It's another wonderful day in the neighborhood as the morally vacant of conservatism teach us how to scrap together bits and pieces of barely plausible fabrications to drag a Marine veteran through their homemade gutter, Duncan Hunter and the Swiftboating of Jack Murtha and They're Gonna Swiftboat Murtha. None of these people are self policing as the Fox opinion pundits would have us believe. If some folks disagree with Rep. Murtha then fine. Why not state the issue they disagree with and explain their points with some supporting evidence. It seems like genuine heroes like Rep. Murtha and Senator Kerry threaten their tiny bubble of reality. Democratic veterans carry a certain moral weight because of their deeds and accomplishments, which cast a shadow over the wingnutterys never ending commercial message that the military is not the nation's defenders against foreign enemies, but the embodiment of conservative militarism. In the conservative mindset the military is a tool of international elimination-ism and all members should be suitably indoctrinated especially when serving under a conservative president that flicked his fork tonque and sent 2,500 Americans to their deaths.The fact the Democrats have not only served, but served above and beyond the call of duty is like having a pebble in their jack boots. That reality is too much for conservatives to bare. So rather then deal with real issues they all emerge from thier cocoon-like bunkers to do their version of tabloid rag politcs.
Speaking of lying America into war, Warnings on WMD 'Fabricator' Were Ignored, Ex-CIA Aide Says
In late January 2003, as Secretary of State Colin Powell prepared to argue the Bush administration's case against Iraq at the United Nations, veteran CIA officer Tyler Drumheller sat down with a classified draft of Powell's speech to look for errors. He found a whopper: a claim about mobile biological labs built by Iraq for germ warfare.
Drumheller instantly recognized the source, an Iraqi defector suspected of being mentally unstable and a liar. The CIA officer took his pen, he recounted in an interview, and crossed out the whole paragraph.
A few days later, the lines were back in the speech. Powell stood before the U.N. Security Council on Feb. 5 and said: "We have first-hand descriptions of biological weapons factories on wheels and on rails."
The sentence took Drumheller completely by surprise.
These two current events should cause some people to stop and wonder about priorities. To wonder about America and its future. We have a political movement that scanning the landscape of political issues has no qualms what so ever about continuing a conservative tradition of character assassination against veterans and choosing to cover up and pile on the lies about still other lies that has cost American and Iraqi blood and the nation almost 9 billion dollars a month.
update: came across this post at Daily Kos, a copy of an e-mail sent by a conservative expressing his thoughts about the death of Jane Hamsher's Mom,
Condolensces regarding Jane's mom
"Actually f–k that whore! And f–k you bitches!! LMAO!!! Especially your censore whore intern!!"
Base Rally Backs 8 Accused Troops
Frequently we hear calls for withholding judgement until guilt is proved and while that is a noble idea it may be carried too far when after someone is charged with a crime based on the available evidence there is a demand for their release and the automatic assumption that a trial isn't even necessary. I found this a little disturbing,
"I think they should all be freed — it's unjust what's happening to them," said Jani Tubis, 46, a real estate agent from San Diego. "They were just doing their job."
This opinion is not based on the facts or morality, but an appeal to emotions. The sentiment expressed, even if was meant not to creates the impression that even if those charged did commit murder they should be exempt from the rule of military conduct and discipline. I sympathize with these troops families, but the cause of justice would be best served if those accused were given the best legal council and then let justice run its course.
Hey Andy, did you hear about this one? Tell me, are you locked in the punch?
Hey Andy, are you goofing on Elvis? Hey baby, are we losing touch?
If you believed they put a man on the moon, man on the moon
If you believe there's nothing up my sleeve, then nothing is coolMoses went walking with the staff of wood. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Newton got beaned by the apple good. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Egypt was troubled by the horrible asp. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
Mister Charles Darwin had the gall to ask. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
from Man On The Moon by R.E.M. (Berry/Buck/Mills/Stipe)
The Long Goodbye 