April 7, 2004, The Few, The Proud, The Deserving of Better than This
At least twelve American Marines were killed in fighting near Ramadi, Iraq. Apparently, although this comes right after the declaration of the Baby Sadr revolt that Mr. L. Paul (why does the God damned-- I and I hope he is-- President keep calling him Jerry) Bremer caused, this action seems to be blamed on holdover Saddam Baathist loyalists (we all know that Howard Dean was an irresponsible lunatic for even SUGGESTING that the capture of Saddam would not make one American anywhere any safer).
Once again-- the casualties were nowhere near this a year ago, when I was putting up a lot of war related postings. A dozen dead a day is between four and five thousand dead a year; those are Vietnam era numbers-- for a deployment much smaller than we had in Vietnam. The good news is these casualty rates wil certainly decline; the bad news is many, many more Americans will die or be maimed in what can only be construed as the most cynical war in American history-- or WORSE, as Mrs. TD points out-- if this were the LEAST CYNICAL WAR in American history-- a war fought entirely for the fantasy of liberating a people who had no interest in being liberated by foreign invasion, or to bring them democracy when they would frankly prefer theocracy or dictatorship (albeit one headed by their own co-religionists).
It was pointed out to me at a recent family gathering that politics have become a taboo subject, like religion always is, and for the same reasons. One cannot debate the merits of another's core religious beliefs-- because at their core, they require a leap of faith, and cannot be explained rationally. It has become unfortunate that in American life in 2004, we have achieved precisely the same situation-- with politics. (As if to prove my point, one of the people with whom I was having this conversation pretty much wanted to rip my heart out when I suggested that the negative tone and outright poison that is now American politics, although in part could be explained by Republican excesses to "get Clinton", should involve a healthy serving of blame to Bill Clinton himself for hiring the loathsome Sydney Blumenthal and other professional scoundrels to besmirch the reputations of anyone who dared make an allegation against the President.)
The American military has been ill-used. The men and women in uniform have my sympathies; their commander in chief cares not a whit about them-- THAT is why he hasn't bothered attending a single funeral or memorial. Yes, the "politics" would involve recognizing that we have taken casualties at all-- but its FAR WORSE than that. George W. Bush could not give two shits about people who he has ordered to their deaths, while he continues to use the White House and the trappings of Presidential office as an exercise studio. I wish that were not true, but there is no evidence whatsoever that it is not.
As Mike Finley brilliantly puts it, George W. has co-opted the word "freedom"-- made it his bitch-- even while mocking freedom at every turn-- freedom of religion while giving into the excesses of American fundamentalists at the expense of the rest of us, freedom of speech while barb-wiring would be protestors in "First Amendment Zones" so that the leader of a democratic nation need not bother seeing dissent, freedom from unreasonable search and seizures meant with expansions of so-called anti-terrorism legislation to be used against political enemies. Oh, but the terrorists (and now the Iraqi insurgents) "hate our freedom". Bullshit, Mr. President-- its YOU who hates freedom. The terrorists may want to take our very LIVES_- but it is you sir, who remain the threat to our FREEDOM.
Well, your talking dog starts a new (temporary) position tomorrow, perhaps (perhaps not) restoring his faith in... something? He'll wish himself good luck in his new endeavor, and wish the rest of you Godspeed, especially our men and women in uniform the world over.
Comments
Not just an exercise studio. A nifty airplane he can fly around in to give speeches at fundraisers, being sure to include at least one phrase which makes it official government business so the taxpayer pays for the fuel and labor.
Good for you and the position; maybe it will turn into something permanent (if you want it to).
Posted by Linkmeister at April 7, 2004 03:35 AM
"...why does the ...President keep calling him Jerry?"
Because that's his name to his friends. This is not a mystery.
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