Katie Doyle, Girl About Town

Saturday, Apr. 24, 2004 - 3:08 a.m.

I had a whole entry written to go with this, but Diaryland ate it. ::exasperated sigh::

This photo was taken by a cargo employee working in Kuwait for a defense contractor. It was taken April 7. She sent it to a friend, who showed it to the Seattle Times, which obtained permission from the photographer, and subsequently ran the photo. And is, I believe, the only paper in the country to have run a photo of this type. Contrary to the claims of rabid Bushies and pro-war enthusiasts, Tami Silicio, the woman who took the photo, did not make a penny off of it. She turned down compensation. She was proud of the work she did for Maytag Aircraft Corp., the defense contractor which fired her and her husband, for allowing the photo's publication, and proud of the respect with which she and her fellow employees carried out their work. As well this week, First Amendment activist Russ Kick obtained 361 photos of fallen soldiers returned home and published them on his website, thememoryhole.org. They are a sobering documentation of the cost of war. No wonder Team Shrub doesn't want you to see them.

The Shrub claims publications of these photos is disrespectful to our fallen soldiers and their families. Funny he didn't seem to feel that way until last March...just before he invaded Iraq. I think his is a ludicrous claim and that our fallen soldiers deserve to have much more honor paid to them then the ignomy of coming home shrouded in darkeness, far away from the eyes of those they sought to protect. I think they deserve to have those photos published, and a lot more of them. What Bush really means is that it's just bad publicity to show America how many soldiers are coming home in flag-draped coffins. It's inconvenient, not disrespectful. I think the Shrub is full of it, and I'm running Tami Silicio's photo here, in all respect. The men and women who have given their lives in Afghanistan and Iraq deserve for their sacrifice to be noted, and it never will be, if we are never allowed to confront it.

Peace out,
Katie

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