RonVitale.com

End the Iraq War: Now

You just have to love the audacity in Vice President Dick Cheney's comment earlier this week. When he was told by a reporter that "recent polls show that two thirds of Americans say the fight in Iraq is not worth it" he replied "So?" Don't believe me? Check the story out. I cannot wait until the election and I'm hoping, praying and want to try to convince as many of my family friends, podcast listeners, workers and anyone else I can to vote Democratic in the next election. I do not want to see another President who thinks that we should simply stay in Iraq indefinitely. Here's the problem: The damage has been done. Over 4,000 Americans have died in the war and last I looked it was estimated over 630,000 Iraqis. That's a lot of death and destruction.

Do I feel that we've solved any problem over in Iraq? No, I don't. I see the war in Iraq as a nightmare that will haunt us for years to come. There's no easy solution. If we pull out, there will be consequences. If we stay in, we'll still have problems. There's no clean way out.

But to have an elected (hey, Dick, did you remember that? You were elected and aren't King to do whatever the hell you want) official say "So?" in response to what Americans want? I cannot wait to see Bush and Cheney leave office. It can't be soon enough for me.

Want to do something? Then spread the word. Let's regain America for us and not for elected officials who have their own agendas.

I understand that the road ahead is a mess. American troops pulling out of Iraq will affect the delicate balance but do we have the right to keep putting American lives at risk? Or killing innocent Iraqis? Or wasting billions of dollars?

War is war. It's a mess that will affect us for generations. Tens of thousands of troops will be affected (wounded, mentally affected from their war time experience) and now we need to rebuild, heal and move on. It's been five years and time to move on. Time to get past this horror and to start rebuilding our ties with the rest of the world. The days of Americans being "cowboys" is almost over. I can't wait. God, I can't wait!

About Me

Ron Vitale was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Influenced by the likes of Tolkien, Asimov, and the British Sci-fi television series "Doctor Who," Ron began writing for his own enjoyment at an early age, creating short fiction from his early Dungeons & Dragons role-playing sessions.

During his early 20s, he obtained a Bachelor of Arts in English Literature and French and then went on to obtain his Master of Arts in English, writing his thesis on a Jungian interpretation of Alice Walker and Margaret Atwood. After graduation, Ron entered the world of medical publishing, utilizing his editing and technological skills as a Manager of Internet Services.

In 1999, his role-playing article, "Fires in the Sky" was published in Wizards of the Coast's Dragonlance: Legends of the Lance newsletter and his fantasy story "Such Sinners We Are" appeared in the Winter 2000 issue of Welcome to Nod.

More recently, his fantasy story "Ghost Trails" was published on Ultraverse and his science fiction story "Toynbee's Gate" placed 5th out of 143 stories in the 2004 SFWoE contest (Science Fiction Writers of Earth contest) while his Magic: The Gathering articles have appeared on StarCityGames.com, Brainburst.com, Grimmoire.com, and MTGOntario.

In 2006, several of his Magic The Gathering articles appeared in Beckett Magic: The Gathering magazine and in Inquest Gamer.  He also wrote six web articles for Wizards of the Coast's Dreamblade miniatures game and has had over a half dozen "how to" writing articles published in the Science Fiction & Fantasy Writers of America's Bulletin.

In October 2007, Ron published his short story collection "The Jovian Gate Chronicles" on Lulu.com that is also available on Podiobooks.com. "The Jovian Gate Chronicles" is a collection of four science fiction short stories that answers the question: What happens when humans cross paths with intelligent aliens who claim to be prophets from God?

While looking to find a publisher for his fantasy novel "Dorothea's Song," Ron is keeping himself busy by producing The Magic Sock Magic: The Gathering podcast, writing gaming and "how to" technology articles, and on learning how to be a good father to a rather curious preschooler and his baby sister.