I'm working class, my family was working class, and we have struggled the same way our neighbors here in San Francisco have struggled.

This was a war that was based on lies. It was wrong for us to invade Iraq. It's wrong for us to occupy Iraq and we need to bring our troops home.

Loyalty to the true, core values and roots of democracy is what makes a true patriot, not loyalty to a symbol of the country.

[My son] Casey died for a country which cares more about who will be the next American Idol than how many people will be killed in the next few months while Democrats and Republicans play politics with human lives.

The people who are slamming me have no idea about what it feels like to unjustly have a child killed in an insane war.

My children were the center of my life.

Go to a nearby military cemetery and look at the American flags stuck on each grave and think of the person buried there who was killed for global domination or for the blunders and egomania of our leadership. And remember, for every person buried there, 10 more loved that person and were shattered by the loss. Instead of saluting, softly say: 'I'm sorry.' ... We need to make Memorial Day a relic of the past.