BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.
IN AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH THESE REPORTERS, BAD ACTOR, FORMER LOBBYIST AND BAD SENATOR FRED THOMPSON DISHED ON WHY HE MAY BE ENTERING THE RACE AND WHAT HE THOUGHT OF THE G.O.P. CANDIDATES FOR THE 2008 PRESIDENTIAL NOMINATION.
MUST CREDIT BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX!
AFTER ASSURING THESE REPORTERS THAT HE HAD "ADMIRATION" FOR EVERYONE IN THE G.O.P. WHO HAS ALREADY DECLARED THEIR INTENT TO RUN FOR PRESIDENT, FRED THOMPSON THEN WENT ON TO DISH.
TOMMY THOMPSON? "WITH A NAME LIKE THAT, HE SHOULD BE TAPPING ACROSS BROADWAY WITH TWIGGY IN MY ONE AND ONLY."
RUDY GIULIANI? "I JUST DON'T THINK THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT SOMEONE IN THE OFFICE WHO LOOKS LIKE MR. POTATO HEAD."
SAM BROWNBACK? "BROWNBACK? ISN'T THAT A LITTLE TOUCHY WITH ALL THE IMMIGRATION PROTESTS GOING ON?"
JIM GILMORE? "WHICH GIRL DID HE MARRY? I ALWAYS LIKE THE KID BUT THE MOTHER WAS TOO MOUTHY FOR ME. GOOD SHOW THOUGH. 'WHERE YOU LEAD . . . I WILL FOLLOW . . .' GOT ANY FAKE NUDES OF RORY GILMORE?"
MIKE HUCKABEE? "LOOKS LIKE HE SHOULD BE THE NIGHT MANAGER AT A DENNY'S. LIKE HE'S FLIRTING WITH THE MIDDLE AGED HOSTESS, HOPING TO GET A LITTLE ON THE SIDE AND RIGHT WHEN HE'S ABOUT TO CLOSE THE DEAL, HE LETS ONE RIP AND SHE WALKS AWAY DISGUSTED. SOUNDS LIKE THE STORY OF HUCKABEE'S LIFE."
DUNCAN HUNTER? "HE'S NOT BEHIND BARS YET? YOU SURE ABOUT THAT? WELL POLITICS IS MORE THAN ISSUING STATEMENTS BUT LOOKING AT DA DUNC'S RECORD, YOU'D NEVER KNOW THAT, WOULD YOU? DOES HE DYE HIS HAIR?"
MITT ROMNEY? "WHAT IS THAT? 'MITT'? WHO KNOWS ANYONE NAMED 'MITT.' HE DOESN'T LIKE A BASEBALL MITT. HE LOOKS LIKE A KEN DOLL. DON'T LEAVE HIM ALONE IN BARBIE'S DREAM HOUSE WITH G.I. JOE, IF YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN!"
TOM TANCREDO? "IS HE MAFIA? I PLAYED OPPOSITE A LOT OF MAFIA TYPES IN HOLLYWOOD AND HE LOOKS MAFIA?"
SENATOR CRAZY? "JOHN MCCAIN AND I GO WAY BACK AND I CONSIDER HIM AN OLD FRIEND. SO LET ME STATE THAT I HAVE NEVER BELIEVED THE RUMORS THAT HE STEALS BASEBALL CARDS FROM CHILDREN. I HAVE ALSO NEVER SEEN HIM SPIT ON A BABY. PEOPLE SAY HE DOES. BUT I DO NOT BELIEVE IT FOR A MINUTE.
PEOPLE SAY JOHN MCCAIN IS CRAZY, THAT HE IS WASHED UP, THAT HE IS A LOSER. I JUST SAY JOHN MCCAIN IS MY FRIEND."
RON PAUL? "TOO HAPPY. WHAT'S HE ALWAYS GRINNING ABOUT?"
WE ASKED FRED THOMPSON TO NAME TWO THINGS HE WOULD DO IF ELECTED PRESIDENT?
"WOAH! SLOW DOWN, BOYS! THAT'S NOT HOW IT WORKS. SEE, I HAVEN'T DECLARED. I DID JUST FORM A COMMITTEE TO EXPLORE WHETHER I SHOULD ENTER THE RACE. THAT'S WHAT I'D BE LIKE AS A PRESIDENT. CAUTIOUS. I'D SPEND MY FIRST 3 AND 1/2 YEARS DECIDING IF I WANTED TO BE PRESIDENT? MAYBE I DON'T LIKE THE WHITE HOUSE, MAYBE I WANT TO LIVE ELSEWHERE? MAYBE 'HAIL TO THE CHIEF' ISN'T THE BEST SONG WE CAN COME UP WITH? I'D SPEND MY FIRST 3 AND 1/2 YEARS EXPLORING ISSUES LIKE THOSE BY SETTING UP COMMITTEES."
AND THEN?
"RUNNING FOR RE-ELECTION. DON'T YOU BOYS KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT POLITICS!"
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Starting with apparently breaking news: Alex R. Jimenez and Byron W. Fouty are missing. The two US soldiers have been missing since May 12th. The military has not announced that the two have been found, it's just the press that's lost interest in the story -- the big press. Possibly, if they worked for a corporation with lots of money to toss around (isn't that how they got the contract to begin with?), the New York Times, et al, would take a moment to remember that two US soldiers have been missing since May 12th. Jennifer Manley (Queens Chronicle) spoke with Maria del Rosario Duran and Ramon Jimenez who are the parents of Alex Jimenez, "Each night in Corona, Jimenez's parents keep the faith that their son is luckier. Despite the grim evidence to the contrary, Duran believes in her heart that he is alive. 'That's what I hope. That's what I have put in my mind,' she said." Manley notes that vigils for Alex Jimenez were originally packed but "[b]y Tuesday, the numbers had dwindled and the news coverage had as well. About a dozen people remained, mostly the family's friend and neighbors." Adam Pincus (Times Ledger) reports Maria del Rosario Duran is unable to sleep or eat while she awaits some word on her son and quotes what she would to say to her son ("Alex, I miss you. Alex, please come to my house.") and what she would say to the Bully Boy ("This is a desperate mother. Stop this thing and bring them home. Every day this is happening. George Bus, please bring them home.") Rosario Duran last saw her son in December when he got a pass to attend the funeral of his grandmother. She tells Christina Santucci (Queens Courier), "I cannot do anything but think about where is my son. What's he doing? Who has my son?" and Ramon Jimenez states, "I pray every night for the three missing people. And I say, 'God give me my son back!'"
The three soldiers refers to Joseph Anzack whose body was found. On May 12th, 4 US soldiers and 1 Iraqi translator were found dead from an attack and three US soldiers were classified missing and assumed captured. Jimenez and Byron Fouty remain missing -- not at all unlike big media's coverage. CBS and AP break from the pack to note that, while the search for the 5 British contractors (one is considered a consultant) continues, "the hunt for two U.S. soldiers missing since an ambush on May 12 has slowed down."
KXAN (NBC, Texas) reports that Byron Fouty's family released a statement yesterday: "Son, we are so proud of you and for who you are, what you stand for. We know in our hearts, you were doing what you needed to do in Iraq, and we would have never expected any less from you. You are our Hero, our son. We will miss you and love you forever. Love, Mom and Dad." Today is day 20 that Jimenez and Fouty have been missing. Day 20. Big media moved on to the story of contractors -- from England -- because that's cleary the biggest domestic story coming out of Iraq. (That was sarcasm.)
Turning to news of Adam Kokesh who faces a hearing Monday, June 4th in Kansas City, MO that will determine the status of his discharge (previously "honorable") and would determine the status of his benefits. The Manny Named Brian (Public Eye, CBS) offers that Kokesh may be the new Cindy Sheehan, that he's "photogenic" and "sure seems like the kind of thing that could gather momentum as the summer heats up." (I swear, I did not make that up, use the link.) From the world of Candy Perfume Boy, to the Institute for Public Accuracy (IPA) which has a press release from which we'll note this "Executive director of Iraq Veterans Against the War, [Kelly] Dougherty was in Iraq from March 2003 to February 2004 with the Colorado National Guard. She said today: 'This is not so much about Adam as it is an attempt by the military brass to silence opposition to the war among veterans. The military is supposed to fight to preserve free speech, not quashing it. Not only are veterans, who can attest to the realities of this war, increasingly speaking out against the war -- but its grim realities are moving them to increasingly take nonviolent direct action to stop it." AP reports that "The Veterans of Foreign Wars is urging the military to show 'a little common sense' and call off its investigation of a group of Iraq war veterans who wore their uniforms during war protests." Sam Hananel (AP) quotes the national commander of Veterans of Foreign Wars, Gary Kurpius, stating, "We all know that people give up some individual rights when they joint the military. But these Marines went to war, did their duty, and were honorably discharged from the active roles. I may disagree with their message, but I will always defend their right to say it."
Eric Ruder (Socialist Worker) observes that the goal in going after Kokesh and Liam Madden is "silencing criticism from veterans -- discharge them again, but this time less than honorably" and quotes Tod Ensign (Citizen Soldier and Different Drummer Cafe) stating, "These are important issues, and they go to the question of military-civilian balance, and when you cease being bound by military rules. Are Liam and Adam bound by those rules? I'd say hell no. This is just a trial balloon, and it's harassment. But if they get away with it, you can be sure that they will then start becoming more draconian and their sweep of other people will be expanded. This could have a very chilling effect on the IVAW, to say the least." Matthew Rothschild (The Progressive) provides a strong overview of the issues at stake and noted that Monday's hearing/administrative meeting is not expected to result in a quick 'verdict' but a recommendationg that Master Sgt. Ronald Spencer says "can take up to two weeks."
Adam Kokesh wore fatigues during DC actions in March, Liam Madden, as David Montgomery (Washington Post) noted, "is accused of wearing his camouflage shirt at an antiwar march in Washington in January." For all the drama the military's created, you'd think the two (and a third who has been unidentified) had shown up in their dress uniform. David Morgan (Reuters) identifies the third: Cloy Richards. Cloy Richards is an Iraq veteran who suffers from PTSD. Both he and his mother Tina Richards have discussed this publicly. Apparently the US military believes the way to 'help' Cloy Richards is to threaten the veteran with loss of benefits. If that doesn't digust you, what does? Last week, Tina Richards discussed her son's suicide attempt with Kris Welch on KPFA's Living Room. Getting help for his PTSD has been a battle for Cloy Richards to begin with, the US military's lack of "common sense" just became even more visible.
As the lack of "common sense" becomes more apparent to the public, war resistance continues to grow within the US military. Pepe Lozano (People's Weekly World) reports on the June 19th event by the Rosenberg Fund for Children which "will commemorate the 54th anniversary of the Rosenbergs' execution with 'Celebrate the Children of Resistance." The fund was created by Robert Meeropol, the son of Ethel and Julius Rosenberg, and guests will include Angela Davis, Eve Ensler, Howard Zinn, David Strathairn as well as US war resister Camilo Mejia who notes, "When you prosecute an activist, it brings hard times to the family, especially for children like [his daughter] Samantha. People have to realize there is a family behind activists, and there should be more groups like RFC." Mejia's book Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia (The New Press) came out at the beginning of May and Iraq Veterans Against the War's Martin Smith (Socialist Worker) reviewed it noting: "Mejia's work -- written from the vantage of a soldier who served and saw firsthand the consequences of U.S. imperialism -- cuts through the deceptions and lies used to justify the war. . . . Beyond Mejia's exposure of the lies of occupation, the strength of his book is the humility with which Mejia explains the change within himself that led to his decision to follow the conscience and oppose war." John Catalinotto (Workers World) provided a wide ranging look at war resistance within the US military this week and noted of Iraq war resister Ehren Watada that his "court-martial is still pending after the military uniltaterally decided to declare his first trial a mistrial last February, has now had the court-martial postponed once more. At first scheduled for June 23 at Ft. Lewis, the trial is now on hold until it is determined if re-starting the trial would mean that Watada faced 'double jeopardy.' It is still possible that the Army will be forced to drop charges on Lt. Watada, the first officer to refuse duty in Iraq."
The growing movement of war resistance within the US military includes Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
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"What's a little Jew hating among hypocrites?"
"THIS JUST IN! THEY LOVE JEW HATERS!"
Saturday, June 02, 2007
Thursday, May 31, 2007
What's a little Jew hating among hypocrites?
BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.
FORMER PRESIDENTS JIMMY CARTER, GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND BILL CLINTON RUSHED TO NORTH CAROLINA TODAY TO PROVE HOW MUCH THEY LOVE THEIR LORD BILLY GRAHAM AND HATE JEWS.
THE LORD BILLY GRAHAM HAS BUILT A MONUMENT TO HIMSELF THAT COSTS $27 MILLION AND TRACES HIS LIFE FROM FETUS TO THE PRESENT. $27 MILLION IS A GREAT DEAL TO SPEND ON A MUSEUM OF YOURSELF BUT, AS ONE OF THE FLOCK SAID, "IF BILLY BOY DOESN'T DO IT, YOU THINK ANYONE ELSE WILL CREATE A BILLY GRAHAM MUSEUM?"
OF COURSE NOT AND THAT'S NOT ONLY BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD SEE THE NEED FOR A FRONT DOOR THAT WAS A 40-FOOT GLASS CROSS (RUMOR HAS IT THE GARAGE DOOR FEATURES A RENDERING OF THE LAST SUPPER) BUT ALSO BECAUSE JEW HATERS AREN'T THAT POPULAR WITH THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EVEN IF FORMER PRESIDENTS LOVE 'EM!
IN FACT, BROTHER AND LORD BILLY ENGAGED IN JEW BASHING WITH FELON TRICKY DICK (WE DON'T ACCEPT GERRY FORD'S PARDON) WHEN, IN 1972, HE SPOKE OF HOW JEWS HAD "THIS STRANGLEHOLD" ON THE MEDIA AND IT "HAS GOT TO BE BROKEN OR THE COUNTRY'S GOING DOWN THE DRAIN." HE BRAGGED ABOUT HOW HE TRICKED JEWISH PEOPLE WHO "SWARM AROUND ME AND ARE FRIENDLY TO ME" BUT "THEY DON'T KNOW HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO THIS COUNTRY."
OUR LORD BILLY CHRIST WAS EMBARRASSED WHEN TRICKY DICK'S TAPES TURNED UP AND CLAIMED NOT TO REMEMBER HIS JEW BASHING. FORTUNATELY FOR HIM, NO ONE IN THE PRESS BOTHERED TO ASK HIM "HOW COMMON IS IT THAT MANY DON'T KNOW HOW YOU REALLY FEEL ABOUT THEM."
AFTER CAKE, THE THREE FORMER PRESIDENTS JOINED BROTHER BILLY FOR A PRIVATE SCREENING OF MEL GIBSON FILMS.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Starting with Adam Kokesh who is currently in the Individual Ready Reserve through June 18th and had the status of honorably discharged. What concerns us today (we noted this on May 23rd), and we better go slowly because AP gets lost on the details, is what's happening today. In March, Iraq Veterans Against the War took part in DC actions to bring the war home. Adam Kokesh participated in that action wearing fatigues. Following that, the military contacted him and we have to say "the military" because the coward who e-mailed him is too chicken sh*t to be known publicly. This is the point at which AP, in a throwback to their THEY-ALL-WALKED-OUT! Pearl Jam coverage, misses the point.
They leap to "Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity." Major Chicken Sh*t wrote an e-mail brimming with sarcasm "I know this matter pales in comparsion with recent geopolitical events of which you have shown an interest" being only one example. And "I have a desire to let a fellow Marine know about his obligations and duty" may be folksy but it's not military standard (which is why Kokesh and Tina Richards both wondered if the e-mail was genuine). On line 43 of Kokesh's 44 lined e-mail, the f-word is used. AP reporting that Kokesh was sent "a letter" and that he "responded with an obscenity" is bad reporting. No "letter" was exchanged by either side. (Though an official letter, registered, should have been sent through the United States postal service by the military if they are investigating anyone in IRR.) And Kokesh did not respond to "a letter" with "an obscenity." He responded at length (44 lines). And let's just repeat that point outside of parentheticals: If the US military is investigating someone, the US military's means of contact needs to be official, written in an official manner -- not folksy, sarcastic e-mail. (Again, Kokesh showed the e-mail to Cloy Richards mother Tina and they both wondered about its authenticity.)
Kevin Zeese (Democracy Rising) observes, "The implications of this hearing may be far reaching, as the prosecution of a member of the inactive reserves under these circumstances is unprecedented. At stake is the right of freedom of speech for the hundreds of thousands of members of the Inactive Ready Reserve, as well as the nation's right to get the unbiased truth out of Iraq. Last week, the prosecuting attorney, Captain Sibert, offered Kokesh a general discharge. To accept this would be to allow the Marines to say that members of the IRR do not have freedom of speech, so naturally he declined." The AP notes one of Kokesh's attorneys, Mike "Lebowitz [,] said Kokesh technically is a civilian unless recalled to active duty and had the right to be disrespectful in his response to the officer. He called the proceedings against Kokesh highly unusual and said the military usually seeks to change a veteran's discharge status only if a crime has been committed."
Kevin Zeese reports, "The hearing will be held on June 4, at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, MO. Kokesh requested the hearing be held closer to Washington, DC, his current residence and a much more convenient location for the witnesses to the event in question, which happened in Washington, but was denied. He has the right to call witnesses, but has to provide for their transportation." Dave Helling (The Kansas City Star) notes, "If the tribunal answers yes, Kokesh will face the punishment a Marine Corps deputy commander has recommended in his case -- immediate discharge from the individual ready reserves, and the reduction of his original honorable active duty discharge to an other-than-honorable characterization of service. Kokesh is fighting both sanctions, he says, because he wants to protect the rights of others in the military to argue against the war." David Montgomery (Washington Post) notes that there are two others the military is going after -- one can't be determined, the other is "Liam Madden, 22, who spent seven months on the ground in Iraq, last fall helped launch the Appeal for Redress, a Web site where military personnel can directly appeal to Congress to support withdrawal of troops. Madden, of Boston, is accused of wearing his caouflage shirt at an antiwar march in Washington in January. He also is accused of making disloyal statement during a speech in February in New York, when he says he wasn't wearing his uniform." June 1st (tomorrow), there will be a press conference and Send off Rally at Union Station (in DC) for Adam Kokesh and then the Yellow Rose of Texas Peace Bus will head for Kansas City, MO.
As the military continues to crack down the war resistance movement within the US military continues to grow and that includes people such as Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Turning to Iraq where the military wants you to forget that 2 US soldiers remain missing since May 12 and the press is happy to distract you from that reality by heavy panting over the missing 5 British contractors. Reuters reports that "an Iraqi husband and wife employed by the US embassy in Baghdad" were kidnapped last week and the Islamic State in Iraq is claiming credit for the kidnapping and stating that they killed the couple Monday. They were Iraqis so there was apparently no need to send 9,000 US service members to look for them. But there is plenty of time for US service members to be used searching for 5 British citizens who elected to go to Iraq to profit from the illegal war. For the record, when the search for the then-3 missing US soldiers was going on it was billed as a US and Iraq joint-operation -- no British soldiers were brought up from, for instance, Basra to help in that search. But this is about Big Business so everyone has to drop what they were doing and go searching. Not unlike when the death of mercenaries led to the attacks on Falluja.
As if that wasn't bad enough, US service members also had to endure a visit with Senator I Will Say Anything And Sell At Anyone Just To Keep My Senate Seat. Though this century's Zell Miller has yet to embrace the GOP designation, he's all Repube. Joe Lieberman (who destroyed the 2000 recounts in his vanity appearance on NBC's Meet the Press) went to Iraq where he did and will do more damage. Lelia Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the water mark piece on Lieberman's visit. After a "lunch of roast beef and turkey sandwiches" No-Mentum, Joe-Mentum had the need to ride this photo op for all it was worth and used it sell the illegal war (violence apparently only bothers on movie screens and in rap lyrics) by saying "To pull out would be a disaster." That might have worked on his two wives (and explain the three children) but none of the rest of us are willing to let Jo-Jo get limp and drippy on top of us for one minutes and six seconds. Jo-Jo then used the soldiers to hide from reality, "They're not Pollyannaish about his. They know it's not going to be solved in a day or a month." Too bad for Jo-Jo's photo op, Fadel showed up before the senator and heard the soldiers. David Williams had "two note cards" with questions from "30 other soldiers" and the biggest one: "When are we going to get out of here." Williams told Fadel that returning for his tour in Iraq mean that he missed the birth of his child and "I didn't want to come back. . . . We're waiting to get blown up." Will Hedin tells Fadel, "We're not making any progress. It just seems like we drive around and wait to get shot at."
Then Jo-Jo crawled in with an announcement of "To pull out would be a disaster" and other assorted ass wipings. Is it any wonder the soldiers didn't speak frankly? No, and it's no surprise that Joe Lieberman can't see reality even when it sits down next to him.
Meanwhile Donald C. Hudson Jr. pens an op-ed from Iraq (Clarksville Online): ". . . I have been serving our country's military actively for the last three years. I am currently deployed to Baghdad on Forward Operating Base Loyalty, where I have been for the last four and a half months. I came here as part of the first wave of this so called 'troop surge', but so far it has effectively done nothing to quell insurgent violence. I have seen the rise in violence between the Sunni and Shiite. This country is in the middle of a civil war that has been on going since the seventh century. Why are we here when this country still to date does not want us here? Why does our president's personal agenda consume him so much, that he can not pay attention wo what is really going on here? Let me tell you a story. On May 10, I was out on a convoy mission to move barriers from a market to a joint security station. It was no different from any other night, except the improvised explosive device that hit our convoy this time, actually pierced through the armor of one of our trucks. The truck was immediately engulfed in flames, the driver lost control and wrecked the truck into one of the buildings lining the street. I was the driver of the lead truck in our convoy; the fifth out of six was the one that got hit. All I could hear over the radio was a friend from the sixth truck screaming that the fifth truck was burning up real bad, and that they needed fire extinguishers real bad. So I turned my truck around and drove through concrete barriers to get to the burning truck as quickly as I could. I stopped 30 meters short of the burning truck, got out and ripped my fire extinguisher out of its holder, and ran to the truck. I ran past another friend of mine on the way to the burning truck, he was screaming something but I could not make it out. I opened the driver's door to the truck and was immediately overcome by the flames. I sprayed the extinguisher into the door, and then I saw my roommate's leg. He was the gunner of that truck. His leg was across the driver's seat that was on fire and the rest of his body was further in the truck. My fire extinguisher died and I climbed into the truck to attempt to save him. I got to where his head was, in the back passenger-side seat. I grabbed his shoulders and attempted to pull him from the truck out the driver's door. I finally got him out of the truck head first. His face had been badly burned. His leg was horribly wounded. We placed him on a spine board and did our best to attempt 'Buddy Aid'. We heard him trying to gasp for air. He had a pulse and was breathing, but was not responsive. He was placed into a truck and rushed to the 'Green Zone', where he died within the hour. His name was Michael K. Frank. He was 36 years old. He was a great friend of mine and a mentor to most of us younger soldiers here. Now I am still here in this country wondering why, and having to pick up the pieces of what is left of my friend in our room. I would just like to know what is the true reason we are here? This country poses no threat to our own. So why must we waste the lives of good men on a country that does not give a damn about itself? Most of my friends here share my views, but do not have the courage to say anything." Nobody tell Joe Lieberman about that -- he still thinks because he went on a heavily guarded tour he knows, really knows, reality in Iraq.
Editor & Publisher notes actual reality: a new Gallup poll asked participants what they would tell Bully Boy about Iraq if they had 15 minutes? 565: "focus on getting out of Iraq," 6% own your mistakes and admit them, 7% work with the UN and study groups. And representing the mentally unbalanced, the Joe Liebermans and gag writers everywhere, 4% would tell the Bully to stay in Iraq. (I'm sure a large number would voice support for sending Bully Boy to serve in Iraq, but that wasn't asked.)
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot"
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FORMER PRESIDENTS JIMMY CARTER, GEORGE H.W. BUSH AND BILL CLINTON RUSHED TO NORTH CAROLINA TODAY TO PROVE HOW MUCH THEY LOVE THEIR LORD BILLY GRAHAM AND HATE JEWS.
THE LORD BILLY GRAHAM HAS BUILT A MONUMENT TO HIMSELF THAT COSTS $27 MILLION AND TRACES HIS LIFE FROM FETUS TO THE PRESENT. $27 MILLION IS A GREAT DEAL TO SPEND ON A MUSEUM OF YOURSELF BUT, AS ONE OF THE FLOCK SAID, "IF BILLY BOY DOESN'T DO IT, YOU THINK ANYONE ELSE WILL CREATE A BILLY GRAHAM MUSEUM?"
OF COURSE NOT AND THAT'S NOT ONLY BECAUSE NO ONE ELSE WOULD SEE THE NEED FOR A FRONT DOOR THAT WAS A 40-FOOT GLASS CROSS (RUMOR HAS IT THE GARAGE DOOR FEATURES A RENDERING OF THE LAST SUPPER) BUT ALSO BECAUSE JEW HATERS AREN'T THAT POPULAR WITH THE AVERAGE AMERICAN EVEN IF FORMER PRESIDENTS LOVE 'EM!
IN FACT, BROTHER AND LORD BILLY ENGAGED IN JEW BASHING WITH FELON TRICKY DICK (WE DON'T ACCEPT GERRY FORD'S PARDON) WHEN, IN 1972, HE SPOKE OF HOW JEWS HAD "THIS STRANGLEHOLD" ON THE MEDIA AND IT "HAS GOT TO BE BROKEN OR THE COUNTRY'S GOING DOWN THE DRAIN." HE BRAGGED ABOUT HOW HE TRICKED JEWISH PEOPLE WHO "SWARM AROUND ME AND ARE FRIENDLY TO ME" BUT "THEY DON'T KNOW HOW I REALLY FEEL ABOUT WHAT THEY'RE DOING TO THIS COUNTRY."
OUR LORD BILLY CHRIST WAS EMBARRASSED WHEN TRICKY DICK'S TAPES TURNED UP AND CLAIMED NOT TO REMEMBER HIS JEW BASHING. FORTUNATELY FOR HIM, NO ONE IN THE PRESS BOTHERED TO ASK HIM "HOW COMMON IS IT THAT MANY DON'T KNOW HOW YOU REALLY FEEL ABOUT THEM."
AFTER CAKE, THE THREE FORMER PRESIDENTS JOINED BROTHER BILLY FOR A PRIVATE SCREENING OF MEL GIBSON FILMS.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Starting with Adam Kokesh who is currently in the Individual Ready Reserve through June 18th and had the status of honorably discharged. What concerns us today (we noted this on May 23rd), and we better go slowly because AP gets lost on the details, is what's happening today. In March, Iraq Veterans Against the War took part in DC actions to bring the war home. Adam Kokesh participated in that action wearing fatigues. Following that, the military contacted him and we have to say "the military" because the coward who e-mailed him is too chicken sh*t to be known publicly. This is the point at which AP, in a throwback to their THEY-ALL-WALKED-OUT! Pearl Jam coverage, misses the point.
They leap to "Kokesh, a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War, responded with an obscenity." Major Chicken Sh*t wrote an e-mail brimming with sarcasm "I know this matter pales in comparsion with recent geopolitical events of which you have shown an interest" being only one example. And "I have a desire to let a fellow Marine know about his obligations and duty" may be folksy but it's not military standard (which is why Kokesh and Tina Richards both wondered if the e-mail was genuine). On line 43 of Kokesh's 44 lined e-mail, the f-word is used. AP reporting that Kokesh was sent "a letter" and that he "responded with an obscenity" is bad reporting. No "letter" was exchanged by either side. (Though an official letter, registered, should have been sent through the United States postal service by the military if they are investigating anyone in IRR.) And Kokesh did not respond to "a letter" with "an obscenity." He responded at length (44 lines). And let's just repeat that point outside of parentheticals: If the US military is investigating someone, the US military's means of contact needs to be official, written in an official manner -- not folksy, sarcastic e-mail. (Again, Kokesh showed the e-mail to Cloy Richards mother Tina and they both wondered about its authenticity.)
Kevin Zeese (Democracy Rising) observes, "The implications of this hearing may be far reaching, as the prosecution of a member of the inactive reserves under these circumstances is unprecedented. At stake is the right of freedom of speech for the hundreds of thousands of members of the Inactive Ready Reserve, as well as the nation's right to get the unbiased truth out of Iraq. Last week, the prosecuting attorney, Captain Sibert, offered Kokesh a general discharge. To accept this would be to allow the Marines to say that members of the IRR do not have freedom of speech, so naturally he declined." The AP notes one of Kokesh's attorneys, Mike "Lebowitz [,] said Kokesh technically is a civilian unless recalled to active duty and had the right to be disrespectful in his response to the officer. He called the proceedings against Kokesh highly unusual and said the military usually seeks to change a veteran's discharge status only if a crime has been committed."
Kevin Zeese reports, "The hearing will be held on June 4, at the Marine Corps Mobilization Command in Kansas City, MO. Kokesh requested the hearing be held closer to Washington, DC, his current residence and a much more convenient location for the witnesses to the event in question, which happened in Washington, but was denied. He has the right to call witnesses, but has to provide for their transportation." Dave Helling (The Kansas City Star) notes, "If the tribunal answers yes, Kokesh will face the punishment a Marine Corps deputy commander has recommended in his case -- immediate discharge from the individual ready reserves, and the reduction of his original honorable active duty discharge to an other-than-honorable characterization of service. Kokesh is fighting both sanctions, he says, because he wants to protect the rights of others in the military to argue against the war." David Montgomery (Washington Post) notes that there are two others the military is going after -- one can't be determined, the other is "Liam Madden, 22, who spent seven months on the ground in Iraq, last fall helped launch the Appeal for Redress, a Web site where military personnel can directly appeal to Congress to support withdrawal of troops. Madden, of Boston, is accused of wearing his caouflage shirt at an antiwar march in Washington in January. He also is accused of making disloyal statement during a speech in February in New York, when he says he wasn't wearing his uniform." June 1st (tomorrow), there will be a press conference and Send off Rally at Union Station (in DC) for Adam Kokesh and then the Yellow Rose of Texas Peace Bus will head for Kansas City, MO.
As the military continues to crack down the war resistance movement within the US military continues to grow and that includes people such as Joshua Key, Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Turning to Iraq where the military wants you to forget that 2 US soldiers remain missing since May 12 and the press is happy to distract you from that reality by heavy panting over the missing 5 British contractors. Reuters reports that "an Iraqi husband and wife employed by the US embassy in Baghdad" were kidnapped last week and the Islamic State in Iraq is claiming credit for the kidnapping and stating that they killed the couple Monday. They were Iraqis so there was apparently no need to send 9,000 US service members to look for them. But there is plenty of time for US service members to be used searching for 5 British citizens who elected to go to Iraq to profit from the illegal war. For the record, when the search for the then-3 missing US soldiers was going on it was billed as a US and Iraq joint-operation -- no British soldiers were brought up from, for instance, Basra to help in that search. But this is about Big Business so everyone has to drop what they were doing and go searching. Not unlike when the death of mercenaries led to the attacks on Falluja.
As if that wasn't bad enough, US service members also had to endure a visit with Senator I Will Say Anything And Sell At Anyone Just To Keep My Senate Seat. Though this century's Zell Miller has yet to embrace the GOP designation, he's all Repube. Joe Lieberman (who destroyed the 2000 recounts in his vanity appearance on NBC's Meet the Press) went to Iraq where he did and will do more damage. Lelia Fadel (McClatchy Newspapers) reports the water mark piece on Lieberman's visit. After a "lunch of roast beef and turkey sandwiches" No-Mentum, Joe-Mentum had the need to ride this photo op for all it was worth and used it sell the illegal war (violence apparently only bothers on movie screens and in rap lyrics) by saying "To pull out would be a disaster." That might have worked on his two wives (and explain the three children) but none of the rest of us are willing to let Jo-Jo get limp and drippy on top of us for one minutes and six seconds. Jo-Jo then used the soldiers to hide from reality, "They're not Pollyannaish about his. They know it's not going to be solved in a day or a month." Too bad for Jo-Jo's photo op, Fadel showed up before the senator and heard the soldiers. David Williams had "two note cards" with questions from "30 other soldiers" and the biggest one: "When are we going to get out of here." Williams told Fadel that returning for his tour in Iraq mean that he missed the birth of his child and "I didn't want to come back. . . . We're waiting to get blown up." Will Hedin tells Fadel, "We're not making any progress. It just seems like we drive around and wait to get shot at."
Then Jo-Jo crawled in with an announcement of "To pull out would be a disaster" and other assorted ass wipings. Is it any wonder the soldiers didn't speak frankly? No, and it's no surprise that Joe Lieberman can't see reality even when it sits down next to him.
Meanwhile Donald C. Hudson Jr. pens an op-ed from Iraq (Clarksville Online): ". . . I have been serving our country's military actively for the last three years. I am currently deployed to Baghdad on Forward Operating Base Loyalty, where I have been for the last four and a half months. I came here as part of the first wave of this so called 'troop surge', but so far it has effectively done nothing to quell insurgent violence. I have seen the rise in violence between the Sunni and Shiite. This country is in the middle of a civil war that has been on going since the seventh century. Why are we here when this country still to date does not want us here? Why does our president's personal agenda consume him so much, that he can not pay attention wo what is really going on here? Let me tell you a story. On May 10, I was out on a convoy mission to move barriers from a market to a joint security station. It was no different from any other night, except the improvised explosive device that hit our convoy this time, actually pierced through the armor of one of our trucks. The truck was immediately engulfed in flames, the driver lost control and wrecked the truck into one of the buildings lining the street. I was the driver of the lead truck in our convoy; the fifth out of six was the one that got hit. All I could hear over the radio was a friend from the sixth truck screaming that the fifth truck was burning up real bad, and that they needed fire extinguishers real bad. So I turned my truck around and drove through concrete barriers to get to the burning truck as quickly as I could. I stopped 30 meters short of the burning truck, got out and ripped my fire extinguisher out of its holder, and ran to the truck. I ran past another friend of mine on the way to the burning truck, he was screaming something but I could not make it out. I opened the driver's door to the truck and was immediately overcome by the flames. I sprayed the extinguisher into the door, and then I saw my roommate's leg. He was the gunner of that truck. His leg was across the driver's seat that was on fire and the rest of his body was further in the truck. My fire extinguisher died and I climbed into the truck to attempt to save him. I got to where his head was, in the back passenger-side seat. I grabbed his shoulders and attempted to pull him from the truck out the driver's door. I finally got him out of the truck head first. His face had been badly burned. His leg was horribly wounded. We placed him on a spine board and did our best to attempt 'Buddy Aid'. We heard him trying to gasp for air. He had a pulse and was breathing, but was not responsive. He was placed into a truck and rushed to the 'Green Zone', where he died within the hour. His name was Michael K. Frank. He was 36 years old. He was a great friend of mine and a mentor to most of us younger soldiers here. Now I am still here in this country wondering why, and having to pick up the pieces of what is left of my friend in our room. I would just like to know what is the true reason we are here? This country poses no threat to our own. So why must we waste the lives of good men on a country that does not give a damn about itself? Most of my friends here share my views, but do not have the courage to say anything." Nobody tell Joe Lieberman about that -- he still thinks because he went on a heavily guarded tour he knows, really knows, reality in Iraq.
Editor & Publisher notes actual reality: a new Gallup poll asked participants what they would tell Bully Boy about Iraq if they had 15 minutes? 565: "focus on getting out of Iraq," 6% own your mistakes and admit them, 7% work with the UN and study groups. And representing the mentally unbalanced, the Joe Liebermans and gag writers everywhere, 4% would tell the Bully to stay in Iraq. (I'm sure a large number would voice support for sending Bully Boy to serve in Iraq, but that wasn't asked.)
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Wednesday, May 30, 2007
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BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.
THE COY FRED THOMPSON DECIDED THAT THE G.O.P. NEEDED HIM TODAY!
LEAVING BEHIND HIS LACKLUSTER ACTING ("Fred the Pitbull Thompson. Thompson's an "actor" now because he manages to recite his dialogue word for word and utilize the same irritable expression in scene after scene. Having conquered the Senate and bad TV shows, if he next pursues product endorsements, we'd recommend he schill for fiber products since his sole expression can best be described as constipated.") AND MISSING THE DAYS WHEN HE WAS A D.C. LOBBYIST, THOMPSON DECIDED THAT NO MORE DAMAGE COULD BE DONE TO THE G.O.P. PRIMARY AT THIS POINT SO, WHAT THE HECK, CANNON BALL!
WELL, THAT MIGHT GET HIS PRETTY SKIN WET. HE'LL JUST STAND BY THE POOL FOR NOW AND STICK ONE TOE IN WHILE HE ANNOUNCES HE WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Currently, the ICCC count for the total number of US service members killed in the illegal war is 3470 and the number killed in May (thus far) is 119. On Monday, Free Speech Radio News used their half-hour broadcast for a special Memorial Day look at the some of the costs of the war in US with reporter Aaron Glantz in the role of reporter and anchor. Glantz spoke with Muriel Dean whose husband was killed last Christmas. James E. Dean wasn't shot dead in Iraq, he was shot dead in Maryland. Having served 18 months in Afghanistan, suffering from PTSD and with an Iraq redployment coming up (January 14, 2007), James E. Dean went to his father's farm and holed up there, alone, with the possible intent to kill himself. Muriel Dean strongly believes that, at some point, her husband would have gotten tired, gone to sleep and, when he woke up, and left the farm. Instead, the police decided the thing to do in a situation where the farm was empty, where no neighbors were close by and where the only person James E. Dean could have hurt was himself, the thing to do was to use tear gas to force him out and then shoot him dead. The report from the review conducted by Maryland's State Attorney office deemed the police behavior "assualtive and militaristic."
Aaron Glantz: Pentagon doctors estimate that 12 percent of the 1.5 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Other studies put that number higher at closer to 30 percent. As the war drags on the military is increasingly sending soldiers back to Iraq for second and third tours even if they suffer from the same type of mental illness as Patrick Resta.
Glantz also spoke with Melissa and Patrick Resta who served in Al Anbar Province in Iraq and spoke of Iraqis approaching US service members with ill children but, Resta explains, that they were threatened with court-martial if they used medical supplies on anyone other than US service members. [This point is echoed in Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.] When he returned from Iraq at the end of 2004, he was angry, unable to sleep, drinking, avoiding everyone. At Christmas, Melissa Resta asked her husband "if he wanted to split up and he told me he didn't care" which was her clue that there was something seriously wrong.
Patrick Resta has now been diagnosed with PTSD and is receiving treatment and attending college. He states: "I'm definitely not the person I was before. I was always laid back, you know relaxed, always cracking jokes and now I'm anxious and tense and have bouts of anger, have some pretty severe insomnia, have some bad nightmares and I think it's pretty standard for the men and women that have been over there. All of the people that I've talked to, it's pretty much the same -- the same set of symptons and the same problems."
Melissa Resta: There are so many of these things that I never would have thought would be a problem and now I have to think them through. The grocery store's too crowded. We also live in a city with a very high Muslim population and there are a lot of women in traditional Muslim dress and sometimes I notice that that can be unsettling for him to see that just because I think it brings back these feelings. I mean there are a lot of things that you have to take into consideration and at 27 it's not really where I had pictured myself.
Glantz also interviewed Kristy Kruger whose brother, Eric Kruger, was killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb November 2, 2006. [Kristy Kruger, a singer-songwriter, often performs concerts to benefit her brother's four children. Donations can be sent to: The Memorial Fund for Children of LTC Eric Kruger, 6460 Crystal Mountain Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80923.]
And Glantz interviewed doctors who treat PTSD including Dr. Col. Vito Imbascini who was stationed in Germany for four months last year where he treated US service members wounded in the war and discussed how body armor meant service members who might have lost a limb in Vietnam and suffered wounds to their chest and abdmonen that led to their deaths are now likely to survive "but be severely disabled for life" allowing "an extremely high number of wounded American soldiers are coming home with their arms or legs amputated" and, during his four months in Germany, he "amputated the genitals of one or two men every day."
Again, that is the Memorial Day special of Free Speech Radio News. Today the Daily Mail reported on Martin Packer, a British soldier who had self-checked out, and killed himself (Monday) in front of Joanne Hepple (his girlfriend) and her two songs as a result of being "tormented by what he had witnessed in" Iraq. War resisters Darrell Anderson and Joshua Key are among those who have disclosed their own PTSD. From Key's book, The Deserter's Tale (pp. 209-210):
A Canadian psychiatrist told me that you never truly emerge from post-traumatic stress disorder, that you simply learn to live with it.
There are certain things that I avoid these days, such as alcohol and crowds, because I fear they will trigger more of my own blackouts. I know that thousands of American soldiers have abused drugs or committed suicide after returning home from war. It would be easy to follow in the steps of many in my own family and drown my shame and my sorrows in alcohol. Alcohol, however, could lead to the very problem of suicidal depression that have plagued vets for generations.
Joshua Key is part of a growing movement of war resistance within the US military that includes Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Today, in Iraq, the violence continues as does the breeding of hostilities. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that the raids to find the 5 British contractors is even more violent than the search to find the 3 missing US soldiers (and remember, only the corpse of one of the 3 US soldiers is confirmed found) by crashing into one Iraqi police officer's "home about 2 a.m. using an armored vehicle, cuffed and blindfolded those inside, and pointed lasers at their chests. 'They were hitting us, asking, "Where are the kidnapped British?" said the man who asked that his name not be published for fear of retribution by Western forces. 'I told them that we are five brothers in the police force. How could we do that? They said OK, then tell us where are they?" Also today, the US military has confirmed what CNN reported yesterday -- remember the days when reporting was reporting and official government statements were official government states? Rest easy outlets, you can now report what CNN did yesterday: A US helicopter was shot down Monday in Iraq (which led to the death of 2 US soldiers and 6 died while attempting to rush to the scene of the crash). Repeating, the US military has confirmed what CNN reported. Read AP here and wonder why news outlets not only wouldn't report the helicopter was shot down but they also wouldn't even report it by couching it with "CNN is reporting that . . ." In other air news, Turkey, which shares a border with Iraq, has issued a request. Turkish Daily News reports the government of Turkey "formally asked the United States not to repeat any airspace violation, following an incident last week where two US F-16 fighters infringed the Turkish air corridor." And that comes as tensions continue to mount between Turkey and the Kurdish northern Iraq. CBS and AP report, "Turkey has sent large contigents of soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers to reinforce its border with Iraq amid a heated debate over whether to stage a cross-border offensive to hit Kurdish rebel bases. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged the United States and Iraq to destroy bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq as the Turkish military depoloyed more tanks and soldiers on the border."
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THE COY FRED THOMPSON DECIDED THAT THE G.O.P. NEEDED HIM TODAY!
LEAVING BEHIND HIS LACKLUSTER ACTING ("Fred the Pitbull Thompson. Thompson's an "actor" now because he manages to recite his dialogue word for word and utilize the same irritable expression in scene after scene. Having conquered the Senate and bad TV shows, if he next pursues product endorsements, we'd recommend he schill for fiber products since his sole expression can best be described as constipated.") AND MISSING THE DAYS WHEN HE WAS A D.C. LOBBYIST, THOMPSON DECIDED THAT NO MORE DAMAGE COULD BE DONE TO THE G.O.P. PRIMARY AT THIS POINT SO, WHAT THE HECK, CANNON BALL!
WELL, THAT MIGHT GET HIS PRETTY SKIN WET. HE'LL JUST STAND BY THE POOL FOR NOW AND STICK ONE TOE IN WHILE HE ANNOUNCES HE WILL HAVE SOMETHING TO ANNOUNCE AT SOME POINT IN THE FUTURE.
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Currently, the ICCC count for the total number of US service members killed in the illegal war is 3470 and the number killed in May (thus far) is 119. On Monday, Free Speech Radio News used their half-hour broadcast for a special Memorial Day look at the some of the costs of the war in US with reporter Aaron Glantz in the role of reporter and anchor. Glantz spoke with Muriel Dean whose husband was killed last Christmas. James E. Dean wasn't shot dead in Iraq, he was shot dead in Maryland. Having served 18 months in Afghanistan, suffering from PTSD and with an Iraq redployment coming up (January 14, 2007), James E. Dean went to his father's farm and holed up there, alone, with the possible intent to kill himself. Muriel Dean strongly believes that, at some point, her husband would have gotten tired, gone to sleep and, when he woke up, and left the farm. Instead, the police decided the thing to do in a situation where the farm was empty, where no neighbors were close by and where the only person James E. Dean could have hurt was himself, the thing to do was to use tear gas to force him out and then shoot him dead. The report from the review conducted by Maryland's State Attorney office deemed the police behavior "assualtive and militaristic."
Aaron Glantz: Pentagon doctors estimate that 12 percent of the 1.5 million veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan suffer from Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. Other studies put that number higher at closer to 30 percent. As the war drags on the military is increasingly sending soldiers back to Iraq for second and third tours even if they suffer from the same type of mental illness as Patrick Resta.
Glantz also spoke with Melissa and Patrick Resta who served in Al Anbar Province in Iraq and spoke of Iraqis approaching US service members with ill children but, Resta explains, that they were threatened with court-martial if they used medical supplies on anyone other than US service members. [This point is echoed in Camilo Mejia's Road from Ar Ramaid: The Private Rebellion of Staff Sergeant Mejia.] When he returned from Iraq at the end of 2004, he was angry, unable to sleep, drinking, avoiding everyone. At Christmas, Melissa Resta asked her husband "if he wanted to split up and he told me he didn't care" which was her clue that there was something seriously wrong.
Patrick Resta has now been diagnosed with PTSD and is receiving treatment and attending college. He states: "I'm definitely not the person I was before. I was always laid back, you know relaxed, always cracking jokes and now I'm anxious and tense and have bouts of anger, have some pretty severe insomnia, have some bad nightmares and I think it's pretty standard for the men and women that have been over there. All of the people that I've talked to, it's pretty much the same -- the same set of symptons and the same problems."
Melissa Resta: There are so many of these things that I never would have thought would be a problem and now I have to think them through. The grocery store's too crowded. We also live in a city with a very high Muslim population and there are a lot of women in traditional Muslim dress and sometimes I notice that that can be unsettling for him to see that just because I think it brings back these feelings. I mean there are a lot of things that you have to take into consideration and at 27 it's not really where I had pictured myself.
Glantz also interviewed Kristy Kruger whose brother, Eric Kruger, was killed in Baghdad by a roadside bomb November 2, 2006. [Kristy Kruger, a singer-songwriter, often performs concerts to benefit her brother's four children. Donations can be sent to: The Memorial Fund for Children of LTC Eric Kruger, 6460 Crystal Mountain Rd., Colorado Springs, CO 80923.]
And Glantz interviewed doctors who treat PTSD including Dr. Col. Vito Imbascini who was stationed in Germany for four months last year where he treated US service members wounded in the war and discussed how body armor meant service members who might have lost a limb in Vietnam and suffered wounds to their chest and abdmonen that led to their deaths are now likely to survive "but be severely disabled for life" allowing "an extremely high number of wounded American soldiers are coming home with their arms or legs amputated" and, during his four months in Germany, he "amputated the genitals of one or two men every day."
Again, that is the Memorial Day special of Free Speech Radio News. Today the Daily Mail reported on Martin Packer, a British soldier who had self-checked out, and killed himself (Monday) in front of Joanne Hepple (his girlfriend) and her two songs as a result of being "tormented by what he had witnessed in" Iraq. War resisters Darrell Anderson and Joshua Key are among those who have disclosed their own PTSD. From Key's book, The Deserter's Tale (pp. 209-210):
A Canadian psychiatrist told me that you never truly emerge from post-traumatic stress disorder, that you simply learn to live with it.
There are certain things that I avoid these days, such as alcohol and crowds, because I fear they will trigger more of my own blackouts. I know that thousands of American soldiers have abused drugs or committed suicide after returning home from war. It would be easy to follow in the steps of many in my own family and drown my shame and my sorrows in alcohol. Alcohol, however, could lead to the very problem of suicidal depression that have plagued vets for generations.
Joshua Key is part of a growing movement of war resistance within the US military that includes Ehren Watada, Terri Johnson, Camilo Mejia, Kimberly Rivera, Dean Walcott, Linjamin Mull, Augstin Aguayo, Justin Colby, Marc Train, Robert Zabala, Darrell Anderson, Kyle Snyder , Corey Glass, Jeremy Hinzman, Kevin Lee, Joshua Key, Mark Wilkerson, Patrick Hart, Ricky Clousing, Ivan Brobeck, Aidan Delgado, Pablo Paredes, Carl Webb, Jeremy Hinzman, Stephen Funk, Clifton Hicks, David Sanders, Dan Felushko, Brandon Hughey, Clifford Cornell, Joshua Despain, Joshua Casteel, Katherine Jashinski, Chris Teske, Matt Lowell, Jimmy Massey, Tim Richard, Hart Viges, Michael Blake and Kevin Benderman. In total, forty US war resisters in Canada have applied for asylum.
Information on war resistance within the military can be found at Center on Conscience & War, The Objector, The G.I. Rights Hotline, Iraq Veterans Against the War and the War Resisters Support Campaign. Courage to Resist offers information on all public war resisters.
Today, in Iraq, the violence continues as does the breeding of hostilities. Alexandra Zavis (Los Angeles Times) reports that the raids to find the 5 British contractors is even more violent than the search to find the 3 missing US soldiers (and remember, only the corpse of one of the 3 US soldiers is confirmed found) by crashing into one Iraqi police officer's "home about 2 a.m. using an armored vehicle, cuffed and blindfolded those inside, and pointed lasers at their chests. 'They were hitting us, asking, "Where are the kidnapped British?" said the man who asked that his name not be published for fear of retribution by Western forces. 'I told them that we are five brothers in the police force. How could we do that? They said OK, then tell us where are they?" Also today, the US military has confirmed what CNN reported yesterday -- remember the days when reporting was reporting and official government statements were official government states? Rest easy outlets, you can now report what CNN did yesterday: A US helicopter was shot down Monday in Iraq (which led to the death of 2 US soldiers and 6 died while attempting to rush to the scene of the crash). Repeating, the US military has confirmed what CNN reported. Read AP here and wonder why news outlets not only wouldn't report the helicopter was shot down but they also wouldn't even report it by couching it with "CNN is reporting that . . ." In other air news, Turkey, which shares a border with Iraq, has issued a request. Turkish Daily News reports the government of Turkey "formally asked the United States not to repeat any airspace violation, following an incident last week where two US F-16 fighters infringed the Turkish air corridor." And that comes as tensions continue to mount between Turkey and the Kurdish northern Iraq. CBS and AP report, "Turkey has sent large contigents of soldiers, tanks and armored personnel carriers to reinforce its border with Iraq amid a heated debate over whether to stage a cross-border offensive to hit Kurdish rebel bases. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday urged the United States and Iraq to destroy bases of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, in northern Iraq as the Turkish military depoloyed more tanks and soldiers on the border."
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Tuesday, May 29, 2007
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BULLY BOY PRESS & CEDRIC'S BIX MIX -- DC.
JUST WHEN IT LOOKED AS IF ROBERT ZOELLICK WOULD BE STUCK PLAYING ARCH VILLIANS IN DINNER THEATER PRODUCTIONS OF PENELOPE PITSTOP AND THE PERILS OF PAULINE, BULL BOY HAS ONCE AGAIN RESCUED HIM.
BULLY BOY ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT ZOELLICK IS THE WHITE HOUSE CHOICE TO REPLACE CAN'T KEEP IT IN HIS PANTS PAUL "THE WOLF" WOLFOWITZ!
IN AN EXCLUSIVE ONE HOUR INTERVIEW WITH THESE REPORTERS, ZOELLICK CONFESSED JOB PROSPECTS HADN'T BEEN SO GOOD. WHEN YOUR RESUME INCLUDES BEING THE FOREIGN POLICY TUTUR TO THE THEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BULLY BOY PEOPLE SEEM WARY ABOUT HIRING YOU.
"IT'S AS IF HE DID NOT KNOW 2+2=4, WHICH HE DOESN'T KNOW," EXPLAINED ZOELLICK. "WOULD YOU BE RIGHT TO BLAME THE MATH TUTOR? MAYBE BUT MAYBE NOT. I THINK WHEN PEOPLE SEE ALL THE DESTRUCTION BULLY BOY'S BROUGHT TO THE WORLD, THEY SHOULD NOT BLAME THE TUTOR BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH WITH A DUNCE."
ZOELLICK ADMITTED THAT HE DID STATE, WHEN HE RESIGNED FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR, "THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE BIG MONEY BUT JEOPARDY NEVER CALLED ME BACK. SO GOOD THINK I'LL BE MAKING TAX FREE DOLLARS AT THE WORLD BANK!"
IN A JOVIAL MOOD THROUGHOUT THE INTERVIEW, ZOELLICK SEEMED SURE THAT THE POST WOULD BE HIS. RINGING OFF, HE ASKED US TO SAY "HELLO TO MY GOOD FRIEND KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL. WE ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME AT ALL THE COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS GET TOGETHER."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Now for the topic that everyone's talking about in the press, Cindy Sheehan has stepped away. (This is also the thing that is the biggest topic in e-mails from members. I am pressed for time but I will try to note all subjects Martha and Shirley told me were in the e-mails. Also note, some of this was covered yesterday.) In an article that's gotten more attention from the mainstream media than any she's written before, Sheehan observes that "when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the 'left' started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of 'right or left,' but 'right and wrong.' . . . The most devastating conclusion that I reached this morning, however, was that Casey did indeed die for nothing. His precious lifeblood drained out in a country far away from his family who loves him, killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think. I have tired every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. 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." More about American Idol than about the dying? Couldn't be, right? Except of course Katrina vanden Heuvel -- who does not edit & publish Teen Beat nor TV Guide but who does edit & publish The Nation -- spent last week -- in her position as the woman who runs the largest circulated political weekly -- gushing over American Idol. If you check in at her blog Editor's Cut, you won't find it. Did Ruth get it wrong? Did Mike dream it up? No.
Apparently even the Peace Resister is capable of some shame or at least wanting to rewrite history. The post, which originally appeared at her Editors Cut no longer shows up. However, it ran May 24, 2007 -- the day, as Mike pointed out, when most of the left were up in arms over Congress caving on Iraq. On that day, the most important thing to Katrina vanden Heuvel, alleged editor and publisher of a political weekly, was to gush: "I have a not-so-secret addiction. American Idol. My colleagues know I've watched every week, all of 19, checking out all of the theme nights . .." Trina addressed how strange it was for the non-60s teen Katrina to cite Smokey Robinson (well, he was a womanizer) and ignore Diana Ross but we all know that, under vanden Heuvel, The Nation loves to ignore women. Regarding that embarassing post, Trina wrote: "Knock-knock, is there a grown up home? Judging by her post, no there's not. Just a little girl trying to look cool and failed because as the Washington Post noted yesterday, American Idol had six million less viewers than the year before. Woops! It's as though she bought a pair of blue jeans to fit in only to find out that she bought the wrong brand! Maybe next time she can just try acting her age." While Laura Flanders used space and time that Thursday to urge people in the US to call their Reps and Senators and demand that they not cave, Katrina vanden Heuvel winded down her (now vanished but click here for Google) ode to American Idol with: "I'm pushing this, I know. But, hell, the Idol season is over -- so why not?" Why not? Why not? Because you're not a TV critic. Because you're not 15. Because you're a grown woman who supposedly edits and publishes a politically weekly. Because it is painful to watch you embarrass yourself. Because "Idol Chatter" is beneath the publisher of The Nation, whomever occupies that position. Because Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive, spent the same day writing about the cave, not some crappy TV reality show. And because -- though no one would know it to read most issues of The Nation -- and illegal war is dragging on.
Cindy Sheehan notes: "This is my resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement." Sheehan notes the very real attacks on her and notes that has included some at Democratic Underground. Nikki Stone 1 (Democratic Underground) has written "I support Cindy Sheehan" and the bulk commenting on this thread are in strong agreement. Attacks came from all sorts of supposed friends. (Skinner, lead administrator at DU, has a statement up). But let's get real about the attacks. "You have Cindy Sheehan running around, a symbol of the peace movement. A symbol of what? Who is she? Who nominated her to be the spokesperson? She did one brave thing. I'm all for what Cindy Sheehan did last August. But people say, 'She sacrificed so much.' She didn't sacrifice anything." That lovely statement was made (or snorted) by the pig Scott Ritter when speaking to Colorado Springs Indy (an alternative weekly) in 2006. From his stye, he snorted that and he snorted a lot more. For some reason, Ritter is built up as a hero by some 'left' types. Apparently heroic is having the mainstream media report that you, over 40 years old, were twice arrested for trying to arrange meet ups with underage girls? That is the reality of the Scott Ritter (and when CNN offered him the opportunity to explain the first arrest, he refused to do so). Here's another reality of Scott Ritter: Katrina vanden Heuvel keeps publishing him. In the magazine and via Nation Books, she publishes Ritter who does not move books. Now you may, as some wrongly do, assume Ritter is a lefty. Until 2004, Ritter admits he voted Republican every time -- which he will no doubt return to doing in 2008 but how 'nice' of The Nation to give a twice busted Republican an outlet.
Now here's how polite society worked once upon a time, when someone was reported to have been twice busted for pedophilia, that was really it for them. They didn't get write ups, they didn't pen op-eds. They weren't invited on programs to chat. But for some reason, Pig Ritter is seen as a voice the 'left' needs to adopt. Scott Ritter was allowed to repeatedly attack Cindy Sheehan on his joint-tour in 2006 (The Sky is Falling Tour -- DVD set retails for $19.99 unless you're going for the NC-17 version) and everyone looked the other way and most of the press (big and small) just chuckled. That's why he felt brave enough to issue the nonsense in an interview proper (and one that didn't require him to be handcuffed -- how novel that must have been for him).
The peace movement needs to be inclusive, no question, but that doesn't translate as: "Because we have the Peace Mom, we need to have the Pedophile Man." That's not inclusion, that's stupidity on ever level (including legal liabilities should anything happen to an underage female). We washed our hands of him a long time ago in this community. He is "pig" when noted here for any reason. His name is being mentioned here (for the first time since he went public in attacking Sheehan) only because there are some who seem unable to believe it could be true. Well it is. And it's equally true that you need to ask your outlets why they have repeatedly featured a man who will not explain his criminal busts and allows to stand the mainstream media's reporting that they were for attempting to hook up with young (underage) girls online. It is amazing that the same independent media that wants to scream 'crackpot' and 'crazy' to make sure they are not associated with certain groups is perfectly happy to break bread with a pedophile. Repeatedly.
The Nation managed to cover Sheehan (in print) once -- a (bad) cover story including Cindy Sheehan in the summer of 2005 yet, somehow, The Progressive was able to feature Cindy Sheehan's writing this year (April 2007 issue). And while Katrina vanden Heuvel wants to jaw bone today about "imagining" possibilities -- quick, get thee to the new age retreat! -- it's Matthew Rothschild who yet again has to play grown up and note Sheehan's announcement: "We all owe Cindy Sheehan a huge debt of gratitude for all that she has contributed. I wish her happiness and comfort and relaxation and love and laughter in her days ahead. And I look forward to joining hands with her again somewhere down the road."
Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman noted, "And we have Cindy Sheehan, in this Memorial Day letter, saying she's going home and that, well, she expected the attack from the Republicans. It was the Democrats that hurt her the most as she criticized them." Norman Solomon noted, "Well, she's undergone and shouldered, of course, a huge burden on so many levels of human existance". Solomon was on to discuss War Made Easy, not the book, the documentary which Sean Penn narrates and is available on DVD. Like the book (this isn't a PowerPoint presentation passing as a documentary -- this is an actual documentary) it is based upon, War Made Easy traces the ways war is sold, the way propaganda is used and the willingness of big media to 'enlist'.
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot""Ruth's Report""NYT: Refugees forced into prostitution""Cindy Sheehan""Jennifer Loven does actual reporting"
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Alberto's Hospital Rounds"""MSM Defiles Itself . . ." by Trish Schuh""And the war drags on . . .""Alexander Cockburn & music"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Today, we're all War Hawks"
"Teen Queen and War Pornographer Meet Ugly""8 US service members announced dead in Iraq""NYT: What if you sold a war after people quit buying?"
"Truest statement of the week"
"Truest statement of the week II"
"A Note to Our Readers"
"Editorial: The Party of Stella Toddler"
"TV: Friendly faces aren't who we meet"
"Chrissy Explains It All (finally)"
"Still sad after all these months"
"Mailbag"
"And from the world of music . . ."
"Dennis Kucinich addresses Iraq's oil"
"Highlights"
"THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY'S 1ST VICTORY!""Those generous Democrats!""Iraq snapshot"
JUST WHEN IT LOOKED AS IF ROBERT ZOELLICK WOULD BE STUCK PLAYING ARCH VILLIANS IN DINNER THEATER PRODUCTIONS OF PENELOPE PITSTOP AND THE PERILS OF PAULINE, BULL BOY HAS ONCE AGAIN RESCUED HIM.
BULLY BOY ANNOUNCED TODAY THAT ZOELLICK IS THE WHITE HOUSE CHOICE TO REPLACE CAN'T KEEP IT IN HIS PANTS PAUL "THE WOLF" WOLFOWITZ!
IN AN EXCLUSIVE ONE HOUR INTERVIEW WITH THESE REPORTERS, ZOELLICK CONFESSED JOB PROSPECTS HADN'T BEEN SO GOOD. WHEN YOUR RESUME INCLUDES BEING THE FOREIGN POLICY TUTUR TO THE THEN PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE BULLY BOY PEOPLE SEEM WARY ABOUT HIRING YOU.
"IT'S AS IF HE DID NOT KNOW 2+2=4, WHICH HE DOESN'T KNOW," EXPLAINED ZOELLICK. "WOULD YOU BE RIGHT TO BLAME THE MATH TUTOR? MAYBE BUT MAYBE NOT. I THINK WHEN PEOPLE SEE ALL THE DESTRUCTION BULLY BOY'S BROUGHT TO THE WORLD, THEY SHOULD NOT BLAME THE TUTOR BECAUSE YOU CAN ONLY DO SO MUCH WITH A DUNCE."
ZOELLICK ADMITTED THAT HE DID STATE, WHEN HE RESIGNED FROM THE STATE DEPARTMENT LAST YEAR, "THAT I NEEDED TO MAKE BIG MONEY BUT JEOPARDY NEVER CALLED ME BACK. SO GOOD THINK I'LL BE MAKING TAX FREE DOLLARS AT THE WORLD BANK!"
IN A JOVIAL MOOD THROUGHOUT THE INTERVIEW, ZOELLICK SEEMED SURE THAT THE POST WOULD BE HIS. RINGING OFF, HE ASKED US TO SAY "HELLO TO MY GOOD FRIEND KATRINA VANDEN HEUVEL. WE ALWAYS HAVE A GOOD TIME AT ALL THE COUNCIL FOR FOREIGN RELATIONS GET TOGETHER."
FROM THE TCI WIRE:
Now for the topic that everyone's talking about in the press, Cindy Sheehan has stepped away. (This is also the thing that is the biggest topic in e-mails from members. I am pressed for time but I will try to note all subjects Martha and Shirley told me were in the e-mails. Also note, some of this was covered yesterday.) In an article that's gotten more attention from the mainstream media than any she's written before, Sheehan observes that "when I started to hold the Democratic Party to the same standards that I held the Republican Party, support for my cause started to erode and the 'left' started labeling me with the same slurs that the right used. I guess no one paid attention to me when I said that the issue of peace and people dying for no reason is not a matter of 'right or left,' but 'right and wrong.' . . . The most devastating conclusion that I reached this morning, however, was that Casey did indeed die for nothing. His precious lifeblood drained out in a country far away from his family who loves him, killed by his own country which is beholden to and run by a war machine that even controls what we think. I have tired every since he died to make his sacrifice meaningful. 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." More about American Idol than about the dying? Couldn't be, right? Except of course Katrina vanden Heuvel -- who does not edit & publish Teen Beat nor TV Guide but who does edit & publish The Nation -- spent last week -- in her position as the woman who runs the largest circulated political weekly -- gushing over American Idol. If you check in at her blog Editor's Cut, you won't find it. Did Ruth get it wrong? Did Mike dream it up? No.
Apparently even the Peace Resister is capable of some shame or at least wanting to rewrite history. The post, which originally appeared at her Editors Cut no longer shows up. However, it ran May 24, 2007 -- the day, as Mike pointed out, when most of the left were up in arms over Congress caving on Iraq. On that day, the most important thing to Katrina vanden Heuvel, alleged editor and publisher of a political weekly, was to gush: "I have a not-so-secret addiction. American Idol. My colleagues know I've watched every week, all of 19, checking out all of the theme nights . .." Trina addressed how strange it was for the non-60s teen Katrina to cite Smokey Robinson (well, he was a womanizer) and ignore Diana Ross but we all know that, under vanden Heuvel, The Nation loves to ignore women. Regarding that embarassing post, Trina wrote: "Knock-knock, is there a grown up home? Judging by her post, no there's not. Just a little girl trying to look cool and failed because as the Washington Post noted yesterday, American Idol had six million less viewers than the year before. Woops! It's as though she bought a pair of blue jeans to fit in only to find out that she bought the wrong brand! Maybe next time she can just try acting her age." While Laura Flanders used space and time that Thursday to urge people in the US to call their Reps and Senators and demand that they not cave, Katrina vanden Heuvel winded down her (now vanished but click here for Google) ode to American Idol with: "I'm pushing this, I know. But, hell, the Idol season is over -- so why not?" Why not? Why not? Because you're not a TV critic. Because you're not 15. Because you're a grown woman who supposedly edits and publishes a politically weekly. Because it is painful to watch you embarrass yourself. Because "Idol Chatter" is beneath the publisher of The Nation, whomever occupies that position. Because Matthew Rothschild, the editor of The Progressive, spent the same day writing about the cave, not some crappy TV reality show. And because -- though no one would know it to read most issues of The Nation -- and illegal war is dragging on.
Cindy Sheehan notes: "This is my resignation letter as the 'face' of the American anti-war movement." Sheehan notes the very real attacks on her and notes that has included some at Democratic Underground. Nikki Stone 1 (Democratic Underground) has written "I support Cindy Sheehan" and the bulk commenting on this thread are in strong agreement. Attacks came from all sorts of supposed friends. (Skinner, lead administrator at DU, has a statement up). But let's get real about the attacks. "You have Cindy Sheehan running around, a symbol of the peace movement. A symbol of what? Who is she? Who nominated her to be the spokesperson? She did one brave thing. I'm all for what Cindy Sheehan did last August. But people say, 'She sacrificed so much.' She didn't sacrifice anything." That lovely statement was made (or snorted) by the pig Scott Ritter when speaking to Colorado Springs Indy (an alternative weekly) in 2006. From his stye, he snorted that and he snorted a lot more. For some reason, Ritter is built up as a hero by some 'left' types. Apparently heroic is having the mainstream media report that you, over 40 years old, were twice arrested for trying to arrange meet ups with underage girls? That is the reality of the Scott Ritter (and when CNN offered him the opportunity to explain the first arrest, he refused to do so). Here's another reality of Scott Ritter: Katrina vanden Heuvel keeps publishing him. In the magazine and via Nation Books, she publishes Ritter who does not move books. Now you may, as some wrongly do, assume Ritter is a lefty. Until 2004, Ritter admits he voted Republican every time -- which he will no doubt return to doing in 2008 but how 'nice' of The Nation to give a twice busted Republican an outlet.
Now here's how polite society worked once upon a time, when someone was reported to have been twice busted for pedophilia, that was really it for them. They didn't get write ups, they didn't pen op-eds. They weren't invited on programs to chat. But for some reason, Pig Ritter is seen as a voice the 'left' needs to adopt. Scott Ritter was allowed to repeatedly attack Cindy Sheehan on his joint-tour in 2006 (The Sky is Falling Tour -- DVD set retails for $19.99 unless you're going for the NC-17 version) and everyone looked the other way and most of the press (big and small) just chuckled. That's why he felt brave enough to issue the nonsense in an interview proper (and one that didn't require him to be handcuffed -- how novel that must have been for him).
The peace movement needs to be inclusive, no question, but that doesn't translate as: "Because we have the Peace Mom, we need to have the Pedophile Man." That's not inclusion, that's stupidity on ever level (including legal liabilities should anything happen to an underage female). We washed our hands of him a long time ago in this community. He is "pig" when noted here for any reason. His name is being mentioned here (for the first time since he went public in attacking Sheehan) only because there are some who seem unable to believe it could be true. Well it is. And it's equally true that you need to ask your outlets why they have repeatedly featured a man who will not explain his criminal busts and allows to stand the mainstream media's reporting that they were for attempting to hook up with young (underage) girls online. It is amazing that the same independent media that wants to scream 'crackpot' and 'crazy' to make sure they are not associated with certain groups is perfectly happy to break bread with a pedophile. Repeatedly.
The Nation managed to cover Sheehan (in print) once -- a (bad) cover story including Cindy Sheehan in the summer of 2005 yet, somehow, The Progressive was able to feature Cindy Sheehan's writing this year (April 2007 issue). And while Katrina vanden Heuvel wants to jaw bone today about "imagining" possibilities -- quick, get thee to the new age retreat! -- it's Matthew Rothschild who yet again has to play grown up and note Sheehan's announcement: "We all owe Cindy Sheehan a huge debt of gratitude for all that she has contributed. I wish her happiness and comfort and relaxation and love and laughter in her days ahead. And I look forward to joining hands with her again somewhere down the road."
Today on Democracy Now!, Amy Goodman noted, "And we have Cindy Sheehan, in this Memorial Day letter, saying she's going home and that, well, she expected the attack from the Republicans. It was the Democrats that hurt her the most as she criticized them." Norman Solomon noted, "Well, she's undergone and shouldered, of course, a huge burden on so many levels of human existance". Solomon was on to discuss War Made Easy, not the book, the documentary which Sean Penn narrates and is available on DVD. Like the book (this isn't a PowerPoint presentation passing as a documentary -- this is an actual documentary) it is based upon, War Made Easy traces the ways war is sold, the way propaganda is used and the willingness of big media to 'enlist'.
RECOMMENDED: "Iraq snapshot""Ruth's Report""NYT: Refugees forced into prostitution""Cindy Sheehan""Jennifer Loven does actual reporting"
Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Alberto's Hospital Rounds"""MSM Defiles Itself . . ." by Trish Schuh""And the war drags on . . .""Alexander Cockburn & music"Isaiah's The World Today Just Nuts "Today, we're all War Hawks"
"Teen Queen and War Pornographer Meet Ugly""8 US service members announced dead in Iraq""NYT: What if you sold a war after people quit buying?"
"Truest statement of the week"
"Truest statement of the week II"
"A Note to Our Readers"
"Editorial: The Party of Stella Toddler"
"TV: Friendly faces aren't who we meet"
"Chrissy Explains It All (finally)"
"Still sad after all these months"
"Mailbag"
"And from the world of music . . ."
"Dennis Kucinich addresses Iraq's oil"
"Highlights"
"THIS JUST IN! BULLY BOY'S 1ST VICTORY!""Those generous Democrats!""Iraq snapshot"
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