Happy Veterans Day ... At Some Point

Wouldn't it have been major kick-ass today, Veterans Day, for President Obama to deal out a little of the "Change We Can Believe In" stuff, show some audacity, put a little shine on that Nobel Prize, and use the day to announce - not hedge, not double-talk - that he will not escalate troops in Flintstoneville (aka Afghanistan).



Maybe, even do it as a stake-in-the-ground, a benchmark, of the beginning of the dismantling, money-bag-by-money-bag, the Military Industrial Complex.

Now, that would be a Veterans Day to shoot off fireworks, one to celebrate, unabashedly.

And, hey, with two breaking stories tonight, a guy can dream;

U.S. ambassador dissents on Afghan troop increase ...Strongly worded cables urge a pause until Kabul government shifts course

AP: Obama Rejects All Afghanistan War Options

We'll have to wait, and see.

Or, we will have to come around again next year, and bemoan the sentiments of two gifted, exceptional writers (both you should bookmark, and/or, RSS follow), this year;

Juan Cole, over on Informed Comment;

The most patriotic way to honor future veterans of foreign wars is not to create any unnecessarily.

And, Barry Crimmins;

This country would rather create veterans than care for them

Crimmins also has a powerful essay up today - Drone Destroyed, Pentagon Dodges Bullet - on the execution of DC Sniper John Muhammad, a veteran;

Muhammad died reviled and despised, just as the USA itself is reviled and despised in so many lands where the murder of innocents seems to Americans, who even bother to consider such such things, as nothing more than a necessary byproduct of the efficient infliction of a long-range plan. Nevertheless, the plan is both crazy and doomed to failure. It drains our country of vital resources urgently needed to sustain life. It mass produces righteously indignant enemies all over the globe. It visits brutality upon our own people as we exist as, and among, those who have lived to almost never talk about it.

And so Mr. Muhammad was put to death as the perfectly secret embodiment of what Veterans Day is not allowed to represent. His soul rotted away after he had participated in the infliction of violence upon nearly defenseless people. When he came home, he saw no reason to abandon what he had learned as a soldier.

And, digressing for a moment, Joe Sudbay, on AmericaBlog, rings in on the Death Penalty;

As with any execution, there's been extensive discussion about the pros and cons of the death penalty. To me, that is not the act of a truly civilized society. An article in today's Washington Post looked at the death penalty's "'closure' myth":

Stanford University psychiatrist David Spiegel believes that the theory that executions provide closure is "naive, unfounded, pop-psychology." Contrary to expectations, Spiegel says, witnessing executions not only fails to provide closure but also often causes symptoms of acute stress. "Witnessing trauma," he says, "is not far removed from experiencing it."

Spiegel has concluded that "true closure is achieved only through extensive grief work." This process requires families to acknowledge and bear their loss as well as to put it into perspective. It necessitates a network of support systems: counselors who will sit with, listen to and work with survivors; work environments flexible enough to accommodate counseling sessions and the down time that is a natural result of grief and stress; and victim assistance programs that make sure those things happen.

It just seems craven for politicians to promise "closure" from the death penalty when it's not true. It also seems barbaric.

It was "craven" and "barbaric" for The Commander Guy to launch two wars like he didn't know whether to piss, or wind his wrist watch, thereby, producing hundreds-of-thousands of new veterans, to be used as props in jingoistic parades, and file footage to run in the background of two idiot-talking-heads, arguing about more war.

It sure would be nice for Obama to show some cojones with his upcoming decision.

Maybe, just maybe, we can next year, or, in the immediate future Veterans Days, count, and herald, the number of veterans (and Gold Star Mothers) we didn't produce.

If He Lived In Australia ...

There was a great line, in the Michael Hodges movie 'Pulp'.

Lionel Stander, a great character actor (who become more famous for his television role in 'Hart To Hart'; Also, Stander infamously gave an "Up Yours" to the HUAC fascists), uttered it when a movie was being shown, and whoever loaded the camera, loaded the film upside-down.

Stander, in the sandpapered, chiseled, gruff voice of his, belts out "This film would do great in Australia ..."

So, we give you;

Tenant Banned from Flying Flag Upside Down, Gets Death Threat

He says he wanted to signal to his neighbors that this country is in distress, so he started flying the flag upside down.

Two days later, Manitowoc police officer Jason Delsman came to his door. But Decker was at Wal-Mart, so, Delsman left his business card with a handwritten note, "Call ASAP."

Decker decided to go down to the police department, but Officer Delsman was out, so Decker called him on the phone from there.

"He told me I was committing a criminal act and could face fines or imprisonment," Decker said.

When Decker asked for the statute criminalizing this, he says Officer Delsman responded: "I'm sure that it is somewhere."

According to Decker, the officer also said: "You fly your flag at night with no light on it. The next time I see that I'll have to do something about it."

Little-by-little ... Piece-by-piece ...

An upside-down flag here ... A missing lapel pin there... A simple sign held by a librarian...

Ahhh ... The smell of patriotism burning in the morning ...

You Say Lapel Pins ... I Say Lunatics...

Enough of this childish, little, small-minded pettiness.

Screw these tiny Lapel Flag Pins!

I want to see the candidates, and every blowhard, Fox News, Right Wing Freak Show, and their Flying Monkeys, ham-handed "patriot" start wearing actual United States of America Flags on their chests.

That's right, anything less then the full Old Glory and you must be an appeaser, rooting for the terrorists, wanting "them" to win!

And it damn-well better be a flag made right here, in the good, ol' U.S of A.!

No excuses!

You're either with us, or against us!

While I write in jest, that may, very well, be where this ante gets raised to, before the general election campaign begins.

We had this yesterday;

Obama on Those Who Say He Doesn't Respect the Flag: 'It's a Lie'

At a town hall in Kokomo, Ind., Friday a woman told Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., that her mother wasn’t going to vote for him because he didn’t "address the flag."

"This is a phony issue," Obama said. "So let me address it right now."

And address it he did.

After a lengthy, two, or three-point detailed answer, Obama called it for what it is;

Obama continued, saying "so I make this comment. suddenly a bunch of these, you know, TV commentators and bloggers (say) 'Obama is disrespecting people who wear flag pins.' Well, that's just not true. Also, another way of saying it is, it's a lie."

Amen!

Steve Benen, over on The Carpetbagger Report offered good support;

I’d just like to ask these folks who purport to care whether they mind if Hillary Clinton’s or John McCain’s lapels are flagless. Whether they minded that Ronald Reagan, JFK, Eisenhower, and FDR didn’t wear pins. Whether they think George W. Bush was unpatriotic before 9/11, when his lapels were bare. I doubt it.

I doubt Obama would do this, but I can imagine a town-hall meeting in which this comes up and the senator asks everyone in the room wearing a flag lapel pin (probably made in China) to raise their hand. When a small fraction of the crowd does, Obama can ask them, “Do those of you who didn’t raise your hand love the country as much as those who did?”

As did Oliver Willis;

Since I’ve been following politics closely and especially since I moved back to the DC area to work in the industry (more or less), one of the things I have never understood has been the liberal/Democratic reluctance to call something a lie. When Al Franken wrote his book Lies And The Lying Liars Who Tell Them, I am certain that the forthright way in which he called out something as a lie was a pivotal element of its success. In 2000, and especially 2004, Al Gore and John Kerry drove me batty with their constant rhetoric that something was “a falsehood” or that someone “misled”. They just never came out and said George Bush and the Republican party and the conservative noise machine were just filthy liars.

And, of course, the inhabitants of the RWFS just have to keep pumping this up, gripping on it like a dog, gnawing on a juicy bone ... You can see them here, here and here, all polishing their own lapel pins of stupidity

When it comes time for the general election debates, against Stumblin' Bumblin' John McCain, and if he could get away with it (just think how the RWFS would explode if he did!), as satire, as a statement, Obama should wear the Hamas Flag Lapel Pin.

I'd bet more then half of the nitwits wouldn't notice.


Bonus Lapel Links

Barry Crimmins: The ABC/HUAC Democratic Inquisition

ABC Plants Its Flag

Boy, And We Thought Russert and Williams Sucked

If The Telecoms Get Amnesty, Will Reporters or Photographers Be Jailed For Reporting It?

Think, for a moment, if your favorite journalist, be it Frank Rich, Juan Cole, Sidney Blumenthal, Dana Priest, Thomas Ricks, Murray Waas (and, okay, if you're in the Freakshow, or a Dittohead, Bill O'Reilly, Ann Coulter, Sean Hannity, William Kristol, and the drug-taking cheeseburger himself, Rush Limbaugh), or a hard-working, risk-taking American photographer, was taken into custody by a foreign government, under the "suspicion" of being a terrorist, or aiding the terrorists, imprisoned, without formal charges being made, denied due process, access to a lawyer and their day in court.

Think about the explosion of outrage, and the marshaling of thousands, to right this horrible, unjust, wrong.

The country would come to a near stand-still, and there'd be wall-to-wall, Baby-Jessica-in-the-well, media coverage

Well, this is exactly what our government is doing - jailing foreign journalists in the name of the War on Terror - perhaps, mostly for they don't like what they are writing, or the photographs they are taking.

Salon's Glenn Greenwald has an excellent post today, detailing two such instances (and, in the process, the smearing of an elected member of the U.S. Congress), with;

Only America-hating traitors believe in due process for journalists












And, what we could have done as one of The Garlic's "Degrees of Separation", as we have our former, warbling Attorney General penning a New York Times Op-Ed, calling for letting the telecommunications companies off the hook of the lawsuits for their illegal spying and wiretapping, because ...

That Bush Grindhouse classic - People will die!

Seems that John Ashcroft, with his "Uncle Sam on the Line" wants to extend his placing of sheets beyond naked statues, and start draping them over the U.S. Constitution and our Congress.

I suppose, first off, Ashcroft doesn't see the comic irony of calling his essay "Uncle Sam on the Line", because, for millions of Americans, over the past six-years, we have had "Uncle Sam on our phone lines" and, of all the treasonous things, some want to hold the telecommunication companies, and the Bush Grindhouse, accountable for their conducting illegal surveillance.

Ashcroft paints a picture of doom if persons illegally wiretapped are allowed to sue the telecoms.

And he argues it with this gem;

"Longstanding principles of law hold that an American corporation is entitled to rely on assurances of legality from officials responsible for government activities. The public officials in question might be right or wrong about the advisability or legality of what they are doing, but it is their responsibility, not the company’s, to deal with the consequences if they are wrong."

The old "Trust Us" is to be applied here.

Wasn't that knocked down, when Harry Truman, under different circumstances, tried to nationalize the steel industry under the umbrella of "national emergency"?

Or maybe Ashcroft is simply thanking AT&T, Verizon and others "for their lovely Christmas gift - a solid gold telephone."

And it's pretty daunting what the Singing Attorney General glosses over in this "patriotic" call for Congress to do the proper duty.

Empty Wheel, over on The Last Hurrah, nails it;

And of course, Ashcroft makes no mention of the period when the program was not authorized by the AG, but was instead authorized by the White House Counsel. Such authorization is not legal, not under the law as written. While the telecoms may not be in the position to assess the honesty of the Bush Administration representations, they surely knew in March 2004 that Alberto Gonzales was not the AG, and that any authorization given by him was not worth the paper it was written on."

If we had, instead of an eagle, a National Canary, as the symbol of our country, the icon of our democracy, the poor, little thing would be lying, feet-up, at the bottom of it's cage by now, probably fragged, by the likes of patriots like John Ashcroft.

And that leaves us all, deep in the mine of democracy, with these type of patriots telling us to follow their light.

Bonus Freedom and Democracy Links

Let the Eagle Soar - Music and Lyrics by John Ashcroft

Rachel Morris: Prisoner 345 - What happened to Al Jazeera’s Sami al-Haj

Kevin/LeanLeft: Someone Else Bin Laden Has Beaten

A Lot of Heads ... A Lot of Asses ... And A Whole Boatload of Pulling

Geesh, where's the Freak Show been hiding this guy?

Does he have an eye patch, ala Ann Coultergist? ...Or is he just the passive butt-kisser, ala Little Billy Kristolnacht?

It looks like this weekend is shaping up to be a "Pulling-Your-Head-Out-Of-Your-Ass-Palooza"

Astonishingly, Philadelphia Daily News columnist Stu Bykofsky put into print the ultimate (well, maybe No.2. - Attacking Iran is still pretty high up there) Neocon wet dream, in his missive on Thursday, "To save America, we need another 9/11"

My God, does he know what this does?

No doubt, the Vice President's chest started thumping like the Grambling State Marching Band ... Rick Santorum snapped on his beanie cap and dug out his "How To Find WMD's" kit ... Kate O’Beirne, the poor dear, got cramps, sitting in front of the mirror, practicing pursing her lips in disdain, in anticipation of being next week's pin-up girl on the cable news programs ... Bill O'Reilly... Well, Bill-O didn't quite know what to do with his loofah in the morning shower, he was so trembling with excitement ...

And, equally sublime, the Freak Show and Smear Machines rolled out the red carpet for good, ol' Stu.

The Sludge Report ... Fox Noise (a double hit - morning show and with the Big Head, John Gibson) ... Townhall ...

The gist of Stu's pornography is that the country is torn apart, not following in lockstep our The Commander Guy, and rallying around his lying that led to the invasion and occupation of a sovereign nation.

We were there, right after September 11th, but "America likes wars shorter than the World Series."

And this;

America's fabric is pulling apart like a cheap sweater.

What would sew us back together?

Another 9/11 attack.

The Golden Gate Bridge. Mount Rushmore. Chicago's Wrigley Field. The Philadelphia subway system. The U.S. is a target-rich environment for al Qaeda.

So, rather than having an Executive Branch (both Bush's and Cheney's) that doesn't lie, obscure, hide and conduct the nation's affairs in secret, out CIA agents, smear and destroy critics, one that will uphold the law, respect the Constitution, not overrule legislation with Signing Statements, we should endure and suffer another horrible deadly attack in order to break out the jingoistic pom-poms again.

And to help Stu along, today's Que Sera Sera moment?

Good morning. In America, August is considered a slow news month. But in the war on terror, America and our allies remain on the offense against our enemies. And this month, we've had some encouraging news from both Afghanistan and Iraq

The Commander Guys' Weekly Radio Address.

Too bad Stu didn't direct his outrage where the disaster he desires is already occurring ...The utter destruction of the U.S. Constitution ... There's a whole lot of carnage there that he can drool over ...

Bonus Links

Think Progress: Right-Wing Media Give Favorable Platform To ‘Another 9/11′ Columnist

Newshounds: Lunacy 101: Stu Bykofsky Suggests That Another 9-11 Attack Would Bring Us All Together!

Larisa Alexandrovna: Bush declares Congress, courts, and, rule of law null and void...

Truthout: Executive Order: Blocking Property of Certain Persons Who Threaten Stabilization Efforts in Iraq

Tuesday 15 March 2005

First Lady Heads Jingoism Festival
Jeep Owners Mandated To Learn Song

Believing that most Americans do not know the words to 'The Star-Spangled Banner', our national anthem, First Lady Laura Bush is out to teach them.

Mrs. Laura Bush is the Honorary Chairperson of the "National Anthem Project: Restoring America's Voice", an intiative of the MENC: National Association for Music Education and is being sponsored by Jeep.

The project kicked off last week (March 10th) and included performances from school age children and adults, as well as the Oak Ridge Boys and the 'President's Own' U.S. Marine Band. A larger concert is planned, with some six-million children, teachers and music supporters participating, performing American patriotic and popular songs and will be broadcast around the country on PBS, and the Armed Forces Network.

As to the national sponsorship by Jeep, Dieter Zetsche, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Chrysler Group offered;

"Few brands symbolize freedom and patriotism like the Jeep brand …"

The First Lady stated owning a Jeep " … was a fabulous way to see our great country …" and that all Jeep owners will be mandated to learn the song. She hopes her husband, President Bush, will write legislation that will extend this to all automobile owners.

As an element of their sponsorship, Jeep insisted on language in the contract that bars Rosanne Barr from singing the National Anthem at any Jeep-sponsored event.


Wheaties Official Breakfast Cereal
of MLB; Box To Feature Steroids
Drops Bombshell In Break From Tradition Established in 1934

General Mills anounced that they have come to terms with Major League Baseball to have their Wheaties, The Breakfast of Champions, become the 'Official Breakfast Cereal" of the league.

And, in a bombshell, an unprecidented break from tradition, for the first time since 1934, when Lou Gerhig appeared on the cereal box, Wheaties will feature a steroid pill and needle. It's unclear if the featured items are from Balco, or a generic brand of steroids.

Numerous baseball stars have endorsed the cereal, including Babe Ruth, Joe DiMaggio, Lefty Grove, Mel Ott, Bob Feller, Ted Williams, Hank Greenberg, Stan Musial, Jackie Robinson, Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Warren Spahn, Yogi Berra, Mickey Mantle, Johnny Bench, Hank Aaron, Cal Ripken, Jr. and Joe Torre.

Additionally, of the 51 players selected for the 1939 Major League Baseball All-Star Game, 46 endorsed Wheaties. Wheaties also sponsored the first televised commercial sports broadcast on August 29, 1939, when NBC presented a Cincinnati Reds vs. Brooklyn Dodgers broadcast for some 500 television owners in New York City.

"We’re excited about the winning moments that our Wheaties - MLB partnership will bring" said Eric Lucas, Vice President of Marketing for General Mills’ Big G Cereals. "We've always featured the dominant star and this year, it is undoubtedly, steroids".

Lucas, as well as Tim Brosnan, Executive Vice President, Business, Major League Baseball, offered no comment on the impact of the upcoming Congressional hearings on steroids use in baseball and left the door open that a future Wheaties box could have a Congressman on it


Bush Appointment Has Mid-East Fearful With New Hughes Role

The Arab League stated a muted, and very cautious tone in reacting to the announcement of former Bush Aide Karen Hughes' new position of Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy. Hughes will be responsible for crafting Mid-East policies and changing the area's perceptions about the United States. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice made the announcement yesterday.

Hughes, a former counselor to President Bush from 2000-2002, also had a major role in shaping Bush's domestic agenda, as well as having her imprint on a number of foreign policy initiatives. Hughes left the administration to move back to Texas.

Some Arab League members are skeptical about the appointment, speculating that there'll be a continuation of false or doctored intelligence and a new call of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the next country the Bush Administration chooses to invade.

There's even confusion if the appointment is true, or if it's an endeavor of the disinformation program started by Secretary of Defense, Donald Rumsfeld two-years ago.

'When America starts talking about planting the seeds of democracy", offered one Arab League official, "that's usually our sign to start building our bomb shelters".