In the seven years since my son first left for war as part of the initial invasion of Iraq, I have found that my stomach for detail has greatly diminished. In the beginning, I wanted to know everything, understand everything, know what it was to be a warrior, know the sound of mortars and strong metallic scent of blood and the stench of burning bodies. Knowing these things, I believed, were important so that I could help my son, John, who after a second tour in Iraq is permanently disabled suffering from debilitating PTSD and TBI.

John wouldn’t cooperate, wouldn’t share much of what happened except occasionally almost by accident. As the war has worn on I find I can’t bare to go to Icasualties.org anymore. The painful individual stories of the soldiers and Marines I have met are too hard for me to take now. Believe me I still care but the motivation previously induced by the senseless suffering of the kids we send to war now just hurts too much that accomplishing anything is almost impossible. for now anyway, I won’t be watching the documentaries ‘Taxi to the Dark Side’, or ‘Body of War’, they are just too painful and I will not go to see The Hurt Locker, and at least one Marine blinded in Iraq feels the same way.

“The Hurt Locker” and all the other movies I mentioned, whether they are good or bad as entertainment, are still war movies and war movies glorify the acts of violence that I described above. How do you feel about that? Would you bring your children out to the battlefield to witness it live and in person? There is no happy ending. Kelly does not get the gold, Stryker does not make it to the top of Mount Suribachi and 8-Ball gets cut down by a sniper. Please remember that when you watch a war movie you are watching stories about young Americans who went far from home and risked their lives; some of them died there with only their brothers in arms to witness. Hollywood is now taking our money by walking on their graves.

Maybe that’s extreme. Of course I understand why people watch war movies. I watch them, too. But I have seen my friends die and most of the movies just bring up very painful memories.

Apparently, more than one veteran is unhappy with The Hurt Locker – from the Atlantic

In his self-published book, Stolen Valor, Vietnam veteran B.G. Burkett exposes scores of men who pass themselves off as war heroes. He digs through stacks of military personnel records and outs city councilmen, prominent businessmen and even presidents of veterans groups as frauds. Some had served in the military and finagled paperwork that bumped them up several ranks and turned them into battlefield legends. Purple Hearts, Silver Stars, Medals of Honor. Others hadn’t spent a day in uniform but conjured equally dramatic tales of daring and sacrifice. The imposters, he says, had become some of the most vocal and visible veterans. They influenced the public’s perception of war and even guided legislative agendas, a disservice to those who did the fighting and the bleeding.

How could they get away with that? Moral authority. So few Americans have actually walked and sweated on battlefields that they defer to those who say they have, and assume those men and women speak the truth.

This also explains why The Hurt Locker is up for a Best Picture Oscar. And why it shouldn’t win.

The US military has loosened regulations, issuing “moral waivers” allowing convicted criminal to join up just as they did during Vietnam. GIs suffering from PTSD and TBI are being called back into combat for third and fourth tours to make up for the 99% of the US that do not care to enlist. Read my essay about drafting war supporters here

Nevertheless, despite Army regulations that prohibit soldiers from participating in racist groups the military have hit a new low as to meeting their recruitment needs and are accepting white supremacists.

Following an investigation of white supremacist groups, a 2008 FBI report declared: “Military experience — ranging from failure at basic training to success in special operations forces — is found throughout the white supremacist extremist movement.” In white supremacist incidents from 2001 to 2008, the FBI identified 203 veterans. Most of them were associated with the National Alliance and the National Socialist Movement, which promote anti-Semitism and the overthrow of the U.S. government, and assorted skinhead groups.

Because the FBI focused only on reported cases, its numbers don’t include the many extremist soldiers who have managed to stay off the radar. But its report does pinpoint why the white supremacist movements seek to recruit veterans — they “may exploit their accesses to restricted areas and intelligence or apply specialized training in weapons, tactics, and organizational skills to benefit the extremist movement.”

In fact, since the movement’s inception, its leaders have encouraged members to enlist in the U.S. military as a way to receive state-of-the-art combat training, courtesy of the U.S. taxpayer, in preparation for a domestic race war. The concept of a race war is central to extremist groups, whose adherents imagine an eruption of violence that pits races against each other and the government.

Given the military are not focused on winning hearts and minds or nation building it may seem inconsequential to have extremists of this type in the military unless, of course, the guy backing you up or giving you orders is black or Jewish or Hispanic, or heaven forbid, Gay! and the supremacist is depending upon them to survive.

It is sad that people like this exist. It is criminal that people like this should be allowed into the military and taught how to use weapons. It is sickening that people like this live in Coos County.

Talk about scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Stephen tackles Don’t ask, don’t tell in front of thousands of American GIs in Baghdad, Iraq. He shows off his new haircut too.

Stephen is thrilled to bring his show to Iraq, and John McCain has a word of advice for the troops.

Dick Cheney doesn’t recall Richard Clarke warning the White House of an imminent terrorist attack months before 9/11, but he hasn’t read his book.

A day after Mother’s Day, the Oregon National Guard headed to Georgia for training in convoy security before deploying to Iraq. Though strong efforts are yet underway to keep the Guard home where they are sorely needed it seems inevitable that next Mother’s Day many Oregon moms will be receiving well wishes from a satellite phone somewhere in the heart of Iraq.

War is very hard on mothers and just like the warriors who fight the battles some exhibit such extraordinary courage and selflessness as to stand out for special commendation. Two mothers, in particular are the epitome of motherhood and I will tell their stories here. Last year I wrote an open letter to three Iraqi women that has been reprinted in many different languages and featured in many cultural events around the country. The first mother is featured in this passage.

“Not long ago I met a Lance Corporal who had determined during the siege on Fallujah that he must enter your home in search of combatants. He prepared and set a timed charge to blow a new doorway in the side of your building. He gathered intelligence assessed the situation and finally gave the order to blow the charge and his men darted through the newly opened breach and he followed closely behind.

You will remember him because when he entered to find your husband and children dead from the blast you were crying out, “lemad’a, lemad’a” (why, why?) You will remember him because when he saw what he had done his knees buckled and the blood drained from his twenty two year old face. You will remember him because he fell back against the wall and clutched at his chest and gasped for breath.

You saw his reaction. You watched him try and shoulder the enormity of the order he had given and when his eyes finally met yours you placed your hand on his cheek and said, “masha, Allah” (God’s will). “

The mother in her, recognized the humanity in him and in the face of her own horror sought to spare the world one more casualty that day and she rescued him, nurtured him and forgave him. Hers was the most amazing and selfless act of motherly love I can imagine and I will always revere her.

My own mother died in a car accident more than ten years ago and I now know her untimely death enabled her to save my son John during his tours in Iraq. Naturally, I asked her to watch over him and though it must not have been easy, she did.

Somehow she inspired him to veer his hummer five meters to the left one day, sparing his squad and him from certain maiming and death. She managed to nudge him right or left four more times so that he survived five primary IEDs.

Once a vehicle-born IED was heading toward John where he had been pinned down for a long while and was low on ammunition. She whispered into his buddy Garcia’s ear just in time and Garcia spun his 50 caliber machine gun around, fired and detonated the device less than fifty yards from John.

As to return the favor, there was that firefight when she pulled John’s attention away from the main action to catch the barest glimpse of two snipers taking aim at Garcia and his other buddies. She froze time for him. She cleared the smoke and allowed the sun to illuminate his targets. She endowed him, at that moment, with the superhuman ability to fire not just one shot but two, “never in a million years”, “once in a lifetime”, “hail Mary”, “only in Hollywood”, shots that saved his friends.

John, of course, marvels at these and other miraculous, inexplicable and life saving inspirations and chalks them up to divine intervention. He is absolutely right and his grandmother was a key intervener.

There is no way to know how she did it, I only know with all certainty that she did. Mom brought him home alive so that he could heal. Thank you Mom, I love you.

Peter Orszag of Office of Management and Budget speaks with Rachel about this years proposed budget a la Obama.