WHITE NOISE INSANITY

Politicians…don’t piss down our backs and then tell us it’s raining!

Veteran’s Day 2008

Posted on | November 11, 2008 | 17 Comments

(picture)

It’s Veteran’s Day and Americans have elected a new president.  To me, this Veteran’s Day has a different feeling to it. I think it has a lot to do with what Colin Powell said when he went on Meet the Press recently to endorse Barack Obama and his reaction to the photo above. Here’s what Powell said (emphasis mine):

Now, I understand what politics is all about.  I know how you can go after one another, and that’s good.  But I think this goes too far.  And I think it has made the McCain campaign look a little narrow.  It’s not what the American people are looking for.  And I look at these kinds of approaches to the campaign and they trouble me.  And the party has moved even further to the right, and Governor Palin has indicated a further rightward shift.  I would have difficulty with two more conservative appointments to the Supreme Court, but that’s what we’d be looking at in a McCain administration.  I’m also troubled by, not what Senator McCain says, but what members of the party say. And it is permitted to be said such things as, “Well, you know that Mr. Obama is a Muslim.” Well, the correct answer is, he is not a Muslim, he’s a Christian.  He’s always been a Christian.  But the really right answer is, what if he is?  Is there something wrong with being a Muslim in this country? The answer’s no, that’s not America.  Is there something wrong with some seven-year-old Muslim-American kid believing that he or she could be president?  Yet, I have heard senior members of my own party drop the suggestion, “He’s a Muslim and he might be associated terrorists.” This is not the way we should be doing it in America.

I feel strongly about this particular point because of a picture I saw in a magazine.  It was a photo essay about troops who are serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.  And one picture at the tail end of this photo essay was of a mother in Arlington Cemetery, and she had her head on the headstone of her son’s grave.  And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone.  And it gave his awards–Purple Heart, Bronze Star–showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death.  He was 20 years old. And then, at the very top of the headstone, it didn’t have a Christian cross, it didn’t have the Star of David, it had crescent and a star of the Islamic faith. And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan, and he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was 14 years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he can go serve his country, and he gave his life.  Now, we have got to stop polarizing ourself in this way.  And John McCain is as nondiscriminatory as anyone I know.  But I’m troubled about the fact that, within the party, we have these kinds of expressions.

So, when I look at all of this and I think back to my Army career, we’ve got two individuals, either one of them could be a good president.  But which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time?  And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities–and we have to take that into account–as well as his substance–he has both style and substance–he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president.  I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the world–onto the world stage, onto the American stage, and for that reason I’ll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.

Our soldiers are a reflection of our country, meaning, they are black, white, Hispanic, [insert another race here], gay, straight, married, single, young, middle aged, and are either Christian, Muslim, Catholic, Jewish, and [insert another religion here] or they have their own made up faith with no title. And we’re all Americans despite what the right wingers think should be the standard bearer within our society, which to them is: CHRISTIAN WHITES ONLY.

I’m sorry, but this attitude isn’t going to pass anymore. It’s over.

President Obama in 2009 is going to keep this theme at the forefront that we are all Americans. He knows our country is made up of all and for any of us to go after one group, because of their faith or because of the color of their skin is just ludicrous. As Colin Powell pointed out so eloquently when he asked, “….what if he is?”, referring to how some in our country were labeling Barack a Muslim when he’s not. Exactly right. So what if our president, our soldiers, or our neighbors are Muslim or of a faith different from ourselves? We are all Americans for crying out loud!!!

I have to share this with you…

This morning on Joe Scarborough’s, Morning Joe, he got all pissy about the New York Times who over the years would print stories of how our soldiers came back from Iraq and had gunned down Americans (either family members or strangers on the street). According to Joe, the only kind of reporting the NYT or any other outlet should be focusing only on is the positive when it comes to our soldiers. Well, focusing on the positive is a good thing, but what Scarborough is missing (as usual) is the reason why the NYT and other newspapers choose to do stories like this is for Americans to know that our soldiers need MENTAL HELP  ALSO and not just physical help. It’s guys like Scarborough who neglect our soldiers in their greatest time of need….when our soldiers come back to America from the battlefield to find their nation not taking the time to understand what they need to feel normal again.

And it isn’t helping that the US military is now using Barack Obama as a recruiting tool by advertising Barack will be ending the occupation of Iraq so now is the best time to sign up! I’m sorry, but this is shameless.

Anyways…

As always, we remember our soldiers who have sacrificed past and present and we remember their families who live on to keep the voice of their loved one strong. I’m also thinking of Mr. Ernest, whom I met the night of the election, when I picked him up at his home to bring him to vote. He’s a USMC veteran and proud of it and was casting his vote that night for Barack Obama, because he too was sick of the stuff being unfairly said about Barack. Ernest felt it was his duty to make his voice known despite what his friends were saying about Barack in defense of John McCain. Hear, hear! Isn’t this what our veterans have fought for? For us to be able to freely cast our vote in a land that is made up of all races, creeds, and colors without backlash? Yep. It is.

We thank our Veterans as always!

  • Share/Bookmark
Category: Barack Obama, Integrity, Military, Patriotism, Politics
Tags: Barack Obama > Politics > Veterans

Comments

17 Responses to “Veteran’s Day 2008”

  1. democommie
    November 11th, 2008 @ 9:17 am

    KayinMaine:

    Great post. Thank you.

    Pardon me if I seem a bit intemperate, but I really don’t care much for that Mr. Scarboro’s tone—the fucking asshole.

    Always be grateful to the soldiers, but not the dickwads (draft dodgers, by and large) who put them in the situation they are in now.

    Meanwhile, John McCain is honoring a decorated veteran–in the only way he knows how:

    http://www.huffingtonpost.com/don-mcnay/max-clelands-chance-for-r_b_142365.html

  2. kayinmaine
    November 11th, 2008 @ 9:29 am

    Thanks Democommie. McCain & Chambliss are shameful assholes. I guess it’s okay for McCain to smear a Vietnam war hero such as Max Cleland, because according to McCain and other right wingers, they’re republicans so they can do whatever they want.

    Did McCain & Chambliss lose both their legs and an arm? Nope! Assholes.

    It’s all about Karma, Democommie. It’s coming and I hope it’s obvious when it happens so we get to applaud loudly.

  3. kayinmaine
    November 11th, 2008 @ 9:38 am

    Jayt of FDL has more on Joe Scarborough:

    http://firedoglake.com/2008/11/11/rug-story/#comment-1720975

    Time to go Joe! America doesn’t need your hate and your divisiveness anymore!

  4. JFH
    November 11th, 2008 @ 11:00 am

    I love how y’all cherry-pick your veterans… Today is not a day to discuss political differences; how about just thanking John McCain and Cleland… and to a far lesser extent me for our service to our country.

  5. carol
    November 11th, 2008 @ 11:40 am

    Thanks to all our Veteren’s this day.

  6. clif
    November 11th, 2008 @ 2:05 pm

    Damn JFH, it seems YOU’RE the one cherry picking here.

    That veteran who gave the ultimate sacrifice was also honored by General Colin Powell.

    I guess you think you should be some sort of gate keeper by your hate filled comment.

    Because he gave more then anybody YOU mentioned.

  7. Grant in Texas
    November 11th, 2008 @ 2:20 pm

    Joy Behar read the statistics on the Iraq War today on “The View”… the number of Americans killed so far, the estimates of Iraqi civilians killed, the half trillion price tag of that war so far. She was immediately attacked by prissy reich-wing Elisabeth Hasselbeck (who hates to ever hear anything negative that can be applied to Bush) saying today was a day to honor the LIVING vets out there who put their lives on the line so that we here at home could have freedom and be safe. She chided Behar for being political. If we are only honoring living vets, then why did the Dick Cheney today put a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldiers/Sailors in front of the cameras? Of course since photos of our Iraq War dead are banned by BushCo, we are not to think about their folly in the Middle East.

  8. clif
    November 11th, 2008 @ 3:50 pm

    BTW JFH,

    thank you for your service.

  9. Uncle Fester Lurks
    November 11th, 2008 @ 4:18 pm

    Max Cleland!?! Oh yeah that great American hero who sacrificed arms and limbs while defending our country, the guy who the republikkkans like Chambliss unmercifully and despicably smeared and attacked. I didn’t hear any republicans denounce those smears and attacks.

    But JFH, you are right, this isn’t a day for partisnship bickering we should all honor the brave men and women who have fought for our freedom and sadly for the interests of corporate America.

    To Clif & JFH, thank you for your brave service in defending our country abroad.

  10. clif
    November 11th, 2008 @ 4:34 pm

    One veteran’s request.

    On this Veterans Day we honor the service and sacrifice of veterans. We do this with parades, wreath laying and many people silently going to grave sites to visit the last resting place of a comrade or loved one. All of these are appropriate ways to honor those who donned the uniform and served to defend this country.

    However there is another way we need to start honoring veterans, which can’t change what happened but could change the future of veterans. In this I mean to have the civilians make sacrifices along with veterans. These sacrifices could include, requiring the politicians who have the ability to send tens of thousands of mostly young people into harm’s way, to also be required to mandate the citizens who remain behind pony up and pay as you go for the deployments and wars those politicians decide are worthy of the young soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen sacrifice sometimes in life and limb.

    We have in our history now two wars where the American civilians were not asked to sacrifice while troops marched off to war, Vietnam and Iraq. In both cases the wars were totally optional, and pushed hard by certain political groups to achieve foreign policy goals which didn’t necessarily align with the needs or goals of ordinary Americans security. In both cases life in America remained mostly normal and unless you knew someone personally involved you really were not affected in any major way.

    In both cases the military did its job, however the political goals of the wars were never fully explained when they were started. Also the strategy for what winning looked like was lacking and how militarily it could be achieved was never properly explained either by the generals on the ground and in the pentagon, nor by the politicians pushing for the wars to continue in perpetuity. In both cases the stated reasons for the wars never matched the realistic ability of a military solution for political success. In both cases the military was asked to conquer an enemy which resided in the land who never could be separated from the rest of the civilian populace. And in both cases the politicians at home never faced up to the reality they were asking the military to do something which the military was not designed to do, conquer hearts and minds with bullets and bombs.

    So in the future, to help the American people from making this mistake a third time, I propose that any military involvement that is NOT totally defensive in nature, i.e. one where we send our troops to defend a certain faction in another country or enact regime change, the mandatory requirement for the congress to RAISE taxes to pay the expenses of the troops and combat in real time. No waivers, no presidential signing statement, they ask the American taxpayer to foot the bill or cancel the optional foreign war. Also when the troops come home there is NO question about a GI bill and medical care, it is mandated to be included in the actual request at the start of combat, not after the troops have done their job, no more troops homeless, asking for help.

    In this manner the American people will really pay attention. The propaganda machines which are used to push hard for wars will be called out and checked much closer before troops face the ultimate sacrifice. Unless the rest of the country has to get their wallets out and pay for it, the troops stay home. It doesn’t put the rest of the country in the harm’s way, but it does get them very interested in whether we really need to march off to another political use of our military with has no National Security need that can be justified.

    So in the future if you really want to honor the veterans, ask your representatives to step up and ask YOU to sacrifice a little while you ask the members of the military to sacrifice a lot.

  11. kayinmaine
    November 11th, 2008 @ 7:01 pm

    Great idea, JFH. Start honoring with all your heart….JOHN KERRY! I await your tribute to him. Thanks pal-Great-American-Who-Will-Also-Honor-President-Obama-Because-The-Neocons-Always-Support-Their-President-Right-or-Wrong!

  12. Philip
    November 11th, 2008 @ 8:09 pm

    Yes, this is Veterans Day/Armistice Day and a day to remember all those who fought in our armed forces or sat at a desk somewhere in the Pentagon telling others to fight our wars of convenience, using our armed forces as personal security for the lying, cheating, thieving corporations of the world who can’t actually declare war on their own.

    Today is Veterans Day, once known as Armistice Day. Remind me again, someone. What is Memorial Day for? What is July 4th for? When did it become customary to say “Thank you for your service”? Is that a line from the cover of a Hallmark card? I truly am becoming more and more disgusted at hearing that line coming from the lips of cowards who did everything they could to avoid military service, especially during the days of draft. Joining the National Guard in the 60’s to avoid going to Vietnam was not honorable.

    Nothing disgusted me more than watching Dick Cheney laying a wreath in honor of all who died, knowing he’s done all he can to strip freedom from the citizens of America and the rest of the world. He is one of the least honorable people in the world and of all America’s citizens, he’s the least qualified to even enter Arlington Cemetery after all he’s done. His appearance at Arlington was a disgrace.

    I’m tired of people telling me I shouldn’t say these things when people have fought and died for my right to say them. Well, guess what? Plenty of my own family fought in America’s wars, all the way back to the beginnings of our country. Stop acting like I owe you something. No one is over in Iraq and Afghanistan and everywhere else in the world fighting for my right of free speech. That war was fought long ago.

    We can honor our veterans by taking care of our veterans. Lay a wreath on the graves of our veterans but at the same time, lay some support in the form of assistance and healthcare to all our living veterans coming back from war who need help making the adjustment back to ordinary day-to-day life. We honor them more with action than words.

  13. Uncle Fester Lurks
    November 11th, 2008 @ 8:59 pm

    Heh…I’m really pissing off the lunatic fringe over at Infowars.com and to think I used to like reading Alex Jones articles.

  14. kayinmaine
    November 11th, 2008 @ 9:07 pm

    LOL Uncle. What are you saying that is pissing them off?

  15. Uncle Fester Lurks
    November 11th, 2008 @ 10:38 pm

    Kay, they think Barack is going to take our guns away, seize everyones 401K’s and put them in the SS fund, Make a civilian brownshirted military force (your new thread), some think he is the anti-christ…

    I keep calling them delusional McCain and Paul supporters and to get over it, their candidate lost, etc,etc…

    Hmm how long have we heard that the government is going to take our guns away? The government knows damn well if they ever attempted to do so their would be a revolution and they are outnumbered. But you cannot convince those morons over at Infowars about anything logical.

    Hell there used to be a video of some guy filming the outside of some company in the woods of Georgia claiming all of the containers stacked up are suppose to be caskets for millions of Americans. God, I thought I was a conspiracy nutcase but the people over at Infowars make me seem completely sane.

  16. Grant in Texas
    November 11th, 2008 @ 11:15 pm

    Wayne LaPierre, president of the NRA believes that Obama will be the “most anti-gun president in American history. I don’t think he’ll be able to stand up to that anti-Second Amendment wing of the Democratic party that’s just been spoiling for chance to ban America’s guns.”

    Of course such rhetoric has been very good for gun sales since the election across the nation.

    http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/nation/6101723.html

    Dan Cooper, who co-founded Cooper Firearms of Montana, Inc., was forced to resign by his Board of Directors after he endorsed Barack Obama last month.

    http://elections.foxnews.com/2008/10/31/montana-gun-manufacturer-urges-obama-endorsing-company-president-resign/

  17. Uncle Fester Lurks
    November 11th, 2008 @ 11:37 pm

    Hey Kay did that scumbag troll David Drakes lurk here tonight? Just wondering, because the loser suddenly showed up at Infowars to attack me. Heh! He thinks as a blind Bush supporter he will get approval and or sympathy over there.

WordPress SEO fine-tune by Meta SEO Pack from Poradnik Webmastera