I changed the look again in my unending, anal-retentive quest to make this thing read better. I think I just need new glasses.
Update: 21:20:
The Mrs. says I need new glasses.
Saturday, May 28, 2005
Multi-Purpose Editorializing
William Rivers Pitt on Iraq, the draft, the Senate filibuster compromise 'n other stuff. I think he crammed it all into one op-ed so he could make his weekend!
He must've been an Infantryman.
This war does not exist in American living rooms; it is only truly real in the towns that surround Bragg, Ord, Lejeune, and Benning, where the families of the soldiers forced to fight this war live and wait and worry. It is real only at Dover Air Force Base, where the bodies arrive home under a cloak of secrecy, entombed in their 'transfer tubes' and wrapped in the flag.
The war certainly does not exist on my television, and I am tired of that as well. The television news media's consensus-building machine works all day and night on a half-dozen news channels, and according to them, all is fine and dandy. It is amazing how effective these small boxes are at controlling the thoughts, emotions and desires of our population. It is daunting to try to come up with a way to get around their noise.
With no draft today, with our volunteer army, most people are not staring down the barrel of having to practice what they preach. Patriotism, nationalism and the kill-em-all ethic is a safe place to stand these days, because no civilian is going to get a letter containing orders to report.
As tempting as it might be for some to try to roll this rock down the hill, the truth of the matter is that the draft is no answer to this problem. First of all, the Bush administration would have to be out of its collective mind to call for one. They have the people right where they want them - snowed, buffaloed and disengaged - and a draft would change that overnight.
I'm very tired. I am tired of hearing about democracy in Iraq when no such thing exists. I am tired of people like Bush using terms like freedom as an advertising pitch for actions that promote anything but freedom. The word itself sounds like a dead fish in his mouth. I am tired of dead soldiers, dead civilians, I am tired of our highest ideals being used to peddle profiteering by war, and I am so damned tired of trying to shake people into doing something about it before we all go over the cliff.
Sure, they got three of their wacko judges onto the appellate court as part of the deal, but the filibuster will be available when - not if, but when - a nominee is put forth to fill a vacancy on the Supreme Court. In other words, Senate Democrats, working with Republicans who were willing to defy their own leader, saved Roe v. Wade, and kept the GOP from owning the entire government from soup to nuts.
This, perhaps, is the leading edge of something I have been watching for these last months: A civil war in the ranks of the GOP between the movement fundamentalists and the old-school conservatives. On this filibuster fight, the movement fundamentalists got their lunch eaten by the old-schoolers, and there will be hell to pay.
So yeah, I'm tired. But maybe, just maybe, the clouds are parting a little bit here. It has been a long road to get to this admittedly desolate spot, and it is a longer road ahead. Just put one foot in front of the other, and see where it all winds up.
He must've been an Infantryman.
Lefties Unite!
To Impeach Bush. I'll let the Sister explain it:
Here is the gist of it:
In follow up to this post, I'm working on compiling the list of bloggers who would like to be part of the Big Brass Alliance. (Whether we'll make it in time to support After Downing Street, I don't know, but it will be a good thing to have in place for the future.)
This is the list I have so far:
Here is the gist of it:
A coalition of veterans' groups, peace groups, and political activist groups announced a campaign today to urge that the U.S. Congress launch a formal investigation into whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in connection with the Iraq war. The campaign focuses on evidence that recently emerged in a British memo containing minutes of a secret July 2002 meeting with British Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top national security officials.
John Bonifaz, a Boston attorney specializing in constitutional litigation, sent a memo to Congressman John Conyers of Michigan, the Ranking Democrat on the House Judiciary Committee, urging him to introduce a Resolution of Inquiry directing the House Judiciary Committee to launch a formal investigation into whether sufficient grounds exist for the House to impeach President Bush.
[. . .]
The Media and Memorial Day
Norman Solomon gives a little perspective on the annual media coverage of Memorial Day. Via Truthout.
Perhaps we should rename our "Free Press". How about the "Official Press" or "Ministry of What Your Rulers Want You To Know"?
There are exceptions to the practice of white-washing and "filtering", of course, but we need a lot more journalists to "grow some sack" as Fixer so eloquently puts it.
Memorial Day weekend brings media rituals. Old Glory flutters on television and newsprint. Grave ceremonies and oratory pay homage to the fallen. Many officials and pundits speak of remembering the dead. But for all the talk of war and remembrance, no time is more infused with insidious forgetting than the last days of May.
This is a holiday that features solemn evasion. Speech-makers and commentators praise the "ultimate sacrifice" of American soldiers -- but say nothing about the duplicity of those who sacrificed them. War efforts are equated with indubitable patriotism. Journalists claim to be writing the latest draft of history, but actual history is no more present than the dead.
In the truncated media universe of Memorial Day, the act of remembering bypasses any history that indicates an American war was not inevitable and unavoidable. The populace is made to understand that God and nature must be death dealers. We are encouraged to extol those who bravely gave their lives and took the lives of others -- but not confront those, high in the U.S. government's executive and legislative branches, who cravenly gave their fervent blessings to gratuitous carnage.
The Orwellian process of rigorous forgetting is not only about past wars. It's also about the next war.
Memory with integrity should inform our understanding, on Memorial Day and every day. If we remember the Americans who were killed but forget the people they killed -- if we remain silent while media scripts exclude crucial aspects of history that demolish Washington's claims of high moral ground -- the propaganda system for war can remain intact. When journalists defer to that silence, they're part of the deadly problem.
Perhaps we should rename our "Free Press". How about the "Official Press" or "Ministry of What Your Rulers Want You To Know"?
There are exceptions to the practice of white-washing and "filtering", of course, but we need a lot more journalists to "grow some sack" as Fixer so eloquently puts it.
Suckers
I wonder how many of 'em got suckered into playing 3-card Monte on the street during the Repub Convention here in NYC in '04.
Border security
Froggy says the Canadians should tighten theirs . . . to keep certain Americans out.
Foreshadowing 2
Pissed off Patricia at Blondie's points up why those who voted for the war in Iraq, before voting against it should have called bullshit from jump-street. This means you John Kerry.
Arbeit macht frei
Work continues on Auschwitz South's Guantanamo's death chamber. BBC via Granny:
So how does this differ from Nazi Germany? Fifty years from now, are they gonna conduct tours through there like they do at the camps in Europe?
"Look to your right, ladies and gentlemen," the guide says. "In this building, several hundred Islamic insurgents were put to death, though their trials were secret and no credible intelligence was ever gleaned from them. Those were the bad old days, we call it 'The Time of Fear' now, when the Americans feared and distrusted anyone different from them. Thankfully, since we moved to a world government, people are not judged by the color of their skin or their religious orientation anymore. Most of you are too young to remember when the Chief Executive of the Planet Earth signed the Anti-discrimination Decree of 2011 to undo the damage of the final American Presidential administration. On an optimistic note, former U.S. President George W. Bush passed away last week, a month short of his 95th birthday, after a brief illness. Earth Guard commanders at the Planetary Detention Facility at Leavenworth say he has been a model prisoner since being convicted of war crimes 35 years ago by the Planetary Criminal Court in The Hague. This internment camp here at Guantanamo has been preserved as a lasting reminder of his, and America's, tyranny during the early part of this century. Up ahead, you can see the field that were once unmarked graves . . ."
A court and execution chamber could be built at the US detention camp in Cuba under plans being drawn up by military officials.
[. . .]
Pentagon rules for the tribunals permit death sentences to be passed and the construction of a death chamber at the camp is among options being considered.
[. . .]
All have been classified as "enemy combatants" and as such are not entitled to legal representation or a civil trial. [my emphasis]
[. . .]
So how does this differ from Nazi Germany? Fifty years from now, are they gonna conduct tours through there like they do at the camps in Europe?
"Look to your right, ladies and gentlemen," the guide says. "In this building, several hundred Islamic insurgents were put to death, though their trials were secret and no credible intelligence was ever gleaned from them. Those were the bad old days, we call it 'The Time of Fear' now, when the Americans feared and distrusted anyone different from them. Thankfully, since we moved to a world government, people are not judged by the color of their skin or their religious orientation anymore. Most of you are too young to remember when the Chief Executive of the Planet Earth signed the Anti-discrimination Decree of 2011 to undo the damage of the final American Presidential administration. On an optimistic note, former U.S. President George W. Bush passed away last week, a month short of his 95th birthday, after a brief illness. Earth Guard commanders at the Planetary Detention Facility at Leavenworth say he has been a model prisoner since being convicted of war crimes 35 years ago by the Planetary Criminal Court in The Hague. This internment camp here at Guantanamo has been preserved as a lasting reminder of his, and America's, tyranny during the early part of this century. Up ahead, you can see the field that were once unmarked graves . . ."
Semper Fi, Eddie
Eddie Albert, long time movie star, best known for his role as a transplanted city slicker in the TV show "Green Acres" passed away at age 99. A short obit here.
What a lot of folks don't know, and Mr. Albert did not talk about until a few years ago, is that he was a genuine war hero during the WWII battle for Tarawa in 1943. He probably didn't have to go due to his age, but he saw his duty and did it. From a "Green Acres" site:
He was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts.
Please remember Edward Albert Heimberger and the 1000 other WWII vets who pass away every day as you enjoy the Memorial Day holiday.
What a lot of folks don't know, and Mr. Albert did not talk about until a few years ago, is that he was a genuine war hero during the WWII battle for Tarawa in 1943. He probably didn't have to go due to his age, but he saw his duty and did it. From a "Green Acres" site:
The outbreak of World War II sent Albert into the U.S. Navy as a junior officer, and he distinguished himself during 1943 in the fighting on Tarawa. Assigned as the salvage officer in the shore party of the second landing wave (which engaged in heavy fighting with the Japanese), his job was to examine military equipment abandoned on the battlefield to see if it should be retrieved; but what he found were wounded men who had been left behind under heavy fire. Albert took them off the beach in a small launch not designed for that task, earning commendations for his bravery. A bona fide hero, he was sent home to support a War Bond drive (though he never traded on his war experiences, and didn't discussing them in detail on-camera until the 1990s).
He was awarded the Bronze Star for his efforts.
Please remember Edward Albert Heimberger and the 1000 other WWII vets who pass away every day as you enjoy the Memorial Day holiday.
Friday, May 27, 2005
This is good
Maybe I can unpack my road box?
From Holden at First Draft. This is also related to Gord's post below.
Things are looking up maybe? It's nice to see somebody thinking about the endgame. Maybe the discourse will become louder. Maybe I won't get drafted after all.
Representative Lynn Woolsey (D-CA) offerred the following amendment to the House defense appropriation (H.AMDT.214 as an amendment to H.R.1815).
"It is the sense of Congress that the president should—
(1) develop a plan as soon as practicable after the date of the enactment of this Act to provide for the withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq; and
(2) transmit to the congressional defense committees a report that contains the plan described in paragraph (1)."
[. . .]
From Holden at First Draft. This is also related to Gord's post below.
Things are looking up maybe? It's nice to see somebody thinking about the endgame. Maybe the discourse will become louder. Maybe I won't get drafted after all.
A Slight, But Encouraging, Trend
I am struck today by the hopeful tone of our posts. (Just scroll down. I'm lazy.) It appears that folks are starting to notice there's been something shoved up their butts by this administration and may at last be trying to do something about it. Bush, Bolton, DeLay, Specter, even the "Referrals".
Fixer says it well:
We call 'em about the same thing, but without the accent.
Not just the Dems, either. Keep it up, boys and girls.
Fixer says it well:
It's coming apart, boys and girls. The Dems are finally growing some sack. It's good to see. This is how you deal with bullies who are all flash and little substance. You get in their face and dare 'em to call you out. 9 times out of 10, they'll back down and crawl away. You know what we call 'em in NYC? Loosahs.
We call 'em about the same thing, but without the accent.
Not just the Dems, either. Keep it up, boys and girls.
Referrals
One again going over site stats and amused at the search terms used (Google) that will spit people out here.
"Brain Ethics"
"Bend Over"
"God and Sex"
"Religious Hypocrisy"
"Texas Babe"
"Man Lugies"
And my favorite of the week:
"Bush got Wood"
On many levels.
"Brain Ethics"
"Bend Over"
"God and Sex"
"Religious Hypocrisy"
"Texas Babe"
"Man Lugies"
And my favorite of the week:
"Bush got Wood"
On many levels.
Yippy Skippy F**k!
OK, maybe I'm slightly over-exuberant, but this is good news. From the Houston Chronicle:
Like, duh.
That is a big change from a political hack like Claybrook, former director of NHTSA and the impetus behind the "Backward Bike", but that's another story.
A little butter and jam on DeLay? I'm aroused!
AUSTIN - A judge ruled Thursday that the treasurer of a political committee founded by U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay violated state campaign-finance laws by not reporting more than $500,000 in corporate money used to influence Texas House elections.
Though state District Judge Joe Hart did not specifically rule on whether the money was raised and spent illegally, he declared it was all campaign money. Texas law bans the use of corporate or labor-union money to influence votes in state races.
Hart's ruling against Bill Ceverha immediately prompted calls from DeLay opponents — including former U.S. Rep. Chris Bell, D-Houston, and advocacy groups in Austin and Washington — for an expanded investigation into DeLay's activities by the U.S. House Ethics Committee.
Texans for Public Justice in Austin and Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington also called for new investigations into DeLay's role in the corporate fund-raising.
"The House Ethics Committee has run out of excuses for avoiding an investigation into Rep. DeLay's involvement with TRMPAC," said Melanie Sloan, executive director of CREW.
A spokesman for the House Ethics Committee did not return calls for comment.
Like, duh.
Sloan said DeLay engaged in a "conspiracy to violate" Texas campaign laws "in order to gerrymander Texas congressional districts."
Craig McDonald, executive director of Texans for Public Justice, said Hart's ruling shows that further federal investigation of DeLay is needed.
"It's very bad news for Tom DeLay," McDonald said. "We think it shows the need for an independent counsel to investigate this matter and other matters involving DeLay in Washington."
Public Citizen called for DeLay to resign.
"It is clear that (DeLay) has abused the public trust and is unfit to lead. He should step down from his leadership post immediately," said Public Citizen President Joan Claybrook.
That is a big change from a political hack like Claybrook, former director of NHTSA and the impetus behind the "Backward Bike", but that's another story.
A little butter and jam on DeLay? I'm aroused!
Should we call ticketstothehanging.com yet?
From Raw Story:
I ain't hangin' my hat on this, but at least somebody's doing something.
A coalition of activist groups running the gamut of social and political issues will ask Congress to file a Resolution of Inquiry, the first necessary legal step to determine whether President Bush has committed impeachable offenses in misleading the country about his decision to go to war in Iraq, RAW STORY has learned.
“The recent release of the Downing Street Memo provides new and compelling evidence that the President of the United States has been actively engaged in a conspiracy to deceive and mislead the United States Congress and the American people,” Bonifaz wrote in a memo to the ranking House Judiciary Committee Democrat John Conyers (D-MI), outlining the case.
Blair and other British officials have not questioned the minutes’ veracity.
“When a president so callously distorts the facts, manipulates the public and is responsible for so much needless death and destruction, he must be held accountable,” Benjamin told RAW STORY.
Other members of the coalition, loosely titled “After Downing Street,” concur.
“It is time for Congress to do its duty and ask: “Did the administration mislead us into war by manipulating and misstating intelligence concerning weapons of mass destruction, suppressing contrary intelligence …and exaggerated the danger Iraq posed to the United States and its neighbors?” said Kevin Zeese, founder of Democracy Rising.
I ain't hangin' my hat on this, but at least somebody's doing something.
Shut It Down
Thomas Friedman on Gitmo:
I totally agree, but saying "please" to this president is like saying "please" to a pig eatin' the seed corn: he just ignores you, craps on yer foot, and keeps emptyin' the trough of our future. You gotta kick him in the ass. Real hard.
Shut it down. Just shut it down.
I am talking about the war-on-terrorism P.O.W. camp at Guantánamo Bay. Just shut it down and then plow it under. It has become worse than an embarrassment. I am convinced that more Americans are dying and will die if we keep the Gitmo prison open than if we shut it down. So, please, Mr. President, just shut it down.
If you want to appreciate how corrosive Guantánamo has become for America's standing abroad, don't read the Arab press. Don't read the Pakistani press. Don't read the Afghan press. Hop over here to London or go online and just read the British press! See what our closest allies are saying about Gitmo. And when you get done with that, read the Australian press and the Canadian press and the German press.
Guantánamo Bay is becoming the anti-Statue of Liberty. If we have a case to be made against any of the 500 or so inmates still in Guantánamo, then it is high time we put them on trial, convict as many possible (which will not be easy because of bungled interrogations) and then simply let the rest go home or to a third country. Sure, a few may come back to haunt us. But at least they won't be able to take advantage of Guantánamo as an engine of recruitment to enlist thousands more. I would rather have a few more bad guys roaming the world than a whole new generation.
"This is not about being for or against the war," said Michael Posner, the executive director of Human Rights First, which is closely following this issue. "It is about doing it right. If we are going to transform the Middle East, we have to be law-abiding and uphold the values we want them to embrace - otherwise it is not going to work."
I totally agree, but saying "please" to this president is like saying "please" to a pig eatin' the seed corn: he just ignores you, craps on yer foot, and keeps emptyin' the trough of our future. You gotta kick him in the ass. Real hard.
Running Out Of Bubbles
Paul Krugman, who no doubt has read Fixer's posts (Hell, he's in one of 'em), here and here, on the "housing bubble", comments further in today's NYTimes.
Folks, I'm here to tell ya this is absolutely true. Me 'n Mrs. G just returned from "coastal California" where we did a 1031 exchange of properties (a way to take some profit and minimize capital gains tax) totaling nearly a million dollars. If you saw the places involved, you'd think we were nuts. Housing prices are crazy out here, but if ya wanta play, ya gotta pay. I think it's just that the money ain't worth jack shit any more.
One of (maybe the only) advantage of reaching our advanced age is that we bought our first house over thirty years ago just before California real estate prices hit the afterburner. Thank you, Lord. Prices have increased at a rising rate, almost exponential, in the last few years, way out of proportion to actual value. The house I am sitting in hasn't changed much in 25 years, but it would fetch five times what we paid for it. Great. We could live under a bridge with shopping bags full of cash.
I think my point is that us old farts aren't negatively affected by all this, but how the Hell do young families afford a home of their own? By going into crushing debt and risking their families' future, that's how. "Ownership Society", my ass. Lose a job, get sick, have bad luck, lose everything. Oh yeah, did I mention that it's harder to declare bankruptcy these days? The "Ownership" will be by banks and mortgage companies, big Republican contributors, all of 'em. They want to own you if you can't make your exorbitant payments.
Good question. One thing is certain: the Ruling Class will have a tighter grip on this country, and the end of Democracy as we know it will be a lot closer.
In July 2001, Paul McCulley, an economist at Pimco, the giant bond fund, predicted that the Federal Reserve would simply replace one bubble with another. "There is room," he wrote, "for the Fed to create a bubble in housing prices, if necessary, to sustain American hedonism. And I think the Fed has the will to do so, even though political correctness would demand that Mr. Greenspan deny any such thing.
As Mr. McCulley predicted, interest rate cuts led to soaring home prices, which led in turn not just to a construction boom but to high consumer spending, because homeowners used mortgage refinancing to go deeper into debt. All of this created jobs to make up for those lost when the stock bubble burst.
Now the question is what can replace the housing bubble.
Nobody thought the economy could rely forever on home buying and refinancing. But the hope was that by the time the housing boom petered out, it would no longer be needed.
Even Alan Greenspan now admits that we have "characteristics of bubbles" in the housing market, but only "in certain areas." And it's true that the craziest scenes are concentrated in a few regions, like coastal Florida and California.
Folks, I'm here to tell ya this is absolutely true. Me 'n Mrs. G just returned from "coastal California" where we did a 1031 exchange of properties (a way to take some profit and minimize capital gains tax) totaling nearly a million dollars. If you saw the places involved, you'd think we were nuts. Housing prices are crazy out here, but if ya wanta play, ya gotta pay. I think it's just that the money ain't worth jack shit any more.
One of (maybe the only) advantage of reaching our advanced age is that we bought our first house over thirty years ago just before California real estate prices hit the afterburner. Thank you, Lord. Prices have increased at a rising rate, almost exponential, in the last few years, way out of proportion to actual value. The house I am sitting in hasn't changed much in 25 years, but it would fetch five times what we paid for it. Great. We could live under a bridge with shopping bags full of cash.
I think my point is that us old farts aren't negatively affected by all this, but how the Hell do young families afford a home of their own? By going into crushing debt and risking their families' future, that's how. "Ownership Society", my ass. Lose a job, get sick, have bad luck, lose everything. Oh yeah, did I mention that it's harder to declare bankruptcy these days? The "Ownership" will be by banks and mortgage companies, big Republican contributors, all of 'em. They want to own you if you can't make your exorbitant payments.
So what happens if the housing bubble bursts? It will be the same thing all over again, unless the Fed can find something to take its place. And it's hard to imagine what that might be. After all, the Fed's ability to manage the economy mainly comes from its ability to create booms and busts in the housing market. If housing enters a post-bubble slump, what's left?
Good question. One thing is certain: the Ruling Class will have a tighter grip on this country, and the end of Democracy as we know it will be a lot closer.
Memorial Day
[This was originally posted 27 May 2004, a year ago. I could have written it today.]
Why I bitch
You're probably saying to yourself. "Boy, the old Fixer-man is a bigger idiot than usual, bitching about this Memorial Day thing, and Americans forgetting what this weekend is all about."
You know why? Because I dodged bullets for four years in Asia, drug interdiction in South America, and killing a few Cuban Communists in Grenada. I've lost friends over the years, guys (and gals, you politically-correct busybodies) who had the same things to live for that I did, families, hopes and dreams to make something of themselves and a better life for their kids. In short, I hate war.
I am a child of war, but call me the silver lining in the dark cloud of World War II. My mom was a German Army nurse during that war, and my dad was a British paratrooper. They met in Jamaica, Queens in 1953, after dad came back from the Korean Conflict. Yes, the poor bastard moved to the U.S. after WWII and was promptly drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950. They met and married and gave birth to one child, yours truly. In my family, on both sides, going back five hundred years, military service was understood.
I had to be coaxed, at age 17, to enlist (It was either enlist or serve 6 months on a Grand Theft Auto charge). And I'm grateful that my dad convinced the judge to give me a chance to redeem myself. I served eight years total (6 regular AF, 2 active reserve), and I'm proud of the part I played in protecting the country. I'd go again if they'd take this broken down old carcass, and there are many who would also go to protect this country without question. Old bastards like me who love America and would gladly lay down our lives to protect what we have. There are many like me, a couple million of them serving on active duty right now.
They go, without question, to where our leaders send them. They lay their lives on the line every day to do what our leaders say is a noble job. They will do it again and again because they made the commitment, officers and enlisted, generals to privates, they all made their commitments to the noble ideals of the United States of America. It is our leaders' responsiblity to assure the correctness of their sacrifice. People with such commitment do not deserve to have their lives wasted by those who have never looked into the business end of an enemy rifle. Unfortunately, I feel the lives of our boys and girls are being wasted in Iraq, and that pisses me off.
We have a bunch of guys in Washington who've never served in the military. Yes, I include President No Nuts because the only reason he went into the Guard was that there was no other way out. To these guys, the lives of our military personnel are just numbers on a ledger sheet, not exeptionally trained, valuable resources who should not be squandered in pursuit of imperialistic dreams.
Solders hate war. Anybody who enjoys killing, even in wartime, is a psychopath, period. Ask any general if he wants to put his people in harm's way. he'll tell you that a reality of war is that he has to, but he doesn't want to, and he doesn't want to do it frivolously. The glib frivoloity with which the Bush Administration went to war in Iraq is criminal, and the lack of planning for the aftermath is treasonous. I'm sorry, to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have perished in Iraq, to the families who will have an empty chair at future holiday gatherings, to all those who have suffered because of this fiasco, but 800 lives have been lost for NOTHING. You have not sacrificed your lives to protect this great nation and the Constitution, you were murdered by people who only see your lives as a means to an end. Hopefully, some time soon, they will be forced to pay.
Yes, I am one pissed off motherfucker this Memorial Day. 800 of my brothers and sisters are dead, close to 5000 wounded, for NOTHING. They say Bush went to war to avenge his daddy. Well, I want vengeance for our honored dead this past year. Getting Bush out in November is not good enough. I want him in jail.
[The number of dead has doubled and the number of wounded has quadrupled in a year, and God knows how many innocent Iraqis have been killed and maimed. Everything else still applies.]
Why I bitch
You're probably saying to yourself. "Boy, the old Fixer-man is a bigger idiot than usual, bitching about this Memorial Day thing, and Americans forgetting what this weekend is all about."
You know why? Because I dodged bullets for four years in Asia, drug interdiction in South America, and killing a few Cuban Communists in Grenada. I've lost friends over the years, guys (and gals, you politically-correct busybodies) who had the same things to live for that I did, families, hopes and dreams to make something of themselves and a better life for their kids. In short, I hate war.
I am a child of war, but call me the silver lining in the dark cloud of World War II. My mom was a German Army nurse during that war, and my dad was a British paratrooper. They met in Jamaica, Queens in 1953, after dad came back from the Korean Conflict. Yes, the poor bastard moved to the U.S. after WWII and was promptly drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950. They met and married and gave birth to one child, yours truly. In my family, on both sides, going back five hundred years, military service was understood.
I had to be coaxed, at age 17, to enlist (It was either enlist or serve 6 months on a Grand Theft Auto charge). And I'm grateful that my dad convinced the judge to give me a chance to redeem myself. I served eight years total (6 regular AF, 2 active reserve), and I'm proud of the part I played in protecting the country. I'd go again if they'd take this broken down old carcass, and there are many who would also go to protect this country without question. Old bastards like me who love America and would gladly lay down our lives to protect what we have. There are many like me, a couple million of them serving on active duty right now.
They go, without question, to where our leaders send them. They lay their lives on the line every day to do what our leaders say is a noble job. They will do it again and again because they made the commitment, officers and enlisted, generals to privates, they all made their commitments to the noble ideals of the United States of America. It is our leaders' responsiblity to assure the correctness of their sacrifice. People with such commitment do not deserve to have their lives wasted by those who have never looked into the business end of an enemy rifle. Unfortunately, I feel the lives of our boys and girls are being wasted in Iraq, and that pisses me off.
We have a bunch of guys in Washington who've never served in the military. Yes, I include President No Nuts because the only reason he went into the Guard was that there was no other way out. To these guys, the lives of our military personnel are just numbers on a ledger sheet, not exeptionally trained, valuable resources who should not be squandered in pursuit of imperialistic dreams.
Solders hate war. Anybody who enjoys killing, even in wartime, is a psychopath, period. Ask any general if he wants to put his people in harm's way. he'll tell you that a reality of war is that he has to, but he doesn't want to, and he doesn't want to do it frivolously. The glib frivoloity with which the Bush Administration went to war in Iraq is criminal, and the lack of planning for the aftermath is treasonous. I'm sorry, to the soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines who have perished in Iraq, to the families who will have an empty chair at future holiday gatherings, to all those who have suffered because of this fiasco, but 800 lives have been lost for NOTHING. You have not sacrificed your lives to protect this great nation and the Constitution, you were murdered by people who only see your lives as a means to an end. Hopefully, some time soon, they will be forced to pay.
Yes, I am one pissed off motherfucker this Memorial Day. 800 of my brothers and sisters are dead, close to 5000 wounded, for NOTHING. They say Bush went to war to avenge his daddy. Well, I want vengeance for our honored dead this past year. Getting Bush out in November is not good enough. I want him in jail.
[The number of dead has doubled and the number of wounded has quadrupled in a year, and God knows how many innocent Iraqis have been killed and maimed. Everything else still applies.]
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