Sound Off! Fredda Martinez on Why a Kerry Victory Is So Important Today

We heard Fredda Martinez give this eloquent speech at the Moms for Kerry rally at Tiguex Park in Albuquerque this past Saturday. We found it so moving that we asked her for a copy of the speech so we could share it with you here. Another set of reasons why VOTING TODAY is so important to the future of our nation and our planet. - BW

Hi, my name is Fredda Martinez, and I’m a military wife and mother. My husband is in the National Guard full-time, and he recently returned from the war in Iraq. My son is in the Navy and he will be leaving for the Middle East soon.

I assumed while my husband was in Iraq that he had full body armor. I couldn‘t have been more wrong. Although there were alarms going off every day telling our troops to take cover because there was incoming fire, his only protection was a helmet and a flack jacket. Because he didn’t want me to worry, he didn’t tell me this until after he got home. Thank God he returned safely.

While our government spends $1 per day taking care of each soldier, $110 per day is spent on each employee who work for Halliburton. These employees stay at posh hotels that have room service, maid service, and laundry service. My husband slept first in a tent, then in a trailer. He had to pay an Iraqi to clean his room, and he had to do his laundry himself. The food was barely edible most of the time, and there were days when he chose to eat an MRE instead of eating at the mess hall.

Our military troops face serious equipment shortages. They often lack up to date equipment and supplies. It wasn’t until 15 months after they went into Iraq that troops received the newest version of body armor, and even today many still do not have adequate protection. My husband told me about make-shift steel armor he saw placed on vehicles that were a death trap before.

Guard and Reserve troops do not have full access to military healthcare. Twenty percent of these troops lack health insurance. For those who do have health insurance, premiums have increased significantly, prescription co-pays have more than doubled, and dental insurance in non-existent. This means that many of our troops who are asked to go and fight are not physically fit to endure the rigors of battle.

The Bush administration has fought hard to prevent them from having access to TRICARE, the same insurance that is given to government officials at the Pentagon. This administration says it is too expensive to offer it to our National Guard and Reserves. Too expensive? Yet, they ask these young men and women to put their lives on the line for us.

Now we have also learned that there are explosives missing from Iraq. While they are not classified as weapons of mass destruction, they are still very dangerous, and it is quite possible that our troops are getting killed by insurgents using these same explosives.

Also, yesterday Osama bin Laden was able to threaten us once again because this administration failed to put enough troops on the ground in Afghanistan to capture him two years ago. These are yet more examples of the failed leadership of George Bush and Dick Cheney.

While these are certainly some of the issues that concern me, there are many more that break my heart.

I have recently learned that many of our wounded soldiers, some missing one or both legs, some missing a hand or even both arms are not being taken care of the way they deserve to be taken care. While the medical care is, for the most part, adequate, many severely wounded soldiers could be facing poverty. Staff Sgt. Ryan Kelly, from Abilene, Texas, who lost his right leg in Iraq, quickly realized when he returned home that the military had no real plan to take care of the injured soldiers.

National Guard Staff Stg. Peter Damon, from Brockton, Mass., lost both arms in Iraq. He assumed the military would see to it that he, his wife, and their two children had enough income to live on. He has not been taken care of and since his former careers were as a mechanic and an electrician, he has no way to make ends meet.

Then there is Army Spc. Tyson Johnson III., of Mobile, Alabama. He was injured in a mortar attack and was near death. He lived through it, but lost a kidney. He was brutally betrayed by our government. Not only did the military ask for his $2,700 signing bonus back, they demanded it. They placed it on his credit report as a debt and he was unable to rent an apartment. He now lives in his car. That story made me cry. After ABC news looked into it, the military now says he will not have to repay the bonus.

Also, many of the families that are left behind are below, yes, BELOW the poverty line! There are free food pantries opening up on bases across the country to feed these families. They are supplied through generous donations. Many of these families have small children who live each day not knowing when they will see “Daddy” or “Mommy” again, and the parent who is left to care for them is having a hard time putting food on the table.

Then there are those who will never come home again. Just this morning 8 Marines were killed and 9 wounded in Al Anbar Province. The death toll so far has reached well over 1,100 and George Bush has yet to attend a single funeral, nor will he allow us to view their flag draped coffins out of respect for their sacrifice and the sacrifice of their loved ones.

My son just turned 21. I have another son who is 25. Most of the young men and women getting killed in Iraq today are younger than my two boys. I know to the military they are young men, but to me they are my babies.

Some people believe that George Bush is strong on military issues. I don’t agree, and I have had personal experience for over 25 years. He has cut funding for our Veterans and to our bases. He has no plan to win the war in Iraq, much less peace in the Middle East. John Kerry has a plan.

How dare George Bush take us into a war under false pretenses! What right does he have to ask our children to die for oil. While Dick Cheney has made 2 million dollars from Halliburton, he and Bush tell us we’re freeing the people of Iraq. Have you seen the news lately? The people are less free today than they were under Saddam. Don’t get me wrong, I believe Saddam was a cruel dictator, but he had nothing to do with what happened to us on September 11th. Saddam had no ties to Al Qaida or Osama bin Laden.

I strongly believe that we are MUCH LESS safe in America and around the world today because George Bush chose to invade and occupy Iraq. While he and Dick Cheney tell the American people that if John Kerry is elected we are more likely to have a biological, chemical, or nuclear attack, what they DON”T tell you is that it is actually much MORE likely to happen under their watch just like it did the first time.

This administration chose to pretty much go it alone in this war. Oh, you can count Great Britain and a few other small countries for their generous contributions, but while we bear 90% of the casualties and 90% of the costs, it just isn’t enough help, and because George Bush has offended much of the world it is very unlikely he can gather a real coalition to help us clean up our own mess. John Kerry will bring a REAL coalition together to help us fight the war on terror.

I also have a 12 year old daughter. I know how fast the years pass, and before I know it she will be old enough to vote and defend our country. I believe that if George Bush continues on this path of destruction, while stretching our military way too thin, he is ignoring the real threats of North Korea and Iran. I believe under the leadership of George Bush and Dick Cheney a military draft is imminent.

But it is not just about foreign issues in this election. It is also about jobs, or lack thereof! With 45 million Americans lacking health insurance it is about healthcare reform! It is about education! George Bush tells you about “No Child Left Behind”, but because he has failed to fund the program adequately, he has left millions of our children behind!

There is something else I would like to mention before I finish. I am a Christian. I believe in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Bible. Although George Bush says he too is a Christian, in my eyes he does not act like a Christian!

Some people will be voting for George Bush because they are against abortion. That is their right, but I would like to tell them that abortion has actually INCREASED since George Bush has been in the White House, and I can tell you why. Many single mothers don’t make enough to support a family, and many are unemployed, many of the fathers are also unemployed, and many of them lack healthcare. It is George Bush’s policies that have put them where they are today, and THAT’S what’s caused the increase in abortion rates.

As a Christian I value the earth God gave us. Genesis 2:15 tells us that “God took man and placed him on earth to cultivate it and keep it.” George Bush has continually sided with big energy companies that destroy more of our planet every day.

On October 23rd George Bush signed the most sweeping rewrite of corporate tax law in nearly two decades. It doesn’t take care of the less fortunate, once again he’s taking care of big business. Genesis 1:27 says “God created man in His own image. Male and female, He created them.” So, I believe as a Christian, what right do we have to kill innocent Iraqi children? We are ALL children of God. We should be tolerant and respectful of other religions around the world. We all know that it is religious fanatics that caused almost 3,000 innocent people to die on 9/11. If George Bush believes, as he has said, he is on a mission from God, doesn’t that make Americans look like religious fanatics too?

So, I come here today to ask you, implore you, to vote for John Kerry and John Edwards on November 2nd, and take five friends with you to vote for them too!

John Kerry will fight for you and for our military troops, just like he did when he served in Vietnam and then came home and spoke on Capital Hill. He told the truth then and he is telling us the truth today. For it is in truth that we will have real freedom in this country.

I fear if we do not change the direction of this country on November 2nd our children will not be safe under the Bush Administration for four more years! Thank you.