Representative Boyda's letter explaining the "Storming Out" incident.

I have one question: when she mentions Keane's reluctance to discuss deployments and readiness, was there or should there have been concerns that this was an open meeting and they were asking him to divulge possible OPSEC info? Wouldn't it have been appropriate to direct or ask for information to be provided in a closed session? And, I understand that the media can distort things (don't we know it), but, she might be aware that the timing was questionable. In terms of "dangerously thin", I have two comments: 1) I don't see anything valuable in making those statements public as it confirms certain suspected notions of our enemies and general military rivals if it is true. I wonder if Rep. Boyda understands why that would be a concern while she is simultaneously concerned about the status of our military. 2) Instead of a draft, instead of the political fight we've had to date, why hasn't anyone, including Boyda made a call to the nation to defend it? I mean, I know why Boyda doesn't because it would break the Democrats stance of not supporting the "wrong war". However, I have said for a long time, even if we weren't in Iraq, Afghanistan would be a major battle front requiring even more forces than are imagined now if we were fighting the alleged "real war". We're talking hundreds of thousands rotating as we do in Iraq. If that is the "real war", why isn't there a call to the nation for people to serve and defend? In my mind, that is what needs to happen long before anyone imagines a draft or complete withdrawal to lick wounds.

Isn't it intresting that all these Congress Critters, who have absolutely NO military experience, are willing to dismiss the views of a highly qualified General who is universally respected within the military community? After all, if his testimony doesn't agree with the Democratic orthodoxy that this war is "unwinable" or if he doesn't repudiate the current policy, then he is obviously an idiot and should be ignored. After all, we are Congress Critters, and, as such, we know more than the military, and the Commander in Chief, about operational tempo, deployment cycles, and tactics and "strategery." They remind me of the old lawyer's story. When the facts are on your side, pound on the facts. When the law is on your side, pound on the law. And when neither the law, nor the facts, are on your side, then pound on the table. There seems to be an unseemly amount of table pounding going on in the Cave of the Winds these days. Marine6 Sends

from what i understand most of Boyda's correspondence about this event was positive, or, at least, people telling her they thought she did nothing wrong.

ah yes. the right of the citizenry to petition the gov't for a redress of their grievances. truly i do love this so.

You really haven't arrived till you get multiple sets of duplicate letters saying the same thing. I have 2 so far. I also have a multipager from Moore on tax on cigarettes. I never wrote to him about that. Now the only thing that confuses me is ...... Does that make him a Putz? or a Schmuck?

Because I believe they are the same. However I may be wrong, so I will in the future refrain.

Jason - As I said, I queried a member of Nancy's staff (Jason Fizell, her District Director) who said the response was about 50/50 - which is about what I would have guessed, given the results of the election.