Chicken Hawk Squawk

Over the years many politicians, journalists and pundits have weighed in on the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and shared their opinions and comments on the United States military role through out the world. What I find most fascinating is that almost every single individual that supported these wars from the beginning and shunned critics of the wars, have in fact never spent one single day fighting in a war zone. Former vice president Dick Cheney is the lead cheerleader of the wars and would gladly have started another one had he been given the opportunity. This from a man who dodged the draft several times in the 60's, even saying once that "I had other priorities in the 60's other then military service". Well excuse me sir but I'm sure that the thousands of American soldiers that have died in Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan had "other priorities" as well, but instead they decided to make their priority saving your ass. During the 2004 election season those on the right painted Democratic senator John Kerry as "anti-American" for his disdain for the Vietnam war after his return. This was a man who was not drafted, but rather signed up for 2 tours in Vietnam. So if anyone has the right to criticize the war, it is someone who actually lived through it. John Kerry was fighting in Vietnam while Dick Cheney had "other priorities" and George Bush was drinking and chasing women, all the while using his fathers influence to stay as far away from Vietnam as possible. And the way the Republican party, in support of potential Republican senator Saxby Chambliss (another chicken hawk who didn't serve 1 day in a war zone because he claimed he had a bad knee) went after Democratic incumbent Max Cleland (a Vietnam war vet who is a triple amputee) was down right appalling. The republican party put out ads questioning Clelands courage and even attempting to tie him to Osama Bin Laden. Those antics worked, Chambliss won and we all now what happened to John Kerry in the 2004 presidential election. Then there is radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh who criticizes anti-war protesters as "traders and anti-Americans", and Iraqi war veterans who now oppose our presence there as "fake soldiers." This from a man who dodged the draft in Vietnam because he claimed he was unable to serve due to an anal cyst that needed to be removed. Meanwhile we have soldiers with missing limbs wanting to return to war to help support their fellow soldiers. And Rush couldn't find the time to show up, because he had a bump on his ass! And many on the Right have criticized the assistant secretary to veterans affairs for the Obama White House, Tammy Duckworth (who is an Iraq war veteran who happens to be a double amputee) simply because she is of a different political mind. Over and over again these CHICKEN HAWKS squawk, squawk, squawk, never taking the time to get up off their lazy asses, put down their expensive cigars and cognac and actually put their money where their mouths are. So next time Cheney, Limbaugh or any other chicken hawk republican starts talking about wars,wars and more wars and how great they are, please hand them a map with directions to the nearest military recruiting office!

The 2nd Amendment and the "right to bear fear"

Today an anti-health reform protester brought a gun to the New Hampshire town hall held by president Obama. He stated that it was for his protection and his right to the 2nd amendment. What exactly is this man protecting himself from? I enjoy how people think that carrying a gun makes them look "tough." I think it does just the opposite,it makes them look like a "Punk" or a "Wimp". What ever happened to good old fashioned "fists"? Are these people so afraid of the world that they have to carry around a gun on their hip on a Tuesday afternoon? I mean come on, what are these people so afraid of? Nobody's going to take away their guns and so what if they did. Are you not man enough to handle it on your own? The point is.. I don't think a regular citizen carrying a gun in public shows their strength, in reality it shows their weakness.

Right Wing Static

As I sit in my living room navigating yet another day through the radical right wing spin that has now become the healthcare debate, i am left wondering if this whole mob mentality has anything to do with healthcare at all? Heres what I mean... When you have code words like "nazi fuhrer" , "Acorn" (Acorn?, I dont understand what they have to do with the healthcare debate, but..) and other completley ridiculous labels being thrown around about this administration, one has to wonder what is this really about? Is this about the fear of a so called "government take over of healthcare" or is it a fear of a different kind? The fear of the unknown, the fear of a BLACK president! When I hear things like "I want my country back!!!" as to imply that it has gone some where in the last 7 months, that it hadn't already gone over the last 8 years, I think what these people mean to say is, I want my white president back! I'm starting to think these mobs that are infiltrating town halls this August are more concerned with losing their majority status then their current health care. Even though according to the recent census Caucasians make up 66% of the population compared to 14% Hispanics and 13% African Americans. All joking aside, this is down right scary. When town halls are turned into anti-Obama, anti-everything rallies, the American people need to open their eyes and realize what is really happening here. This isn't grassroots outrage, if it was then the people attending wouldn't say things like "tell government to stay out of my medicare". (News flash your medicare didn't fall from the heavens, its supplied by the good ol' U.S of A) This is more like grassroots ignorance. So if we are going to have a legitimate debate on health care, then lets do just that. Debate!! Discuss the issues for and against health care reform. Whats happening right now is not democracy at its finest, it is fear mongering and pure racism at its worst.