Sometimes, you spend a Saturday evening sobbing senselessly after getting an email from the family you spent Thanksgivings with in college (it's also almost a year to the day I found out he'd get shipped out -- and it's almost Thanksgiving):

-----Original Message-----
This is email correspondence that places the reality of war and the politiical process (or lack of political process) in Congress side by side.

[---],

Congratulations on your new child! Gretchen and I have five children, and we know what a blessing they are. Please accept our best wishes.

Thank you for the press release by Tom calling for an investigation by Congress on the justifications for the war in Iraq. While I laud Tom for making this call, I was offended at the rhetoric that focused blame just on the Republicans but more so at the extraordinary absence of a connection with the human suffering by Americans and Iraqis in this war, a war based upon the slenderest thread of justification to initiate and to continue to prosecute. It is this disconnect by politicians and their staffs that Gretchen and I talked about with you on September 26th in your Washington offices. . . .

Yesterday afternoon I received a call from Ben, our son serving in Ramadi. Remember him? He unburdened himself of the continued bloodshed he witnesses daily in Iraq. He was on his way to secure a site where the helicopter crashed that carried two Marines to their deaths. The Humvee in front of him was blown up and his good friend and soldier of the Vermont National Guard, was killed. Witnessing another senseless death, he said that this was a stupid political war being run by stupid politicians who had no regard for life. He said that the politicians began with a very bad idea and have allowed it to get worse. He despaired that politicians and the American people have abandoned the troops by their indifference.

I hope that you will find that human connection and convince Tom that he must also. I hope Tom will make a genuine effort to convince his political friends and together you all will do something about opening up this war for us to view in the light of day for ourselves. Take it from me, your child will grow up fast, and you and that child you have just welcomed into this world may be where Ben and I are ? alone and abandoned by our government.

Dexter

Dear Ben,

This is all too sad. I hope this hole will be replaced by good memories to counter the bad ones - even though the bad ones won't go away. I wish I were there to give you a hug and to play cribbage and let you talk all of this through. Maybe in February we will do just that one night. I will get the bottle of Cointreau.

It is getting colder here, but the leaves still cling to the trees, even in November. That is a good omen -when life has a strong grip of its own.

Remember what my Grandfather used to say, "In Maine, the trick is to get through the winter, the rest will take care of itself." We will find a way to get through this winter. I hope it snows like hell in Iraq all winter.

TTFN.

Love,

Dad

Dear Mom and Dad,

These days are long and draining and I feel the LT's loss very much. When you work with a man so closely for so long it is hard to watch him go. We started with 16 men I believe in our platoon and he was one of them, always out with us and always giving everything. There is a hole that we feel now and nothing can replace him. We did our job and it was the right decision to go and try to secure the helicopter crash site. We all knew it was our job because we didn't want to leave those who might have been in need. It is a sad time to see two aweful things in one day and I have been very sad with the whole state of affairs. We will move on and pray that no more of this happens. I will think a long time on this day and cannot wait till my time is up here and I can go home. I love you both very much and can't wait to see you.

Rep. Tom Allen Votes to Urge Congressional Investigation of Misleading Justification for Iraq War, Condemns oversight committees' refusal to investigate Administration statements properly

Washington, D.C. -- Representative Tom Allen today called on Congressional leaders to conduct a long-avoided investigation of the Bush Administration's stated justifications for war in Iraq. He voted for a resolution that urged the Republican leadership to comply with Congress' oversight responsibilities and condemned their refusal to oversee an Executive Branch controlled by the same party as contrary to the established rules of standing committees and Congressional precedent.

"The majority has failed miserably," said Representative Allen, the only current member of the Maine Congressional Delegation to vote against the war in Iraq. "My constituents in Maine are outraged that Congressional committees have refused to conduct meaningful investigations into the misleading justifications for war made by Administration officials. Over the last two years, I have joined colleagues in responding to the public's outcry by writing numerous appeals to committee chairmen, introducing legislation, and making public appeals for proper nvestigations, but all have fallen on deaf Republican ears."

Neither of Congress' two premier oversight committees, the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee or the House Government Reform Committee, has held even one hearing on the White House's misleading statements regarding threats posed by Iraq in the lead up to the war. The Senate Intelligence Committee agreed to resume its stalled 20-month investigation into the Bush administration's statements about the Iraqi threat only after Democrats forced the Senate to debate the justification for war in closed session. The former Republican Chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, who is now CIA director, in 2003 flatly refused to investigate the Administration's use of intelligence on Iraq.

"The public trust demands openness and accountability in our government," said Representative Allen. "One-party control of government leads to abuses of power and policy unless the Legislative Branch exercises its oversight responsibilities under the checks and balance system. Unfortunately, current leaders in Congress have chosen to abrogate their duty to the public, by refusing to investigate abuses about the decision to go to war, including the manipulation of pre-war intelligence and the public naming of a covert operative. I am committed to making sure the truth is not covered up."