The template that keeps getting repeated is: how dare they (A) or (B) when they are not sufficiently (C) or funding (D), all variables relating to war… but concerning different people in different situations.

This is just attack for attack’s sake. Here’s why:

A veteran and his wife, feeling intense pride over the sacrifices of today’s generation at war, put a yellow ribbon on their car. It probably isn’t even the only thing that they are doing; despite the blather of the left, these people are very smart, have had careers, have lived their lives, and they know that a small yellow ribbon is merely one small token. They may be supporting the troops in other ways, as well… helping to put together care packages and the like. They may even oppose the reasons behind the war, but have found more sane and sensible ways to argue against it (sand and reasonable people with good arguments get things done… disjointed rants based on exaggeration and innuendo do not) And they know that their yellow ribbon has nothing to do with veteran’s benefits that *affect them* as much as any vet.

Enter our heroic DU-type. He’s mad that Bush stole the election … twice! And his left wing talking points tell him that Bush is so inept that he personally took away all veteran’s benefits right smack dab in the middle of a war. So he sees the yellow ribbon on Bush’s car… oops, no, the veteran’s car… and gets angry because the veteran spent a dollar on a yellow ribbon while Bush is screwing veterans. So he rips the yellow ribbon off, satisfied that he is supporting the troops by defacing the symbol of one veteran to honor another veteran. And, really, this is just a hop, skip and a jump from running down to the local cemetary and finding some vet’s graves to urinate on, because he might have supported the war if he was still alive, too.

The older vet’s yellow ribbon has zip nada nothing to do with the other complaints… but it sure makes a great zinger, doesn’t it? “How daaaare you put that wingnut yellow ribbon on your car while Bush is yadda yadda yadda” It’s a complete non-sequitur, but here it comes, over and over and over and over again, even as the accusations fly that *others* are missing the point. Missing the point is almost the very *definition* of the today’s left. Invading Iraq? “BWAH!!! SADDAM wasn’t behind 9-11!!!” It’s utter and complete *mastery* of missing the point.

If people didn’t want this event, they wouldn’t have it. Simple as that. It has nothing to do with yellow ribbons, or veterans affairs, or any left wing complaint. These complaints are simply the dull drone of joyless and ineffective crabs.

More info at http://afsc.org/iraq/washpost.htm

Jeff is wrong on this one and right on the WTC Memorial. Even.

There is a very distinct difference in this Pentagon Walk and the WTC Memorial. I mentioned it in my previous post. The people who worked and died in DC supported the DoD. They would have liked this. They would have understood it and supported it and therein lies the difference.
We do not have such a clear indicator at the WTC. Both on 9/11 but distinct differences.

And the troops…….the voluntary troops that all signed on dotted lines. I would lay odds that they had rather see a march/concert than all the whining, finger pointing and faux concern. These are tough USA servicemen. Tough professional soldiers. Men and Women. They can dance.

Catchphrases like “support the troops” won’t bail you out of this one. Nor will they help the troops, who will keep dying for your “tax cuts”. The tax cuts you really didn’t see much of, once you figure in the local tax increases to make up for disappearing federal funding, the fact that gas and heating oil are up 60%, etc., etc. Look, I know it’s tough to admit you got suckered, but if you really supported the troops, if you were a real patriot, you’d suck it up, admit you were wrong, and you’d demand better going forward. But you continue to let president fucknuts coast on every lie.

You want to improve morale? How about putting all your writing energy into asking why our soldiers don’t have proper armor. Ask about Niger, falsified “intelligence” leading up to the invasion, Downey Street, mobile “chemical weapons labs”, etc. EVERYTHING you were told was a good reason for invading another nation was false. When will you have the stones to admit that?

And who are the “you people” that you refer to? Certainly not me. Magnets don’t make my blood boil, criminially negligent presidents and advisors do. I laugh at the magnets. I feel sorry for people who think they matter. I realize America is a shallow culture, but still…

I read an article in the WSJ, about how aprons are all the rage, and how one housewife (who doesn’t cook of course) just bought 3 designer aprons, to wear to parties she’s having catered. What’s that, $1000? But I’m sure she spent $1.99 on a yellow ribbon for her 8mpg Escalade, too, so she’s done her part.

I can’t help but marvel at the stupidity of people who have their “support the troops” magnets right next to their Bush/Cheney stickers. The irony is lost on you, isn’t it? Well, we’ve already established that you’re nonthinkers, so why am I surprised?

12 years from now, when we’re still in that fucking mess, you and your cronies will be straightjacketed up in padded white rooms, drooling on yourselves, babbling “support the troops”, “tax cuts”, “education president”, “uniter not a divider”. And you’ll never have understood the damage you’ve caused.

Cheney will be dead, Butthead will be raking in the speaking fees (I’m a war President, he he, it’s hard work, he he. Madman, terra, 9/11. War president, he he.), and our soldiers will still be getting the shit bombed out of them.

And if it does *not* support the troops, Angelos, you people rip it off of my dad’s car (a veteran) why? If it has no real connection or symbolism, why does the sight of it make your blood boil? If what you say is true, then it should be something that doesn’t even catch your eye. But that’s not the case: leftists on DU rant about them endlessly, claim that they want to shove them up people’s asses, hope that they die, etc.

And it makes Angelos’ top explode.

This is because leftist claims of “supporting the troops” is a fairy tale, a con job, a verbal circus trick. Calls to “bring them back home” does not “support the troops”, it undermines their mission and makes their situation more dangerous. The troops, especially now, know what’s going on at home. During the Clinton administration, nobody seemed to care if they were overseas or not. Now, they know that people are putting up ribbons, holding events in their honor, keeping them in hopes and prayers.

This is what the left is trying to put a stop to? Stopping hopes and prayers? Ripping yellow ribbons off of the cars?

whodat, this may seem disconnected, but it’s all about morale, at home and abroad. During WWII, we had a powerful ally in Hollywood, yet the military still did much towards strengthening morale. Now, Hollywood, in the form of the Moores, Mahrs, and other jokers, would like nothing better than to see Bush disgraced in Iraq, even though the cost to America would be depthless.

Where is the support from morale coming from, then? It is indeed the government’s job to support morale during wartime. I understand JJ’s being a bit dubious about this, and that’s valid. I think it’s the over-the-top responses here that got to me. People trying to actively foul this effort and sabotage morale are insufferable in trying to criticize the efforts of others to keep it strong.

You may see it as an extension of all that but I think you’re wrong. And I don’t see how all the things you brought up have anything to do with this event.

Angelos-
your post/rant reminded me of Alec Baldwin in Glen Garry Glen Ross.

Forced extension of service times (you have two weeks left on your 6-year guard tour? Sorry, you’re going to Iraq for a year) amounts to conscription.

If you hadn’t noticed, the REST of American has woken up to the fraud that is being perpetrated in the name of “freedom.” What are we down to now, 33% support for the “war”?

If you had the intellectual fortitude, you’d get out from behind your increasingly weak cry of “support the troops” and you’d ask some tough questions. You’d also demand that your president answer the tough questions.

But no, your fearless leader is hiding out in his phony ranch, posing with chainsaws for photo-ops, and HE’S FUCKING AFRAID OF A CIVILIAN WOMAN WHO WANTS TO ASK HIM A QUESTION TO HIS FACE!!!

Waaaaah, I don’t wanna answer questions! Waaaah, I don’t know the answer to fucking anything. I just do what Karl and Donny say. Waaaah!

Support the troops? Fuck you. Bring them home. Send the Young Republicans and the Warbloggers and the other 101st Fighting Keyboarders over. Go youself. All of you wingers can go die for an Iraqi’s freedom. Oh, wait. You and kat and the rest of the wingnuts don’t actually like muslims. You just like being lied to day in and say out. It makes you feel safe, in your feeble little cocoon or wingerhood.

Remember - smart people don’t need leaders. “Leaders” only attract the weak. Do you really feel lead by chimpy? Really?

Well, go dance around to Clint Black then. Support the troops. Oh, wait. The FBI wanred of terrorist threats on September 11th. In NY, LA, and Chicago. Surprisingly, not in DC. Hmmm. What do you want to bet they had to edit their report? Wouldn’t want to put a damper on your freedom walk. Nope, no threat in DC, just in those other cities.

It’s OK Carson. Relax. Ask a question of your “leaders.” It’s what a real American qould do.

DemocraticUnderground members have proudly recounted spewing off at people with yellow ribbons, tearing them off cars, etc. They “support the troops” SOOO much that they trash the visible symbol meant to remind us of where they are and what they’re doing. Nobody’s asking *them* to display a yellow ribbon, mind you; it is this seething anger over the behavior of others. Similarly, nobody’s asking them to take part in any event suggested or sponsored by the Pentagon.

Although JJ looks down at this particular event, he is hardly exempt from the hatred of the left over “celebrations” of war. Here’s Atrios today trashing JJ for using the word “warblog” in his sitemeter.

If I was a soldier overseas without adequate armor or weaponry and saw a happy go lucky, costly parade, I would be extremely pissed.

The taste of hatred and defeatism is delicious, yet the exhibition of pride and morale is repugnant. Good grief, you people are a sad, sick lot.

I *will* celebrate 9/11… the fact that we survive, that we have the power to fight against the monsters who want to spread fear and violence. I only feel sad for those who are filled with bile, whose lives are blindered by base emotions, who seem to hate their fellow man with as much vigor as Islamic extremists. And the only ill I wish for them is… for their own future safety and prosperity… that their loud, public insanities come to naught.

The Pentagon here seems to simply be doing its job, part of which is to keep morale up. Hollywood used to help. But today’s Hollywood is, as Democrats like to say, “voting against its self-interests” by standing *against* the enemies of an international movement that would destroy them first.

If you think this walk/concert is unseemly, leave the type of music out of it. I disagree about what the troops would think about this. I think they will appreciate it as a sign of support.

I listen to the nitpicking and I think Vietnam. Two sides on that war with a draft policy if you wanted to soldier or not. Everyone fighting this war signed on the dotted line. Probably some wish they hadn’t but most do not support that view. It is that majority that will appreciate anything that brings attention to their efforts. I do not like it that the words Pentagon, Defense Dept,etc are being used almost as dirty words. I doubt if the professional soldier does either. The people who died at the Pentagon supported the Pentagon. So what do you think they would like?

Yesterday we learned that the Department of Defense is planning a massive “America Supports Your Freedom Walk” for the fourth anniversary of 9/11. Bracket for a moment the heinous company in which this this places the Bush administration (Cuba, Iran, and China, just to name a few of the regimes that regularly utilize state-sponsored marches and rallies as propaganda tools), and bracket for a moment the fact that this march for “freedom,” which will take place on public streets, apparently requires participants to register with the DoD. There’s one aspect of this whole mess I’m surprised hasn’t received more attention. Check out this paragraph from the Pentagon’s press release:

“The walk was made possible with the help of several local in-kind supporters, including Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Subway, Washington Post, Lockheed Martin, WTOP, ABC/WJLA-TV Channel 7 and News Channel 8, and the Washington Convention & Tourism Corporation, according to the Freedom Walk Web site.”

I count four different media outlets in that list. Funny, I thought it was the role of the press to challenge not collude with the government when it attempts to disseminate propaganda. And propaganda this is, let’s be very clear. One supposes that the suits at the Washington Post Company who OK’ed the partnership with the DoD figured the sentiment of “supporting the troops” is so anodyne as to be wholly uncontroversial, akin to news anchors wearing flag pins on their lapels. If the rally were sponsored by some independent group of citizens, that’d be one thing (though still strange), but it is being organized by the United States military, the same entity currently administering and promoting an increasingly unpopular war, one that remains the single biggest news story in the nation and the subject of much public debate. This is a not a “support the troops” rally but rather, a “support the war” rally. Media outlets simply have no business granting their imprimatur to such a crudely political stunt.

“It’s a Texas Two Step, Jitterbug or Waltz depending on the music, thank you.”

I hope for your sake that that comment was dripping with sarcasm, I mean come the fuck on. Jesus christ man do you seriously believe that a pro-CUNTry rally/pro-war/pro-dumbhickswhovotedforbush rally is going to be appreciated by the family members of those who died in the pentagon? I mean come on, its going to be like…”Hey Elaine remember when your husband was killed in the pentagon 4 years ago? Yeah you do? Good, because we’re gonna stir up the memories of that terrible day with a could ole’ fashioned shindiggity country music concert. Maybe that’ll get you to take out that mini-skirt you put away in college and knock out a few of the cobwebs if ya know what I mean.”

(Next scene: Elaine getting nailed in the reflecting pool by a twit in a cowboy hat with “How do you like me now!” blaring in the background)

I mean seriously

To particiapte in the march for Freedom, you have to register - name/telephone number/address.

To WALK ON A PUBLIC STREET?!?!

Freedom indeed!

WHat happen if I’m in DC, walking from my hotel to a restaurant, that happend to be along the route of the march? Will I not be allowed, because I haven’t resigtered?

“Hey you, did you inform us ahead of time of your intent to walk along this route?”

Sig fucking heil.

Exactly. Just like the inaugaration that was 40+ million dollars. It’s absolutely absurd. As if we have any money to be throwing around.

If we are going to do something for the troops, then let’s really do it. Send
Clint Black to sing for the troops, not here in the US.

But as always is the case, you can’t expect rich people to understand how allocate and respect money.

I just realized that my comment made it sound like you were using the word “Soviet” in the way I described. I don’t actually think you used it that way, I was just making a general aside statement. Ooops!

Imagine. It’s September 11, 2009. President Clinton is in the White House. Pelosi is Speaker of the House. For the fourth year, a march begins at the Pentagon and heads toward the Mall.

But this time, anger at the “betrayal” of American troops “spontaneously” erupts, and the march — bigger than ever — a million strong — keeps marching. To the White House. To Capitol Hill. What an opportune time for a “patriotic” coup.

And who said Rummy is incapable of advance planning?

My problem with it is admittedly the choice of music. It might be a petty thing, but to have an event that’s meant to honor as large a group of people as “America” with something as polarizing as country music, well, it’s just asking for people to rise up in arms.

At least Live 8 and other similar benefit concerts had a few artists to choose from, so at least for the most part, everyone’s personal taste was accounted for at some point in the show.

Anyways, I live 10 miles from the Pentagon, and my vehement dislike of country music will happily keep me home on 9/11. Thanks, but no thanks.

Btw, “jingopalooza” is my new favorite word.

I second the move to give the money spent to arming and equipping our troops.

Lynn:

How did you get from a military parade to tax receipts? But of course, the one-time tax break for bringing corporate earnings back from overseas (5% as opposed to the usual 30+%) brought in immense amounts, as did the tax break for heavy equipment purchases which was also one-time.

As an alternative to the vicarious thrills and heart-tugging of “Over There”, I would suggest watching “Gunner Palace”, a recent documentary that shows the uncomfortable reality soldiers face in Iraq.