Current Events Watch

Today is Veterans Day, a day to pay homage to the servicemen and servicewomen who have fought and sacrificed life and limb to make this nation the shining beacon of freedom and hope that is America. God bless, and hats off to the brave and willing, both past and present, who have proven their mettle by protecting us and the rest of the world from the bad guys.

There have always been and no doubt always will be a handful of maniacal leaders in the world who certainly need to be dealt with (I’ll let that and succeeding observations go for now.) But we as a nation are always prepared, ready to step in and deal accordingly with their respective threats. History has proven that the bad-guy leaders of nations are ruthless and take no prisoners (or sometimes they do, I guess, depending on the circumstance) while attempting to achieve their ultimate malevolent goals. Our role, as global superpower, is to effectively intercede and show other power-hungry chieftains that their wicked agendas will not be tolerated! I mean, seriously, if they are killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology, they are nothing but evil.

No, wait, I can’t take credit for that last profoundly insightful sentence. I wish I could, but I wouldn’t want to plagiarize our Commander in Chief. That could possibly result in rather harsh penalties, perhaps up to and including waterboarding, and whether that qualifies as torture or not (apparently the jury is still out … Mukasey doesn’t even know), I’ll have none of it! So I’ll give credit where credit is due. Well said, Mr. Bush, well said indeed. Truer words have never been spoken. Those who condone killing people to achieve a political objective or to advance an ideology are indeed evil. For once we agree.

Yes, believe it or not, George W. Bush actually uttered those words. Apparently even the mentally ill and delusional have occasional periods of lucidity. It’s just too bad he didn’t have that epiphany pre-March 2003.

He shared these words of wisdom this past Thursday in San Antonio, at a ritzy Republican fundraiser just after having duly visited the Center for the Intrepid at Brooke Army Medical Center in recognition of Veterans Day. Curiously and somewhat morbidly enough, he had the nerve to make this statement as part of his speech in defense of the US war against and subsequent occupation of Iraq after having just personally met with his maimed, mutilated, burned, disfigured, injured, pick your adjective victims. Although, I guess technically, he did have some wiggle room, since those with whom he met hadn’t actually been killed for achievement or advancement of any political objective or ideology. They had just had their limbs and faces blown off. Still, the oxymoronic incongruity of his words was apparently lost on an audience of ardent admirers. Not surprisingly, I suppose. Sheeple seldom understand irony. I’m sure he received an enthusiastic round of bleating.

Whatever. As disgusted as I was when I read that, not to mention my infuriation when hearing AWOL-Bush’s Veterans Day radio address and reading asshole Five-Time-Dodger-Cheney’s speech at Arlington National Cemetery today praising the valor and bravery of those that serve, the thing that was most appalling was this: Dubya had just spent hours with those whom he and his band of brothers (and sister, too … don’t want to neglect Condi) had needlessly fucked up by sending them into the quagmire of Iraq, and then shortly thereafter was front and center delivering a speech in defense of the war. How does this gang sleep at night? How can George Bush in good conscience, after having just witnessed firsthand the human devastation that he has wrought, stand up and spew the same old crap rhetoric in a weak, but apparently effective, attempt to justify his unwarranted and illegal (not-quite-so-accomplished) mission in Iraq which was based on deliberate lies and intentional deception?

It was, I suppose, simply another most excellent photo op. Strike a Presidential pose and smile for the camera, job well done. Now there’s one mission accomplished! To all (or most) of the veterans, thank you. To George W. Bush, I hope you have nightmares.

veterans, veterans day, george bush, iraq war, war casualties, center for the intrepid