,300 plus of U.S. soldiers, 35,000 plus injured, some hurt for the rest of their lives, and countless thousands of Iraqi people killed and wounded.

Does anyone remember the Vietnam war?  Another war of choice, 58,000 dead, countless lives ruined to this day.   Should we celebrate President Bush’s legacy? I think not.

If you think you have no involvement in this folly because you have no family members in this war, guess again.  Where do you think our current economic problems came from? Ten billion dollars a month that you and your children will have to pay for sooner or latter to support a war that should never have happened. Soldiers walking our streets with mental problems from the horrors they saw. Wounded soldiers dependent for the rest of their lives on us.

 You and yours will be paying for this also. It’s time to think about the reality of Bush’s time in office, the military and economic mess he got us into and hold him responsible for it.
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John Scripsick wrote:
 
Bush’s 4th of July Celebration
 
“It’s good to see that Woodward, OK invited George W. Bush to their 4th of July celebration.  Some days I feel sorry for this poor lonely man.  His dream of being rich and famous took him to be the leader of our great nation.  My satisfaction as a Oklahoma farmer and rancher is the rain that comes in July or August to carry a cow herd till fall.
 
I wonder what Bush will say in his 40 minute speech.  I’m sure it will be sprinkled with patriotism, independence and how we were only attacked once during his presidency. Maybe he’ll talk about how going to war in Iraq helped move oil from less than $25 to $147 a barrel.   If oil could go to six times it’s price, maybe cattle could go to $6 a pound or each cow could have six calves in one year.
 
That $4 a gallon fuel put many people behind on their stretched mortgages and kind of turned our economy into a tail spin.  That money ended up in the pockets of his campaign contributors,  so it should be a fair trade. I doubt if he will talk about 4,300 American soldiers killed in Iraq or the 30,000 maimed for life.  Or the haunting memories of thousands of others who watched it all happen.
 
The Iraqi people suffered the greatest loss of property and life, but I doubt if there is time to mention them in a 40 minute speech.
 
He could touch on torture for a few minutes.  Bush said America did not torture which is partly true because most Americans would not torture a fellow human being.  Bush and Cheney had to torture to back up faulty intelligence and extract information to suit their story of why we invaded Iraq.  So that must mean it’s okay. I often wondered why a man would commit suicide to kill my son in Iraq. 
 
I guess if we treated his son, brother or cousin in a sub human way with our torture techniques, it would compel him to take revenge at the first American he could find. The war is depressing to all but Halliburton, KBR, Blackwater and others who profit.  So my guess is, Bush will stick to our independence or maybe mention SEC watching Madoff, or how he firmed up the banks with our tax dollars. The story of how the big banks failing would cause a major economic collapse reminds me of another story he told about weapons of mass destruction that were never found.
 
On second thought, I’ve heard his stories before and I’m short one family member because of him.   So, I’ll pass on George’s speech this 4th of July.

 

 

7 thoughts on “Woodward Oklahoma, July 4th: Fathers of Killed Vets Protest Bush Visit”

  1. I\\\\\\\’m a little late, I was trying to research how the event was paid for, because I believe in the end the person who organized it didn\\\\\\\’t meet the 150k they paid him through ticket sales, so I believe, as a resident of Woodward we ended up footing that bill! It angers me as, I didn\\\\\\\’t attend and had no desire to! Reading your word left a sadness in my heart! I\\\\\\\’m not sure anyone in this town view him as we all do!
    We had eight years of Bush and Cheney, Now you get mad!?

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when we spent over 600 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in  Iraq.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when you found out we were torturing people.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when we didn\\\\\\\’t catch Bin Laden.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.

    You didn\\\\\\\’t get mad when the deficit hit the trillion dollar mark.

    You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick.  Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans…oh hell no.

  3. One can only express profound sorow for the loss that these two fathers have suffered. George Bush does not have the brains of a chicken and was manifestly unfit and unqualified for the office that he held. dOne can only be dismayed that the American people elected him twice to the highest office in the land. How could they?

  4. Mr. Henthorn and Mr. Scripsick,
    Thank you so much for your eloquently worded comments regarding George Bush\’s invitation to Woodward. Reading about that event and that audience\’s response to the man who just about destroyed this nation made me almost physically ill. To applaud such a \”leader\” is insane. You both stated the truth much more clearly than I ever could.

  6. Warren and John…bless you both and your families….Its really sad that some people still wear blinders as far as Bush is concerned…

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