Friday, May 4 marks the 37th anniversary of the killing of four student protesters at the campus of Kent State University in Ohio at the hands of National Guard troops dispatched to disperse demonstrators.

The National Guard was dispatched under the order of then Governor James Rhodes, who characterized the demonstrators as "The worst type of people we harbor in America. I think we're up against the strongest well trained militant revolutionary group that has ever assembled in America."

Until recently, it has been thought that the guardsmen opened fire in a panic reaction, out of fear. Recently discovered audio tapes recorded at the scene of the massacre dispute this view, as the order to open fire can be clearly heard.

Today, 37 years later, we find ourselves mired in a similar illegal war, motivated by the greed and religious zeal of those in power. Now, more than ever, we need to remember those four students whose lives were cut short in the cause for free speech in America.

The President continues to ignore the will of all but 25% of the American people, who have delivered their mandate to end the war in Iraq, and the needless spilling of more American blood on foreign soil.

Take some time on Friday to remember those four Americans, whose blood was shed right here on American soil, at the hands of our own government, in the true cause of freedom.

Killed (and approximate distance from the National Guard):

Allison Krause 343 ft (105 m); fatal left chest wound
Jeffrey Glen Miller 265 ft (81 m); shot through the mouth - killed instantly
Sandra Lee Scheuer 390 ft (119 m); fatal neck wound
William Knox Schroeder 382 ft (116 m); fatal chest wound

Wounded (and approximate distance from the National Guard):

Thomas Mark Grace 225 ft (69 m); struck in left ankle
Joseph Lewis Jr. 71 ft (22 m); hit twice in the right abdomen and left lower leg
John R. Cleary 110 ft (34 m); upper left chest wound
Alan Canfora 225 ft (69 m); hit in his right wrist
Dean Kahler 300 ft (91 m); back wound fracturing the vertebrae - permanently paralyzed
Douglas Wrentmore 329 ft (100 m); hit in his right knee
James Dennis Russell 375 ft (114 m); hit in his right thigh from a bullet and in the right forehead by birdshot - both wounds minor
Robert Stamps 495 ft (151 m); hit in his right buttock
Donald Scott MacKenzie 750 ft (229 m); neck wound

Speak out against tyranny in America and abroad.

On September 11th, almost 3000 thousand people were crushed and burned into oblivion, we don't even know all their names. I do not understand your linking Kent State to the war in Irac. I really do wish we could keep politics outa here, I really do....
Heather

P.S. No offence intended....

Interesting that you note the irrelevance of Kent State to Iraq, and yet you insist on linking the September 11 attacks to Iraq, when no connection between the two exists.

If you insist, no more politics.

No offense taken.

You started it......there is alot to consider on both sides of the coin, none of it can be summed up in a line or two. I don't want to argue about it, but many of the protest of the day were very very ugly. Ever been in or near a roit? And that was a mild one, after Roodny King verdict.

There are some interesting facts that support the theory of a US government connection to the September 11 attacks. For instance, the long standing relationship between the Bush and Bin Laden families, having collaborated in the establishment of a substantial portion of the oil drilling, transport and refining infrastructure in the region that includes Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

While I hesitate to go so far as to make the claim that the planes were unmanned clones, it is interesting to observe that many key administration officials did conspicuously cancel all travel plans for that day, and that within 20 minutes of the first attack, those members of the Bin Laden family who were in the US at the time were hustled on to flights bound for Saudi Arabia. This would seem to indicate some prior knowledge on the part of the administration.

Additionally, the "Patriot Act," a piece of legislation consisting of over 5,000 pages was introduced by the White House staff within days of the attacks. It seems a pretty huge task for even an organization with their resources to whip up a lengthy and detailed piece of legislation like that within that kind of time frame.

For the sake of example, let's suppose the US administration was not involved in the plan to attack these targets. In this scenario, military action in Afghanistan would most certainly have been justified, however, no connection between Al Qaeda and Iraq existed at the time. In fact, Saddam Hussein's disdain for Al Qaeda was common knowledge, and it is a matter of record that he had flatly refused support to them in the past.

This Al Qaeda connection, along with manufactured "evidence" of Hussein's WMD program, were the justification for the invasion of Iraq, for which orders were issued and troops mobilized long before the administration even presented their contrived case to Congress for a declaration of war. That Saddam Hussein was a tyrant is pretty clear, however, unilateral action to depose him was completely unjustified, and if the administration really had wanted to effect action to overthrow him, the time honored tactic of covert action might have been a more apprpriate approach, through CIA support of Kurdish rebels and other internal factions that opposed the Hussein regime.

Dubyah and his cronies steadfastly insist that Iraq is the current nexus of Al Qaeda activity. If so, it is a situation of their own creation. By placing the region into a state of chaos, they have created the perfect environment for such organizations to do what they do. The average Iraqi in the street readily admits that their lives were still better off under Hussein than they are today. Despite the civil war that is bound to erupt as a result, the only solution to this situation is to pull out all coalition forces and let the chips fall where they may.

Whether or not Bush and Cheney were involved in the initial September 11 attacks, through their obfuscation and manipulation of the facts to suit their purpose, and their refusal to observe the political process as outlined in the Constitution, and to accept the mandate of the vast majority of their constituency, the People of The United States of America, they have committed overt acts of treason, and after they are impeached , they should be charged and punished accordingly.

I drew the comparison between Iraq and Vietnam because it is important to note that those who do not remember the past are doomed to repeat it.

Katie, it did occur to me that I should have posted the original item in the "Polly Ticks" forum, but only after I had clicked the "post" button, and I didn't know how to move the thread to another forum. Thanks for going ahead and moving it.

Of course, this thread should have been posted in the Polly Ticks Forum, where people expect to encounter political topics, and not in the General forum where stuff like this can come as a surprise. I have moved it now.

And while we're on the subject of 9/11 conspiracy theories, some of our British emembers may remember David Shayler, the M15 Officer who hit the headlines when he blew the whistle on an alleged plot to have Colonel Gaddaffi assasinated.

Well in case you were wondering what he's doing now, take a look at this...

http://video.google.com/v[...]4574974

I'm not convinced that there ever was a conspiracy but he does sound quite credible.

Huggies,

Katie x