A technical objection is the first refuge of a scoundrel.
Heywood Broun
Not a Recent Letter to the Editor, But Still Relevant
I came across this story when I was on the American Legion website (for an unrelated segment below) when I came across this rant by an Iowa State lecturer, some piece of work named Thomas Walker (HT Mothax). Walker was upset because the College Republicans were organizing a care package drive for deployed military overseas (my edits):
Donating toiletries, boxed and canned foods, socks and beanies to U.S. soldiers who can already deodorize themselves, who eat better than the poorest Americans and who are gallantly garbed, is an eleemosynary travesty. Soldiers are to Republicans as fetuses are to them: prized. But once out of the womb-like army, Republican solicitude for hapless veterans goes where extracted zygotes go. What are they doing for us? Nothing. But against us they're doing a lot: creating anti-American terrorists in the countries they occupy. They chose to leave home. Why do Republicans care so much about the military? Because the military-industrial complex is dear to their simplistic laissez-faire fantasies: a bottom-line patriotism that excludes the people at the bottom.Now if I had to respond to every stupid thing posted on the Internet, I never would have time to do anything else. But there are very specific points I want to get across. First, I was born and raised Catholic, but this holds true for any Christian: we are taught not to judge the charity of others.(Mark 14:3-9) Walker's attempt to criticize those trying to do something nice for other people is uncivil.
One of my brothers-in-law served in Desert Shield/Storm. I remember putting together a care package for him, mostly snacks that I knew that he would like, like those wonderful (but high carb) fudge-covered Oreo cookies. My first brother at the time was working for a major oil company in a distant DC suburb in Virginia. My first sister was living with her 3 young daughters at a southern Virginia military base while my brother-in-law was deployed. They used to be very close; in fact, she went to live with him in Beaumont before she joined the military as a nurse and met her future husband. My brother invited me to spend Christmas with his family; I asked about our sister; it was inconceivable I would go to Virginia and not see our sister and nieces, especially the new baby. We went down to pick them up; my brother was driving, and he was clearly rattled by my crying 2-year-old godchild; my sister said that she was missing her Daddy. When my brother stopped for gas, I asked my sister if I could get her or the girls anything. She suggested some animal crackers for the baby. I was sitting in the back with my nieces when my brother caught me feeding crackers to the baby and exploded at me, screaming about getting crumbs in the car. (If you met my sister-in-law, you would get it.) He was making our sister miserable, and I don't ever remember being so angry with my brother as I was then. I held my tongue and ignored him, of course. Years later, I sent my baby niece some gift money, and she told me that she had used it to buy a camel Beanie Baby--in recognition of her Daddy's service overseas.
"They chose to leave home." Spoken like any fool taking his liberty for granted; your life is not your own while in the military. He's never been a 12-year-old boy with 6 younger brothers and sisters, the youngest in diapers, whose Dad just got orders for Vietnam; Walter Cronkite's rattling off the latest weekly casualty report from LBJ's tragic escalation of the Vietnam War suddenly became very real to a kid not ready to be the man in the house. Let me remind Walker that more Americans have died in Afghanistan in 4 years under Obama than 2 Bush terms: the same Obama who bragged about giving a speech against the second Gulf War has radically expanded drone bombings against countries with which we have not declared war--including losses of civilian lives in collateral damage that Walker is referring to.
Whereas a number of Republicans are neo-cons, with a more interventionist policy, let us recall that in the twentieth century, the four most significant wars--WWI, WWII, Korea, and Vietnam were joined under Democratic, not Republican Presidents. Conservatives like Sen. Robert Taft (R-OH) and more recently Pat Buchanan and Ron Paul have strongly opposed interventionist policies, being the world's policeman. And although Walker doesn't admit it, the most prominent critic of the military-industrial complex was a former general and GOP President Dwight Eisenhower.
And let us not forget one of Obama's first policies (later withdrawn) was to propose private insurance companies for injured-in-the-military vets subsidize relevant health costs, an unprecedented shift of government costs which would adversely affect employment opportunities and/or out-of-pocket costs for injured vets.
The military community and veterans groups are very supportive of the injured and/or surviving family members, e.g., Operation Comfort Warriors, which picks up certain expenses the government does not cover (for a more extensive listing of relevant charities/organizations providing counseling, grants, etc., see here). I grew up on military bases; I played and attended school with fellow military brats. They were Scoutmasters and Little League coaches; they were my newspaper customers. The Officers Wives' Club awarded me my first college scholarship. I remember at least one military spouse taught at my high school. The military life can be hard on families; we moved often. I don't think I attended any school more than 3 years; one of my sisters-in-law had a hard time while my baby brother was TDY (isolated long-term assignment). These people are some of the finest people you'll ever meet.
If you think it's an easy life, think again. Only one sibling followed in my Dad's footsteps into a military career, and of my 21 nephews and nieces only my middle godchild has expressed an interest in the military. I have brothers-in-law whom are military brats but did not serve along with their siblings. I can't speak for all former military brats here, but I personally knew kids whose dad didn't come back. Most military people know the horror of war and do not romanticize it. They do not make policy or bad political decisions--civilians do.
Government Impairs Private-Sector Employment Through Bad Policies
Great Moments in TSA History
My beautiful niece Emily, a gift from God, made her Confirmation (Catholic sacrament) this past weekend, and my proud parents were on their 'sacrament tour' flying to Missouri. This is from my Mom's post-trip email:
We had a good flight but Dad had a hard time at security. He makes the bells ring at security even though he tells them he has a knee cap replacement. He had to have a pat down and even remove Kleenex’s from his pockets. It seems they could ask him to roll up his pants to see his scar. They did offer to go to a secure area but Dad said to just pat him there but said he was glad he wasn’t a woman.My Dad is a military retiree and a member of that nefarious organization, the American Legion; he's the best man I've ever known. Isn't it time to stop the insanity?
Gosnell Found Guilty: 3 Counts of Infant Born Alive Murder
Roe v Wade did not legalize all abortion, for example, third trimester abortions, except for very narrowly defined exceptions. Gosnell had pushed the boundary, and there is little doubt this is just the tip of the iceberg. The fact that Gosnell taught staff a procedure for severing a baby's spinal cord itself is compelling evidence the circumstances of babies born alive were not rare--and, of course, not all similarly mature unborn infants were born alive, and Gosnell engaged in even more grotesque acts of dismemberment of babies whom can experience pain; clearly the baby is no less a person simply because she is still living inside her mother: it's an arbitrary distinction. I'm not sure what details revolted me more: hearing about a baby dropping into a toilet and trying to swim her way out; a plumber whom refused to pull up more baby parts from the plumbing, jars of preserved severed baby feet, etc.
What now? Technically he can be sentenced to death; as pro-life I oppose the death penalty. The 72-year-old should be sentenced to life without parole.
But keep your eye on Obama's reaction. A President's pardon power does not extend to state criminal trials like this one, but if it did, given Obama's stonewall of the Illinois Born Alive Infant Protection Act, any such pardon would be like a nuclear bomb in the culture wars. Obama's best political option is to avoid the topic; Gosnell is a nasty piece of work, and I don't think Obama wants to spend political capital defending a convicted baby killer. Even some pro-abortion choice advocates find Gosnell's crimes unconscionable.
Political Cartoon
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| Courtesy of Michael Ramirez and Townhall |
Musical Interlude: My Favorite Groups
Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band, "Dancing in the Dark". #2, Bruce's biggest pop hit (although he has hit #1 on other (rock) charts and other countries' (especially the title song from a prominent Hanks' flick)). Is it just me or is that an Elvis curl over his forehead? Trying to channel his inner Elvis? Hypnotic, instantly recognizable arrangement; still, it's a little weird seeing him on stage without his guitar.
