War Facts? What a crock!

So the MySpace crowd has done it again... another bulletin of bullshit.

The only part that's really true is the quote from Senator John Glenn. The rest is a bunch of half-truths (and that's giving them too much credit) and flat out lies and deception.

Read on for my bulletin post response. I could and probably should have gone into more detail, but it's late and I don't feel good. This crap gave me a headache. Plus I was writing for the MySpace crowd, figured I'd try to keep it "brief" (yeah, I know... me, brief!? *guffaw*)

The bulletin is as follows (my response on top, the original bulletin below it):

--------------------------

You are aware of how wrong most of this post is aren't you?

The only thing that John Glenn said was the shit at the very end about soldiers having jobs.

The Taliban is not crushed and is actually seeing a resurgence in power. Iraq is not liberated, it's worse of than it was before we set foot in it, by a long shot. We murdered a man with a rigged court under the false pretense of 9/11 and that he was a bad guy... a bad guy who we sold the arms to that he used to kill the kurds, an action for which we previously defended him until it served our own goals to reverse our stance DECADES later.

Many of the other actions listed, are given in such a childishly oversimplified manner as to be nothing short of lies. Russia had set it's sights on continuing it's land grabs after world war two, which led into the cold war... this also led to the horrors of the split of Germany and pushes into other regions and backing of communist regimes etc. The United States had enormous pressure on it to stem this "red tide" and preserve our way of life... to state anything less than that is patently ignorant or maliciously dishonest. Whether or not these conflicts turned out poorly, as in the case of VietNam, which was in large part due to it being a police action and not a real war, does not change the motivations that led to them. Understanding the facts behind these instances would do us all a lot of good. For instance in understanding why it is dangerous to call the "war" in Iraq a war at all. It takes an act of congress to declare an actual war... and that act of war implies far reaching powers that are not to be invoked lightly. There are military actions etc that fall short of war, but they do so with restrictions... the very word "war" should not be taken to lightly in this context... it's emotional weight invoked solely to sway emotional fervor in support of an action that in reality falls far short of the validity and importance that it strives to convince us of.

Japan attacked us in response to severe embargoes and strategic attacks that we were already leveraging against them in retaliation for their push into eastern and southern Asia. Germany had also attacked our allies and openly advocated racism to the extent of executing a pogrom against the Jewish people... and failing to understand the importance of political alliances and the economic factors involved only further illustrates a severe lack of understanding or malicious intent to deceive.

WE have killed far more innocent civilians in Iraq so far than Saddam ever did. BY FAR. We have completely destabilized the country, we have created a huge boom in recruitment for Al Queda, not only in Iraq but around the world. Iraq wasn't liberated, it was usurped to serve political goals, not for the freedom of its people.

http://icasualties.org/oif/US_chart.aspx

There were 84 American FATALITIES in Iraq in January, not to mention how many Iraqis were killed, which is many times that.

Iraqi Security Forces and Civilian Deaths:
Jan-07 1,802

http://icasualties.org/oif/

Are you starting to understand what I'm saying?

Messages like this sound interesting, but the FACTS are rarely so clean cut and exciting.

And lest this grow any more verbose... I feel the need to point out how hypocritical, racist and xenophobic the closing sentence about thanking a soldier if you're reading this in English was. Our country is home to many people of many backgrounds and many tongues... our original motto was "e pluribus unum"; "out of many (come) one" which celebrated that diversity. Those who lived here before us spoke many languages of the native American tongues, something which our forefathers did their best to beat out of them. Many now speak Spanish, French or other languages... many of our founding fathers spoke German or Dutch and many communities here in the US still do. Our country was split 50/50 on which we should have spoken as our official tongue.

That entire bulletin was an exercise in sensationalism, abject ignorance, racism, dishonesty and deception to put it lightly.

While I agree with Senator Glenn's sentiments wholeheartedly, they are the only truly factual element of that bulletin and are worthy of the respect that great man so soundly deserves. There was no need to sully that with the rest of that offal.

(No offense, but you had to know this was coming.)

----------------- Bulletin Message -----------------
From: Someone on MySpace.
Date: Feb 3, 2007 3:59 PM


Facts about War

WHAT SENATOR JOHN GLENN SAID

Things that make you think a little:

There were 39 combat related killings in Iraq in January.

In the fair city of Detroit t here were 35 murders in the Month of January. That' s just one American city, About as deadly as the entire war-torn country of Iraq

When some claim that President Bush shouldn't Have started this war, state the following:


A. FDR led us into World War II.
B. Germany never attacked us; Japan did.

From 1941-1945, 450,000 lives were lost ..

An average of 112,500 per year.

C. Truman finished that war and started one in Korea.

North Korea never attacked us.

From 1950-1953, 55,000 lives were lost ...

An average of 18,334 per year.

D. John F. Kennedy started the Vietnam conflict in 1962.

Vietnam never attacked us.

E. Johnson turned Vietnam into a quagmire.

From 1965-1975, 58,000 lives were lost .

An average of 5,800 per year.


F. Clinton went to war in Bosnia without UN or French consent.

Bosnia never attacked us.

He was offered Osama bin Laden's head on a platter three Times by Sudan and did nothing. Osama has attacked us on Multiple occasions.

G. In the years since terrorists attacked us , President Bush Has liberated two countries, crushed the Taliban, crippled Al-Qaida, put nuclear inspectors in Libya, Iran, and North Korea without firing a shot, and captured a terrorist who Slaughtered 300,000 of his own people.

The Democrats are complaining About how long the war is taking But It took less time to take Iraq than it took Janet Reno To take the Branch Davidian compound.

That was a 51-day operation.

We've been looking for evidence for chemical weapons In Iraq for less time than it took Hillary Clinton to find The Rose Law Firm billing records.

It took less time for the 3rd Infantry Division and the Marines to destroy the Medina Republican Guard Than it took Ted Kennedy to call the police after his Oldsmobile sank at Chappaquiddick

It took less time to take Iraq than it took To count the votes in Florida!!!!

Our Commander-In- Chief is doing a HARD JOB!

The Military morale is high!

The biased media hopes we are too ignorant To realize the facts

But Wait there's more!


JOHN GLENN (ON THE SENATE FLOOR)

Mon, 26 Jan 2004 11:13

Some people still don't understand why military personnel Do what they do for a living. This exchange between Senators John Glenn and Senator Howard Metzenbaum Is worth reading. Not only is it a pretty impressive Impromptu speech, but it's also a good example of one man's explanation of why men and women in the armed Services do what they do for a living

This IS a typical, though sad, example of what Some who have never served think of the military.

Senator Metzenbaum (speaking to Senator Glenn):

"How can you run for Senate When you've never held a real job?"

Senator Glenn (D-Ohio):

"I served 23 years in the United States Marine Corps. I served through two wars. I flew 149 missions. My plane was hit by anti-aircraft fire on 12 different Occasions. I was in the space program . It wasn't my Checkbook, Howard; it was my life on the line. It was Not a nine-to-five job, where I took time off to take the Daily cash receipts to the bank."

"I ask you to go with me ... As I went the other day... To a veteran's hospital and look those men .... With their mangled bodies in the eye, and tell THEM they didn't hold a job!

You go with me to the Space Program at NASA And go, as I have gone, to the widows and Orphans Of Ed White, Gus Grissom and Roger Chaffee... And you look those kids in the eye and tell them That their DADS didn't hold a job.

You go with me on Memorial Day and you stand in Arlington National Cemetery, where I have more friends Buried than I'd like to remember, and you watch Those waving flags

You stand there, and you think about this nation, And you tell ME that those people didn't have a job?

What about you?"

For those who don't remember
During WW.II, Howard Metzenbaum was an attorney Representing the Communist Party in the USA.

Now he's a Senator!

If you can read this, thank a teacher.

If you are reading it in English thank a Veteran.

It might not be a bad idea to keep this circulating.

Even reading back over it quickly to post it, I see even more blatant crap that infuriates me. This is simply pro-Bush, pro-Republican, anti-Democrat fallacious slanted propaganda. It should be obvious to anyone reading it that its authenticity should be in question after even a cursory perusal.

Try actually going and studying the things listed here... you'll be doing us all a favor. You, those around you and your country as a whole... by understanding why men and governments make the decisions they do... why nothing is as black and white and some would hope you would believe.

I think you'll be surprised just how much you learn in the process and how much it might open your eyes to the world around you and give you a new insight into the history that led to where we are today, and where we might be going if this pervasive ignorance runs unchecked.