Contributors

Saturday, October 27, 2007

A Welcome E-Mail

This week, I thought I would turn over the reigns to someone who actually served in Iraq. We talk an awful lot about Iraq on this blog so it is only fitting that someone who served there be giving the gavel.

Sgt. John Smith (not his real name) served in Iraq from 2003 to 2004 as communications specialist. Last Friday he sent me the following email, which he has graciously permitted me to post.

You are the only one I can vent too... ...because I'm so embarrassed about who I voted for last general election!

[moment of silence for Lt Michael Murphy]...

I've been watching the ceremonies pertaining to the the Medal of Honor to Michael Murphy. I am humbled by his sacrifice, and I am proud to have served in the same country's military as he did. (God speed his soul to paradise). Have you watched the ceremony where George presents Michael's Mom and Dad with the medal awarded to their son for his (not to mention their) ultimate sacrifice? (The video for this ceremony is below this post)

During his 3.5 min speech he trips over 5 letter words! In my opinion, it looks as if he didn't read the speech at all before giving it! What a slap in the face of the family to have been given such a poorly prepared ceremony. The guy who reads the citation even screws up twice.Why is George such a moron? Such a dunce? His oratory ability is slightly above that of a blind deaf mute with Palsy, and I for one cannot stand his dumb-ass appearance when speaking publicly . Is he drunk, high, or just that stupid!?

IN CONTRAST, look at Laura Bush's Speech she gave yesterday to the service men and women in Kuwait. I know we often talk about how George never talks when Dick Cheney's drinking water, but have you heard Laura speak? She sounds ten times more articulate than her husband. Are we certain that we're not in another era of Eleanor (Roosevelt) like government? I know you don't like talking about George as much as you like talking about replacing George...but I just can't get over how little research I did before voting for him (yeah, twice!) and I need someone to tell me it's going to be OK! thoughts? comments?

John

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

A soldier who isn't a brainwashed douchebag! Sweet.

There's a reason why the youtube video is of fox news. The rest of the major networks really didn't cover the ceremony.

Mark Ward said...

Yeah, and the other networks hate the troops....talk about brainwashing.

It's possible that President Bush has a disability. Some form of dsylexia or something like that. If that is the case, then no one should fault him

But if he is just not a good public speaker, as many of his supporters say, this is yet another example of the glaringly obvious being a source of tremendous frustration. HE'S THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES. THAT'S A BIG PART OF HIS JOB DESCRIPTION!!!

Anonymous said...

…a cursory knowledge of history will reveal that many of the world’s great (and not so great) leaders lacked perfect oratory skills. Different leaders rise to their respective positions in different ways; some thru silver tongues speeches, some from bravery under fire and some from business-styled leadership. …but if I have to state this simple fact, odds are the readers are either too dense to comprehend it or too blind to see beyond it.

(Note: I’m not a big fan of his speaking ability either.)

PS: thanks for putting up a tribute to the Michael Murphy. It’s a shame you couldn’t let the honor stand on its own merit without having to find a way to bash this fallen soldier’s commander in the process.

Anonymous said...

I don't think rld said the other networks hated the troops, that's quite a stretch. If anyone on here feels like telling us why the blackout of this story occurred on those other networks that would be kind of cool you experts on the media you.

Dave, politics is their religion. It must seep into everything...natural disasters, tradegies, funerals, memorial services, everything.

Anonymous said...

It is a staple of current conservative ideology that "political correctness" is anathema. That is, any flaw, no matter how insignificant or irrelevant, is fodder for character assassination. Bush's surrogates crucified Al Gore and John Kerry for their perceived oratory faults, and won an election based on lies and innuendo.

In this presentation W sounds like a fifth-grader reading a report his mom wrote for him. It's an embarrassing display, but this is the way he almost always sounds. In press conferences his tone alternates between petulant and defensive. In Meet & Greets his explanations for his presence sound like a rote repetition of what his aides just told him: "I'm here to tell you that I care."

The cocky, confident-sounding "Mission Accomplished" speeches are few and far between for W.

Many conservatives put Ronald Reagan on a pedestal as the "Great Communicator." Bush is the "Great Mumbler" and the "Great Bumbler." In speeches, the management of wars, disaster relief, regulation of financial markets such as subprime lending, foreign policy, etc., etc., Bush is the most inept president of the last century.

Was he always like this? It's possible the alcoholism and drug addiction of his youth (i.e., up till age 40) fried his brains. But talking about that might offend the tender sensibilities of conservatives, so we'd better keep that hushed up.

Anonymous said...

Yep...too dense or too blind. Too close to call, really.

Unknown said...

I can't say I was surprised GW pushed war propaganda while eulogizing this soldier. What a total shit and classless 'fuck you' to every American and fallen soldier.

Mark Ward said...

Dave, I'm afraid you are going to have to explain something to me.

You said,

"It’s a shame you couldn’t let the honor stand on its own merit without having to find a way to bash this fallen soldier’s commander in the process."

and yet Bush himself uses these ceremonies to further his own policies. So he gets to use the fallen soldier and I don't?

And it wasn't even me that was complaining. It was a fellow solider who voted for Bush twice who was offended by Bush's preparation. I even came to Bush's defense in saying that he may have a disability and, if true, does not deserve the criticism.

Anonymous said...

Came to his aid? Yeah, the President sure is lucky to have friends like you. It’s your site…did whatsherface post here without your approval?

How exactly was this propaganda for his policies? Did he mention any Democrat in particular or even in general? Did he mention any agenda item he’s pushing for or that the left is opposing? Did he use this as a weapon for his request for additional funding? Quote for me what he said that is in the slightest way propaganda. A soldier died in combat, should the President hide the fact that he was a soldier and it occurred in a conflict you don’t support? (Oops, I thought you said you supported the effort in Afghanistan but not in Iraq? Or did the truth just finally slip out????)

Mark Ward said...

Well, I was trying to be fair. If I hated him as much as you say I do, then I would have no problem making fun of him if he had a disability. It's not the man...it's his actions.

As far as your other questions, Bush does these ceremonies so people will continue to support the war. The point of Stephen's frustration, I think, is that he didn't even seem prepared. He just sort of knew that he has to go out there and do this stuff to keep that rating around 30 percent and then the war can continue, veto proof.

So, it's not necessarily anything he specifically said, although Ian might disagree. Propaganda is subtle. Yes, he died in Afghanistan and that is a necessary conflict, although I think the approach is completely wrong, not suprising considering how poor this administration is at just about everything else.

He has done a good enough job linking Afghanistan to Iraq and whenever he gets up and talks about the "War on Terror" he is pushing his propaganda.

Mu said...

Markadelphia tries to reply for me because he knows that I’m not one to take to writing responses on blogs, but some of you have REALLY pushed my buttons.

RDL, In your statement you make the insinuation that most soldier are 'brainwashed douchebags'. *('Douche-Bag by the way is a Hyphenated word ~ if you are going to insult those who provide you with the very freedom to write whatever you want, at least be so kind as to spell it correctly)
You need to treat those who voluntarily swear an oath before God to 'support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic' and to 'bear true faith and allegiance to the same' with a little more respect, I think we've all earned the right to not be called names for choosing a life of service to our country and your hick ass.
The reason why the youtube video is of fox news is because THAT is what Markadelphia posted. The link in my email to him was that of the Pentagon Channel; so don’t go flinging mud about right wing/left wing media. The clip I watched was uncut with no media banner or annoyingly slowly spinning network logo. But it is a tragedy that none of the major networks found this to be news worthy, not for Bush Co.’s “War is good” propaganda machine, but to honor a soldier for giving the ultimate sacrifice.

-just dave, I could care less if George “lacked perfect oratory skills”, what I am inflamed about here is the fact that he showed up totally unprepared to a ceremony commemorating the brave actions of a young man that deprived him of a full and happy life. A young man put in harms way by his own order (I AM NOT going to be sucked into a debate of the necessity or legality of the order, you guys can have fun with that one on your own, you don’t need me). By the way, your “dense to comprehend it or too blind to see beyond it” line is confusing me, but not because I’m too dense or just blind, but because it is unclear by your punctuation if you are talking about the “Readers” of this video or the “Readers” of the “world’s great (and not so great) leaders”…by the way, how many videos do you READ a day?...just asking.
Re: tribute / bashing commander
Get over it. Markadelphia and I are not so vein as to think that we could properly pay homage to Lt Michael Murphy so why try. His courage under fire is an inspiration to me and I do not feel the need to share with you the admiration that I have for him and his actions, but I will tell you this; I pray to God (nightly) that should I come under similar circumstances that he give me the grace to act with the same courage and selfless substance as Lt Michael Murphy did June 28th 2005. If you want to give tribute to Lt Murphy, I encourage you to go to http://www.fallenheroesmemorial.com/oef/profiles/murphymichaelp.html
And leave your message, for THAT is the proper place for it. Here we talk politics.
Re: whatsherface!?! Have the common courtesy to hit the back button and get it right next time you feckless pig. Don’t demonize me because I am a soldier and a concerned citizen who sought the wisdom of a man smarter than me on an issue that, quite frankly; I still don’t think you have fully grasped. Ask any bloggers here who know me personally, I hate…no, I ABHORE political debates because you have the right hiding behind their interpretation of scriptures and the left hiding behind their belief that man is decent, but not trustworthy enough to make his own decisions about where to spend his money and where to send his kids to school and t’was always thus, and always will this be. Get off the politics of it. I ‘bash’ the President not solely for his politicking during a Medal of Honor ceremony. I “bash” him because his lack of respect for Lt Murphy is so great that neither he nor any of his advisors thought “We should rehearse this a couple times, because I’m not the best public speaker and this man’s life was lost most honorably in the service of his country carrying out my orders.”

Ian, Bless You! Someone understands me.

Yes, I call SHAME on you Mr. President. Shame on you, Sir!

I love how everyone honed in on George and left Laura out in the cold.

All this and no one has told me what my letter wanted to hear:
I need someone to tell me it's going to be OK! (or not OK)

Anonymous said...

"You need to treat those who voluntarily swear an oath before "God to 'support and defend the United States Constitution against all enemies, foreign and domestic' and to 'bear true faith and allegiance to the same' with a little more respect, I think we've all earned the right to not be called names for choosing a life of service to our country and your hick ass."

Heeheehee. Go back to the archives of this blog to see markadelphia calling a soldier a "brainwashed douchebag". Column is called "Our new generation of traitors" and it is in March 06. The soldiers offense was disagreeing with Hillary Clinton.

Mark Ward said...

RLD, I think you missed the point of that one.

Steph, thanks for sounding off....it sounds like you needed it.

Oh, and here's a thought for you...if our country can survive 8 years of the most colossal fuck up (in every way possible), we can survive anything and, thus, EVERYTHING IS GOING TO BE OK.

Well, we still have 15 months to go...get out your prayerbooks and hymnals.

Anonymous said...

Wha…wha…whay…Get over yourself... What, you’re the only guy who’s ever served in the military and your sensitive little feelings were hurt? If you could understand the sarcasm beyond some of the remarks made, you’d see that the right is the side that has far greater respect for the military. Which is why those in the military (by, oh, 70%+) are right-leaning voters. But I see that you actually made RLD’s point for him… “…tragedy that none of the major networks found this to be news worthy…” That’s exactly what he said. (...see “too dense” commentary from above…)

I like how everyone is convinced the President was unprepared because he stumbled over a couple of words. I generally try to avoid claiming to have personal knowledge of something beyond my area of expertise, such as what some else is thinking, etc. How do you now he’s unprepared? He should do the best job possible, of course, but how much time should the President devote to this? Do a ‘Google’ on a President’s daily schedule and you’ll see that every minute of every day is scheduled with something and that speeches are generally given on cue cards because the President doesn’t have the time to practice most of them. So, yeah, sorry, the man stumbled a little more than your liking…big whoop.

Sorry you don’t understand my punctuation…I don’t write in a manner to be grammatically correct, but as an extension/subset of how I speak. I was referring to (some of) the readers of this blog in a general way because I normally don’t like to be confrontational or insulting towards a person directly unless it’s highly warranted. That would be a bit too personal and rude…and Mark, who knows me, will attest; I’m a peach of a guy. (But if it improves your comprehension, I’ll try to be more grammatically correct in the future because I am here to try to help people understand.)

In the end, I stand by my original assessment. If Mark wanted to pay tribute to a great fallen soldier, it would have been best (or at least better) to simply show the award ceremony (or whatever else you could find to commemorate him) and let it stand without political commentary. But that was not what happened here. You (and Mark) couldn’t let it stand. You, my friends, were the one’s who pulled politics into the situation and, in my opinion, soiled the ceremony for a great man.

Oh, and in answer to your underlying question; it will be “OK”. For better or worse, the nation will move on. But, you’ll have to find someone else to pull you up by your bootstraps.

Mark Ward said...

"the right is the side that has far greater respect for the military"

Sheeah! Right!

"those in the military (by, oh, 70%+) are right-leaning voters"

Also flat out wrong. It's about 50-50 dude or actually less..against him.

http://www.militarycity.com/polls/2006_main.php

Anonymous said...

Simply because there’s concern over the situation doesn't mean people are jumping ship. Heck, in conservative circles we can bash Bush with the best of them. That doesn't mean I've been pining away for a Kerry presidency. Did you even read the article you referenced?…although it sites numerous chilly views of the current administration, it expressly states that the number that consider themselves to be Democrat hasn't really changed at all. It goes on to say that although only 48% consider the President to have their best interests at heart, a mere 23% say Congress has their best interests at heart. Sorry Charlie, Bush may not be as popular as he once was, but the military, conservatively speaking, is conservative.

Mark Ward said...

Yeah, but define conservative. All of my in laws consider themselves to be conservative but are Democrats. They are bigots when it comes to homosexuals and any non white race.

I read the article...how about this one?

http://www.capitaleye.org/inside.asp?ID=300

Ron Paul? Are you kidding me?

Remember too that many people in the Army are in lower income brackets and that does tend to mean liberal.

Anonymous said...

How can i carry away windows xp from my laptop and reinstall windows Me -the laptops original software?
I suffer with recently bought a in use accustomed to laptop that is old. The living soul I had bought it from had installed windows xp on it, even for all that it from the word go came with windows Me. I fall short of to expunge the windows xp because it runs slows on the laptop because it takes up more tribute than the windows Me would. Also I need to unseat windows xp because it is an forbidden copy. So when I tried to hop to it updates on it, windows would not install updates because the windows xp is not genuine. [URL=http://acvegts.tripod.com]adult footed pajamas[/URL]
----------------------------------------------------------------------

Answers :

It's best to relinquish [URL=http://epgotuo.tripod.com/vermont-gay-singles.html]vermont gay singles[/URL] Windows XP and impartial upgrade your laptop. It's much better. [URL=http://hapyiyl.tripod.com/10mm-ammunition.html]10mm ammunition[/URL] In addition, Windows XP is way [URL=http://hapyiyl.tripod.com/126-red-hill-circle.html]126 red hill circle[/URL] healthier then Windows Me. Windows Me is unused and multifarious programs that can run with XP, can't [URL=http://cioweoj.tripod.com/cleaning-media-retention-plates.html]cleaning media retention plates[/URL] vamoose with Me.
------------------------------
all you participate in to do is interject the windows me disk into the cd drive. then reboot your laptop, when the coal-black [URL=http://lerrekf.tripod.com/rubbermaid-13-gal-trash-can-slim.html]rubbermaid 13 gal trash can slim[/URL] screen with all the info comes up and when it asks u to boot from cd [URL=http://boixpau.tripod.com/chow-gar-southern-kung-fu.html]chow gar southern kung fu[/URL] belt any indication when it tells you to then install from there !!! I RECOMEND SINCE ITS AN ILLEAGLE TEXT TO WIPE [URL=http://tkztghx.tripod.com/george-foreman-roaster.html]george foreman roaster[/URL] ELSEWHERE THE [URL=http://lerrekf.tripod.com/roy-melanson.html]roy melanson[/URL] TOTAL TIRING SEND WHEN IT ASKS YOU WHICH IMPENETRABLE [URL=http://keuqiia.tripod.com/specialized-globe-carmel-review.html]specialized globe carmel review[/URL] PUSH TO POSITION IT ON. THEN ADD ALL THE UNENCUMBERED PAUSE ON THE EMPTY [URL=http://merauqf.tripod.com/m1873-french-revolver.html]m1873 french revolver[/URL] URGENTLY DRIVE ONTO A DIFFERENT DOCUMENTATION FINGERS ON, IT WILL LOOK LIKE C:/ Raw or something like that

Anonymous said...

Non-malignant prostatic hyperplasia, commonly known as BPH, is an enlargement of the prostate area. It is more uncontrollable in older men. As men are becoming more critical connected with strength issues, they convert to medical treatment for BPH. Dutas, a generic form of Avodart([URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-drug-interactions.html]avodart drug interactions[/URL] [URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/treating-baldness-with-avodart.html]treating baldness with avodart[/URL] [URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart.html]avodart[/URL] [URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-and-steroid-injections.html]avodart and steroid injections[/URL] [URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/hair-loss-avodart.html]hair loss avodart[/URL] ), has been proven as an moving treatment of BPH. BPH and its symptoms that adversely affect the grade of lifestyle can be treated successfully at near Dutas. The primary indication of BPH is the frequency of basic to urinate. This occurs almost always at vespers all the time but then progresses to the miss to urine frequently entirely the day. BPH sufferers subsequently report a reduction in power in urine stream. Discomfort accompanies this reduction. A medical doctor should carry testing to determine if BPH is the grounds of the symptoms. The effectiveness of Dutas is start in the chemical coalesce Dutasteride. This efficacious ingredient is an alpha-reductase 5 inhibitor which impedes the conversion of testosterone into dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is considered a forceful technique of testosterone. BPH symptoms vanish once the conversion is interrupted. Dutas has been base to be effective in BPH for tons sufferers. Prescriptions finasteride and finasteride has been shown to on the contrary inhibit a person isoform of alpha redictase 5. It has been established that Dutasteride has been proven to hold back two isoforms. Dutas manifestly appears to provide the superlative treatment available after BPH. Dutas press be entranced as directed with some precautions. Erectile dysfunction and decreased carnal libido are the most commonly reported side effects during practice of Dutas. Gynecomastia or enlargement of male breast conglomeration is another feasible side effect. Additionally, women who are teeming or women inferior to appropriate for enceinte should not be exposed to Dutas; developing male fetuses can be adversely affected on these inhibitors. Dutas can be immersed via the peel so individual dolour should be exercised concerning expressive women or women wanting to become pregnant. Another side impression of Dutas is a uncontested one. Some men possess reported whisker replenishment while enchanting Dutas. BPH can be treated away discussing medications and feasible side effects with a medical professional. Dutas can victual impressive treatment of BPH. A worry-free, quick life is surge quality the effort.
[URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-for-hair-growth.html]avodart for hair growth[/URL]
[URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/5mg.html]5mg[/URL]
[URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-and-red-wine.html]avodart and red wine[/URL]
[URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-diabetes.html]avodart diabetes[/URL]
[URL=http://jeqpqpv.1freewebspace.com/avodart-recall.html]avodart recall[/URL]