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Thursday, August 18, 2005

Every Once In A While

Update: I like Tom Carter's post on Cindy Sheehan very much. And also Carl's. End update.

Every once in a while, I read the news and end up thinking that either the world has gone mad or I have. A couple of stories that dazed me:

Via Instapundit, the story of Matt Lauer's interview with (gasp) an actual real live soldier in Iraq and was shocked to find that the man wasn't slamming down drugs and fragging officers (one tip, Matt. It's not Vietnam!):
LAUER: Don't get me wrong, I think you're probably telling the truth, but there might be a lot of people at home wondering how that might be possible with the conditions you're facing and with the insurgent attacks you're facing... What would you say to people who doubt that morale could be that high?

CAPTAIN SHERMAN POWELL: Well sir, I'd tell you, if I got my news from the newspapers I'd be pretty depressed as well.
What really kills me about this is that Lauer had the gall to suggest to the man's face that he was "probably" telling the truth. Sometimes I wonder why our military isn't staging a coup d etat; I guess it must have something to do with their principles and discipline. And, oh yeah, their belief in protecting democracy and the rule of law. In the meantime, Linda Foley claims they are murdering baby journalists and Lauer accuses them of lying.

Perhaps our soldiers' morale remains high despite the dedicated efforts of all-knowing journalists because of stories like this:
In another reminder of the proliferation of Russian nuclear material on the black market, two men were arrested near Istanbul trying to sell 173 grams of Russian enriched uranium to undercover Turkish police.

Turkish authorities released no information about who the men were, how they got the uranium or what its intended destination was.

The pair was arrested Tuesday in the town of Harem and charged with smuggling nuclear materials.
They just might think that they are doing something that needed to be done.

When I read something like this, my teeth start to grind:
Despite being a Texas native, a registered voter and holder of a state driver's license, a decorated Marine has been denied lower in-state tuition at a community college because he spent too much time out of the state while serving two tours of duty in Iraq.
I see. Or rather I don't see. I think the people of Texas need to rattle the bars of that particular bureaucratic cage with a mighty rattle.

And here's a recommendation to "hawk the chickens" from Common Dreams. Linda Milazzo writes:
And so, in the never-ending quest for truth, justice and the anti-war way, I launch this challenge to all media hosts and reporters. From this point forward everyone interviewed who supports the war must answer the question: 'Who in YOUR family has fought it?' If it's noble for one, then it's noble for all!
Okay, let me review the bidding.
1) We don't accept the word of the military personnel about anything. They may not be telling the truth (unless, of course, they are deserters in which case they are noble and patriotic).

2) Furthermore, as Ms. Foley explains, "Journalists are not just being targeted verbally or politically. They are also being targeted for real in places like Iraq. And what outrages me as a representative of journalists is that there's not more outrage about the number and the brutality, and the cavalier nature of the U.S. military toward the killing of journalists in Iraq. I think it's just a scandal." Why would anyone accept the word of brutal journalist-killers anyway?

3) No one who doesn't have a family member in the war is allowed to argue that it is strategically necessary.

4) Someone like Cindy Sheehan gets wall-to-wall media coverage, but

5) Parents of those killed who disagree with Sheehan's opinions don't get the same voice in the media, nor do other members of the family. See this article in Common Dreams:
...the most promising avenue of attack is likely to be the one sketched out by Fox News Channel eminence Bill O’Reilly on Aug. 9, when he declared that Cindy Sheehan bears some responsibility for “other American families who have lost sons and daughters in Iraq who feel that this kind of behavior borders on treasonous.”

That sort of demagoguery is on tap for the duration of the war. Military families will be recruited for media appearances to dispute the patriotism of antiwar activists -- especially those who speak as relatives of American soldiers and shatter media stereotypes by publicly urging withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
6) So it would be wrong for the media to cover "that sort of demagoguery".

To sum it up, no pro-war or military-supporting voice can be anything but suspect, therefore, the press should be very careful about letting themselves be used to publicize anything they might say. Cindy Sheehan, on the other hand, is a patriot. I see. Or rather, I don't see.

I respect Sheehan's pain. I mourn the death of her son. I will not write anything against her. But logically the voices of others who have also taken losses ought to have equal moral weight and be accorded equal respect. They don't receive that respect, and I protest against that injustice.


Comments:
For the moonbats, it's strike two.

Max Cleland (who had REAL credibility) was used when he was recruited for Waco duty, struck out, and now, Cindy Crawford has struck out for the moonbats again.

Max Cleland won't have anything to do with the whackos in Wack and in the end, Cindy Sheehan will be as relevant as yesterdays newspapers. She will be remembered as a curiosity- no more.

When wonkette decrys using Sheehan, you know it's only a matter of time.
 
Matt Lauer should be fired. Help get him on the unemployement line by flooding NBC with emails, phone calls and letters. He is a disgrace to the human race. If there was ever a reporter(sic) that deserved to be shot in Iraq, I nominate him for the honor. I watched his idiotic display while talking to the troops and if I had been there I would have shot him on the spot. Don't ask if I advocate killing reporters, the answer is yes in most cases. They (people with Lauer's attitude) are more dangerous to freedom than any ten terrorists.
 
SC&A, well, it's two problems with Cindy Sheehan, which is why I liked Tom's post. The first is that she deserves the respect and recognition of any human being for her loss, and the second is that all those who have also taken losses deserve the same - just as you have already written.

We can't fairly deny that respect to anyone. I feel very sorry for her, and not least because she will be discarded by the left if she becomes a liability.

Let's put it this way - she deserves all the care and respect we can give to her in her son's stead, who died in this country's cause.

Scrap - Matt Lauer should be ashamed of himself. I can't believe he could do that. I just can't believe it!

I am trying to control my own anger and write rationally.
 
Good description.

Why don't they just recruit Jane Fonda and send her out there to interview the military?
 
Of course with the "Texas" veteran who was denied in-state tuition there are two sides of the story.

He actually enlisted in LA and never actually lived in Texas during his military career. I feel for him, but a Marine should know the rules and how to follow them.

I actually enlisted in Alabama, where I was going to school, and changed back to Texas when I was stationed there 11 years ago.

Kev
 
Then how can he have a Texas driver's license and be voting in Texas?

Not that I'm questioning your information.
 
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