Thursday, November 02, 2006

Aligning Myself with Cassandra

I don't always read Villainous Company, but I do read it quite often. Whenever Cass gets on a rant about something, I usually find myself on the same side. Her rant about Kerry's latest blunder was spot-on, and the first I read that day. She's written so many in-depth emotional posts, I couldn't even begin to list a "top 10" because they're all "top 10" material.

She's mad as hell at the NYT. And so am I.

Prior to formal notification of next-of-kin, the New York Times ran a story about a young Corpsman, Petty Officer Third Class Dustin E. Kirby, who had just tried to save the life of Lance Cpl. Colin Smith. The picture displayed prominently in the article is Kirby's blood-soaked hand, holding the armor-piercing round that killed Smith.

Yep. That's right- the NYT ran the article, including the bloody hand picture, PRIOR to n-o-k notification. To quote Chuck, PUSSNUTS. The article goes on to explain how a pig was mortally wounded during Kirby's Corpsman training. Oh, I just can't WAIT until PETA gets ahold of that. They use a live animal to train our Corpsmen how to handle mortal wounds- and the emotions associated with the loss of the patient. It's meant to help them deal with human pain and death on the battlefield. I'm not normally an advocate for animal testing, but I do see the value in this training.

I am, once again, sickened by the lack of decor displayed by the media. I keep reading newspapers and watching the nightly news, hoping against all hope that some day they will "get it", and not be the haters they have become. Yes, I understand that "bad news sells", but there are ways to present the GWOT and our military in a not-so-negative light. War is hell, and I don't need to be sheltered from it... but I also don't need to hear that war is hell AND it's unnecessary when I know, deep in my heart, that it IS necessary from time to time.

The GWOT is a necessary war. It is not in vain- unless we elect anti-war, anti-military officials like Murtha, Kerry, Kennedy, and so many others who want us to pull our troops out of Iraq immediately. Yes, some are war veterans, but that does NOT make them pro-military by proxy. That's a right you EARN by what you say, what you do, and how you live your life. Murtha has proved to us all that there *is* such a thing as an EX-Marine.

I am so tired of politicians standing up and shouting "I support our troops- but NOT THIS WAR OR THEIR MISSION". FUCK THAT. The war AND the mission are warranted, and we ARE winning. We will continue to win unless the asshats in Washington decide to cut and run before the job is done. If that happens, they have effectively discounted the thousands of dead and injured GWOT soldiers.

I won't let that happen.
I won't let our soldiers be treated as baby-killers like the VN vets were. I won't let them be treated as "stupid" or "angry, non-discriminatory murderers". I just won't put up with it, or any politician with that attitude. It pains me to know that some Americans not only put up with it, but support their batshit crazy ideas.

We support our troops by showing them respect- for the living, AND the dead. The NYT's just doesn't get it. Not by a longshot.

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