Yes, playing politics with Tomb of Unknown is offensive
On Memorial Day, Vice President Joe Biden will handle the somber duty of laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery, while President Obama will mark the day at a national cemetery back home in Illinois.
A few hours ago, Erick Erickson, CNN’s house conservative and founder of Redstate.org, decided that this represented a political opportunity that he should not miss.
He tweeted:
“Obama skipping the Tomb of the Unknowns this weekend for Chicago is offensive. Chicago can wait. The Commander-in-Chief has a job to do.”
Pretty quickly, it was established that President Reagan had occasionally skipped annual duties at the Tomb.
As had President George H.W. Bush.
As had the more recent President Bush.
Caught red-handed, Erickson has just responded with another tweet:
“Diff b/w Reagan and Bush not going to Tomb and Obama? No one questioned their support for soldiers and belief in American Exceptionalism.”
Man oh man.
In itself, the incident is of little import. You could file it under IOKIYAR — “It’s OK if You Are Republican” — and forget about it. But I note it because it reflects all too well the childishness and pettiness that has come to infect American politics. Really, is this the best we can do? Has the capacity to feel shame disappeared?
But there’s also something deeper here. Erickson, Glenn Beck and others have tried to use this as an excuse to attack a president they don’t like. Fine, they don’t like him. But in trying to politicize a sacred national rite, haven’t they done precisely what they accuse Obama of doing? Is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier really just another ground from which to launch political attacks?
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404 comments Add your comment
Cutty
May 25th, 2010
5:27 pm
First!
atltrafficqueen
May 25th, 2010
5:29 pm
Yes, people are shameless. Erick Erickson, Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin, Pat Buchanan, Newt Gingrich are the first to come to mind.
Cutty
May 25th, 2010
5:29 pm
“Diff b/w Reagan and Bush not going to Tomb and Obama? I never questioned their support for soldiers and belief in American Exceptionalism.”
Fixed Erickson’s tweet.
joan
May 25th, 2010
5:33 pm
I am glad he is not going. For him to go would be the height of hypocrisy. The man spits on all things American and is not fit to lay a wreath on the tomb of a brave man.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
5:35 pm
He should attend and he should lay the wreath. He is Commander in Chief and this is a time when our sons and daughters are in harm’s way in foreign wars. This is not a Democrat or a Republican thing.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
5:35 pm
Thank you Joan, for weighing in, and for refusing to turn such a rite into an excuse for partisan politics.
mike
May 25th, 2010
5:36 pm
Of course Jay is right about this case. His criticisms might carry some weight if they were not inevitably directed at conservatives. By training his fire on one side exclusively, he demonstrates that his selective outrage is just an excuse to attack people who don’t share his views. Are we really to believe that Jay sees no such hypocrisy among liberal pundits?
Most Americans recognize that partisan pundits like Jay and Erickson are two sides of the same coin and find the false outrage coming from both sides equally pathetic. My only question is whether Jay knows this and is just pandering to the far left audience or if he is so overcome by partisanship that he genuinely believes that “his side” is really any different than “their side”.
Kamchak
May 25th, 2010
5:36 pm
But in trying to politicize a sacred national rite, haven’t they done precisely what they accuse Obama of doing? Is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier really just another ground from which to launch political attacks?
Yes.
Another episode of one word answers to simple questions.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
5:36 pm
” is not fit to lay a wreath on the tomb of a brave man.”
How do you know he was brave? When he was buried there he was unknown. He is there to represent all in the armed forces who died in battle…his own bravery is not part of the equation.
Rightwing Troll
May 25th, 2010
5:37 pm
Since Newt has been mentioned quite a few times recently…
I see the current crop of “conservatives” is drafting thier own “Contract with America” I wonder if they will discard it as quickly as Newt and Co. did in 94′?
Matilda
May 25th, 2010
5:37 pm
What a TOOL! (Apply the term to this Erickson person, and to the Joan person at 5:33 who cites a very ugly and biased opinion as if it were a fact that existed outside the tiny, bigoted little minds of haters.)
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
5:37 pm
I’ve never seen a thing about this Erick the Buffoon, other than what I have read here.
That seems like a VERY good thing.
Another clueless, never done nothing of import nobody trying to pretend otherwise?
How many do we need?
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
5:39 pm
Difference between them? Obama never “sent” them into an unnecessary war which he called for and started.
mike
May 25th, 2010
5:40 pm
AmVet –
“I’ve never seen a thing about this Erick the Buffoon, other than what I have read here.”
I will second that and I am a right wing nut.
Why is Jay taking the soapbox he has been granted and wasting it by pointing out the hypocrisy of a guy who nobody knows or cares about? Somehow pundits have come to think that we really care about pundits. We don’t. We care about issues and policies.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
5:43 pm
Mike, I did a little research and I was wrong. He IS somebody!
“The London Telegraph named Erickson the sixty-fifth most influential conservative in America in 2010.”
65th!!! WOO HOO!!!
My question is, who are those other 64 lamebrains ahead of him???
D-Boe
May 25th, 2010
5:44 pm
I recall family members of Iraq war vets having to buy them their own kevlar vests and other protections for their Humvees because the military (Commander-in-Chief) didn’t provide them. I think that goes directly to whether a President actually supports the troops or not. Jus sayin.
saywhat?
May 25th, 2010
5:44 pm
“Diff b/w Reagan and Bush not going to Tomb and Obama? No one questioned their support for soldiers and belief in American Exceptionalism.”
And only rabid rightwing morons blinded by partisanship question Obama’s support for soldiers. As for American Exceptionalism, you can keep that jingoistic crap as far away from the presidency as possible please. (Nice non-sequitur by the “brilliant” Erickson. WTF does American Exceptionalism have to do with laying a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns anyway?)
joan
May 25th, 2010
5:44 pm
The guy in that tomb is there of symbolize the courageous fighting men of our country who gave their lives so that we might destroy this country from within, rather than have it destroyed from without. To infer he might not have been brave is so very much this generation of fools. And yes, Jay, everything political is partisan. You know that. Obama is better off in Chicago, and I wish he would stay there.
@@
May 25th, 2010
5:44 pm
I don’t know who this Erickson fella is, but I’m never in favor of using the military for political gain. They’re the most noble among us and should never be exploited.
It’s one of the reasons I took offense to many of Luckovich’s cartoons. The military was, often times, his target of choice.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
5:47 pm
Mike, just wonderin’…
Have you ever gone to Wooten’s blog, or Kyle’s blog, to chastize them for not taking liberal positions?
You know, since being evenhanded is so important and all?
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
5:48 pm
BTW…SO glad that both Cheney and Bush’s kids enlisted to go fight in Daddy’s war… I mean the Bush twins were WAY too busy get ****faced to join up and support their Daddy’s “Crown Jewel”….ya know…the fight the “War on Terror” with our military…in Iraq…where it began. I guess they were doing their part by going out and “shopping” to help.
Foxy Lady is #1
May 25th, 2010
5:48 pm
mike – the pundit of pundits. can a person’s existence be any more worthless.
@@
May 25th, 2010
5:48 pm
That’s MIKE LUCKOVICH OF THE AJC, just in case anyone outside the area is reading here. Needless to say, leftists are big fans of MIKE LUCKOVICH OF THE AJC.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
5:49 pm
” To infer he might not have been brave is so very much this generation of fools”
Except no one has done that…but it’s no big surprise that you interpreted it that way.
Del
May 25th, 2010
5:50 pm
Good old Joe while in Belgium said in a speech there that Brussels and not Washington D.C should be recognized as the capital of freedom. Talk about the village idiot and it happens to be our Vice President pandering in Europe.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
5:51 pm
Honest question, @@. Can you cite any of those cartoons in which Mike attacked the military? Just curious.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
5:52 pm
joan May 25th, 2010 5:33 pm SAYD
joan
May 25th, 2010 5:33 pm SAID: I am glad he is not going. For him to go would be the height of hypocrisy. The man spits on all things American and is not fit to lay a wreath on the tomb of a brave man.
CHRIS SAYS: Bush sends American soldiers on a war based on lies and THAT makes him a great American. People like Joan should borrow Hitler’s line ” DEUTSCHLAND UEBER ALLES”. In fact, that was the first line of the German national anthem during Nazi times. That BTW, translates to “”GERMANY OVER EVERYTHING ELSE”. It was good enough for the Nazis and sounds fitting enough for Joan and her nationalistic ilk. But then Joan is a Tea Party follower so anything is possible.
@@
May 25th, 2010
5:53 pm
Asking me to go back in archives? Years back?
You wanna keep me busy and out of your hair, don’tcha, jay?
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
5:54 pm
@@ May 25th, 2010 5:48 pm SAID: That’s MIKE LUCKOVICH OF THE AJC, just in case anyone outside the area is reading here. Needless to say, leftists are big fans of MIKE LUCKOVICH OF THE AJC.
CHRIS SAID: Yeah, provide a couple of examples or did you just pull that, like everything else. out of your ……………….
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
5:54 pm
Bruin isn’t going to bring this one up and it’s liable to re-open the first can of worms he and I shared, but one of the times I came out singing President Obama’s praise as Commander in Chief and respectful of those who sacrificed their lives in the service of their country was when he bucked the liberal establishment and sent the traditional Memorial Day wreath to the Confederate memorial at Arlington, an action which gained him the accolades of that, gasp!, group the Sons of the Confederate Veterans.
I resent Joan’s implications. And, no, this doesn’t change any of my sentiments expressed downstairs…
He should go, plain and simple, he is the President of the United States of America…and those GOP ones who didn’t go should have gone, too. This is a duty, an obligation…
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
5:55 pm
@@ May 25th, 2010 5:53 pm SAID: Asking me to go back in archives? Years back?
You wanna keep me busy and out of your hair, don’tcha, jay?
CHRIS SAYS: you know what they say, PUT UP OR ………… Typical Right Wing behavior. Anything less would be unexpected.
@@
May 25th, 2010
5:55 pm
And jay, I may or may not oblige, depending on my mood.
You are not the boss of me, mister, regardless of WHAT you think.
Kamchak
May 25th, 2010
5:56 pm
Mike, just wonderin’…
Have you ever gone to Wooten’s blog, or Kyle’s blog, to chastize them for not taking liberal positions?
You know, since being evenhanded is so important and all?
“Evenhandedness ain’t got nothing to do with it Jay. mike haunts the ajc blogs, because as a bitter ex-ajc employee, mike has an ax to grind.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
5:56 pm
Well, just one or two examples would probably suffice. I see most of his cartoons before they go in the paper, and I don’t recall that the military “was often his target of choice.”
But if there’s evidence to the contrary, I would have to concede differently.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
5:57 pm
Understood, @@. I was never thinking otherwise….
@@
May 25th, 2010
6:00 pm
There were plenty, jay, but since you’ve determined that this Erickson fella’s was one too many, one SHOULD suffice. But I haven’t decided whether I want to comply or not.
I may. I may not.
@@
May 25th, 2010
6:02 pm
jay, are you gonna take down Chris’s comment?
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
6:02 pm
“Can you cite any of those cartoons in which Mike attacked the military? ”
At this point…I’d say the answer is no.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
6:02 pm
This sanctimonious and cowardly neo-con outrage is irrelevant and passe these days.
They had years and years to govern effectively and, even in eventual defeat, leave with SOME dignity and integrity. (Notwithstanding that the republic endured disaster after disaster under their leadership.)
But they failed to do so. Miserably. And seem damned proud of that.
The scurrilous and infamous name Newt Gingrich was again mentioned regarding this topic. Like way too many others in his camp, he is the poster boy of this sophomoric degrading of American civility, decorum and statesmanship.
It is one thing entirely for some goofball like myself, under anonymity of a blog, or even some malignantly mendacious Macon Moron like Erickson to say what we do, but the former leader of the House of Representatives??? Or the aforementioned former and reprehensible Vice President of the United States of America???
Have not these people a shred of shame?
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:03 pm
So, we shouldn’t be playing politics with the Tomb of the Unknown…looks like that’s not playing too well at Jay’s place tonight…just an observation, but look at how quickly we’ve descended into our traidtion of nasty name calling in near record time. Just an observation.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:04 pm
@@ May 25th, 2010 6:00 pm SAYS: There were plenty, jay, but since you’ve determined that this Erickson fella’s was one too many, one SHOULD suffice. But I haven’t decided whether I want to comply or not.
I may. I may not.
CHRIS SAYS: When in a hole………………….STOP DIGGING!!!! LMAO.
“I may, I may not”……………admit it. You just got caught making up stuff like the rest of your ilk and now you’re suddenly coy about coming up with the proof. You people are a gullible lot, aren’t you?
Bosch
May 25th, 2010
6:04 pm
“At this point…I’d say the answer is no.”
Or in other words, @@ just makes up sh*t.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
6:04 pm
I’ll add that the military should never be exempt from criticism anyway, that in fact it needs that criticism just as any other public institution needs it. The military was wrong in the Pat Tillman affair, it is often wrong in its demands for hugely expensive but marginally useful equipment, it can be wrong about a lot of things.
In fact, ask anybody who has ever been in the military whether the military is always right.
md
May 25th, 2010
6:05 pm
“How do you know he was brave?”
He went.
The not so brave left the country for places such as Canada.
Jefferson
May 25th, 2010
6:08 pm
People who hate the president deserve to be unhappy. I have liked some better than others but never understood hate because we have a system and if you don’t belive in the system you may as well be mad. So walk around mad, one day you will die.
I don’t want to die mad no matter who the president is.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:09 pm
AmVet
Not the place to go into it here and now, but responded to you on Ken Burns…
May 24th, 2010
6:22 pm
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:10 pm
Jay May 25th, 2010 6:04 pm SAID:
Jay
May 25th, 2010
6:04 pm
I’ll add that the military should never be exempt from criticism anyway, that in fact it needs that criticism just as any other public institution needs it. The military was wrong in the Pat Tillman affair, it is often wrong in its demands for hugely expensive but marginally useful equipment, it can be wrong about a lot of things.
In fact, ask anybody who has ever been in the military whether the military is always right.
CHRIS SAYS: Jay, you’re right. The military is not ABOVE criticism. But I always remember that cases such as Mai Lai and Abu Gharaib were brought to light by others in the military who were also disgusted by horrible actions..
No one being above criticism is the cornerstone of our democracy.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
6:11 pm
“He went.”
And some men did not find out how brave they were until they actually got in battle. But it isn’t HIS bravery that put him where he is, he is there because at the time he could not be identified and he is a symbol for the bravery of ALL those who served, and who serve, in the Armed Forces.
And it would appear that I am maybe the only person here who REALLY knows that there are the remains of more than one soldier in that tomb…since no one has corrected my use of the singular “him”, or Joan’s use of the singular “man” for that matter.
FunnyBone
May 25th, 2010
6:11 pm
Republican posts are the bestest posts of all. They makes me laugh.
JohnnyReb
May 25th, 2010
6:12 pm
Perception becomes reality, and the perception is that Obama is not deeply patriotic. The conservatives posting here are not alone in those beliefs. Obama’s speech this past weekend was met with luke warm response by the graduating cadets. The left can deny that, and they do, however, couple the patriotic perception with the “ends justify the means” method of running the country and only the staunch left support Obama. As to why the right so dislikes Obama, look no further than the Health Care Bill, sneaking the student loan dismantlment into the health care bill, and now the end around on DATD. It does not matter that Obama will not honor the unknown soldier with his presence, it would not be perceived as sincere on such hallow ground.
Obama hates America, blah blah blah « ATLmalcontent
May 25th, 2010
6:12 pm
[...] Obama, conservative blowhards Leave a comment The president is catching heat because he won’t be laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier this Memorial Day. [...]
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:14 pm
I see you removed some of my comments directed at @@. Okay okay……I was kinda ruthless with my biting wit. Message understood.
Bosch
May 25th, 2010
6:14 pm
“and the perception is that Obama is not deeply patriotic.”
No, Reb – that’s YOUR perception not “the.”
Normal
May 25th, 2010
6:15 pm
For what it’s worth, I agree with Josef at 5:35. The CinC MUST honor the fallen. They paid the ultimate price for us.
Lift a glass. To fallen comrades. May they rest in peace and know they are hero’s.
FunnyBone
May 25th, 2010
6:15 pm
Or in other words, [insert conservative/Libertarian/Independent/Republican name here] just makes up sh*t.
There’s no need to single out @@.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:17 pm
@@ May 25th, 2010 6:02 pm SAID: jay, are you gonna take down Chris’s comment?
CHRIS SAYS:: This is too funny.
Normal
May 25th, 2010
6:17 pm
In fact, ask anybody who has ever been in the military whether the military is always right.
Ha! That’s why we always said, “There’s the right way, the wrong way, and the Navy way.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
6:18 pm
My own personal belief is that the Commander in Chief should always go and lay the wreath. That hasn’t always happened, though.
Other than here, I’ve never heard of this Erik guy. I would imagine like most performers, and I put a ton of pundits in that category, left, right, and center, that he’s trying to drum up a little buzz for his act. (For you teachers, how’s that for a run-on sentence?
)
And let’s not forget that Memorial Day isn’t for all veterans. We owe them all a debt of gratitude but Veterans Day is for them. Memorial Day is for those who gave all they had to give. They are special.
And if anybody ever gets the chance to see the Changing of the Guard, do it. It’s something that’ll stay with you. I saw it in 1968 and remember it very well.
FunnyBone
May 25th, 2010
6:19 pm
Let’s not needlessly single out the military. The more generic, and still relevent, saying is “close enough for government work.”
Jay
May 25th, 2010
6:21 pm
My parents took us there every time we were in Washington, Hillbilly.
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
6:21 pm
How much does this Erickson fellow pay Jay B to link to him?
Jay
May 25th, 2010
6:24 pm
Would you prefer Sarah Palin, RW?
Curious Observer
May 25th, 2010
6:25 pm
The CinC MUST honor the fallen. They paid the ultimate price for us.
He is honoring the fallen. Didn’t you read Jay’s statement that he will be at an Illinois veteran’s cemetery?
I’m amused by all these never served, never will people who suddenly become all patriotic when Memorial Day approaches. Where were they when we unprivileged boys were lugging a rifle and wondering whether the day would be our last? What was their duty when their country needed them? Hiding in a college and seeking deferments? Considering themselves too valuable to serve as mere cannon fodder?
After all these years, these people and their carping sicken me.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:26 pm
Hillbilly
I didn’t find it too run-on…but, then, I do suffer from what my favorite Yankee professor called, “the Southern malady of diarrhea of the pen…!”
I subscribe to your sentiments on the meaning of Memorial Day and the Commander-in-Chiefs highly symbolic obligation to its proper observation…
@@
May 25th, 2010
6:27 pm
jay:
Are you gonna take down Bosch’s comment?
When I’ve gone back in archives, I’m usually looking for text. The cartoons themselves are missing from many. Some message about Luckovich has moved.
I didn’t know he had attempted to submit this one but was denied “the privilege”.
…Mike Luckovich, the cartoonist at the Atlanta Journal Constitution, had to wait awhile to truly express doubts about the Bush administration’s honesty. In 2003, he was prevented from publishing a sketch, spelling out “W LIED” with military coffins. Luckovich’s editor told a trade magazine that she thought “it was too early in the war to lay these deaths firmly at the president’s feet.”
By 2005, as public support for the war plummeted, Luckovich’s paper approved a heart-wrenching cartoon to mark the loss of the 2,000th U.S. soldier in Iraq.
http://www.onthemedia.org/transcripts/2007/03/30/06
jay, go back to my original post…
I’m never in favor of using the military for political gain.
That’s my objection, not unlike yours, regarding the Erickson fella. Mike often used the military to make a political point. Exploitation, plain and simple. I don’t approve and your column would indicate you don’t either.
I guess I was wrong, or maybe you were?
JohnnyReb
May 25th, 2010
6:27 pm
Bosch, you are wishful thinking. It is not only my perception.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
6:28 pm
Jay
That’s the only time I’ve ever been to DC but if I ever go back, I would definitely go again.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
6:28 pm
Yeah, bro jo, I saw. And I penned a response but deleted it, because I thought it was something important enough to both of us that we should discuss it without the upstairs, downstairs thing going on at some future date.
We may disagree on different things, but to me, that is something to celebrate, not avoid.
If we all thought the same way about everything, this world would be real boring, wouldn’t it?!
Jay, I’m still a bit perplexed at how anybody over the age of about 45 doesn’t have a degree of distrust about much of anything that comes out of the Pentagon or Washington. (Too many memories of McNamara and LBJ, I suppose.)
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:28 pm
joan May 25th, 2010 5:44 pm SAID: …….Obama is better off in Chicago, and I wish he would stay there.
CHRIS SAYS: Yeah, and it would have been better if Bush had stayed home and just messed up his ranch in Texas. Would have saved a lot of lives and us all from a recession.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:28 pm
Curious
He is Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America, not the Governor of the State of Illinois…
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
6:29 pm
Johnny…those are BAD things Obama did to try to help Americans? Too bad he was not “patriotic” enough to always make sure his flag lapel pin was in place and then send our military into a war that he never needed to start in the first place…yup…killing humans (both our own soldiers and the hundreds of thousands of innocent Iraqi’s that got caught up as “collateral damage” over there) is DEFINITELY more patriotic and in fact BETTER for Americans then to try to give them health care or at least make sure they don’t get screwed over by the insurance companies… I guess I’ve been looking at this all wrong (as to what makes a “good” president” who cares about our citizens vs. a bad one who does them wrong).
Thanks for showing me the light!
Praise Allah!
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:30 pm
AmVet
Glad you got it and, agreed, it’s for a different time and place…but it was, in my opinion, a work of art in spin-doctoring…a craft I am not averse to!
Bosch
May 25th, 2010
6:31 pm
Reb,
But it’s not THE perception. You don’t get to decide that for all.
@@
May 25th, 2010
6:32 pm
jay, can I call your hounds, leg humpers?
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
6:35 pm
joseph…a person who died for our country fighting for our freedom is the SAME no matter if he is buried in DC or in Nebraska for that matter… our military comes from every nook and cranny of our nation… be it 17 vets buried in a small cemetery in Enid OK, or hundreds of thousands in a bigger cemetery… does those who are buried in their home town deserve any LESS respect? The “important” thing is that he DOES pay respect to them…which he IS doing. WHERE he does it matters little. In fact… by NOT starting unnecessary wars… to me…that matters even MORE to their honor… it shows that he values and RESPECTS them even more…that sending members of our military into battle is something he does not take lightly… to me, that shows his respect and his honor to those that lost their lives fighting for us more then others who showed little respect for their lives to begin with.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:37 pm
Anytime we go off on impugning someone else’s patriotism we fall heir to what Samuel Johnson warned us about in 1775 in reference to political jingoism “patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel.”
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
6:38 pm
“…a craft I am not averse to!”
Well said, brother. A more erudite version of “takes one to know one!”
Curious Observer. Salute! Call me crazy, but your opinion on this matter means more to me than 10 men who in your time and place who did not serve.
One reason why I respected (and still do) the hell out of John McCain. Though his own Karl Rove run party damn near swift boated him. I disagreed with much of his politics, but would have voted for him before our current CiC.
FWIW…
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
6:39 pm
Would you prefer Sarah Palin, RW?
I’m not quite sure what that means but yes seems to come to mind no matter how I consider the question.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:40 pm
Saul
This is a symbolic act. Washington is OUR capital. Arlington is the site of the Tomb of the Unknown of ALL of us…that’s where he belongs. He is OUR president.
MaJo
May 25th, 2010
6:41 pm
Jay, nice dodge of the questions posed by mike @ 5:36 pm. Wooten and Kyle’s blogs have nothing to do with you. Seems to me that mike has some legitimate questions, but you only answer the right-wing nuts because it’s easy pickings.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
6:42 pm
He’s also the president to those who died for our nation everywhere…
Just sayin’
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
6:44 pm
@@,
It’s nearly impossible to search the AJC archives, especially for cartoons. Why do you think Jay B is always propping up that “find me an example in the archives” strawman. The one ml toon that comes to mind right away is the one he titled Pot Meet Kettle where he had our military on par with al Qaeda head choppers. That’s the cartoon that he changed the name to “See the pretty kitten” or something like that in the middle of the day.
JohnnyReb
May 25th, 2010
6:45 pm
Bosch, I will concede that point, however, it is my perception the majority of the Nation does not look upon Obama as being patriotic.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:45 pm
AmVet–
Hopefully this won’t count against me for off-topic this p.m., but that’s what so much of what goes on in the various media and it’s not that I am opposed to it…just recognize that that’s what you’re doing. But “accuse” a pundit thereof and be told in no uncertain terms “not me!” Sheeesh!
F. Sinkwich
May 25th, 2010
6:48 pm
It wasn’t long ago that Obama thought Memorial Day was Veterans Day. Maybe he thinks he should do the wreath thing then.
Who cares? He is ashamed of America and its values so whether he makes the trip makes no difference.
He probably thinks after a round of golf on Monday he needs to fly over to France or some place and apologize for something.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:49 pm
SAUL
If he HAD to be, say, in Tucumcari on state business, of course and it would carry all the more weight. I understand this to be a trip of choice.
md
May 25th, 2010
6:50 pm
“How do we know he was Brave?”
That was the question posted, not “was he in the tomb because he was brave”.
Sorry that our definitions differ, but I think every soul that went was “brave”. It took courage and bravery to NOT high tail it to another country as the not so brave did.
Jazzyk
May 25th, 2010
6:51 pm
There’s always been this not-so-subtle smear against African-Americans as not as patriotic as Whites. That’s at the heart of this latest dig at Obama. Never mind that the first person to die for America was a runaway slave in the Boston Massacre (1770) and that Blacks have fought and died in every American war since the revolution. Bigotry won’t be placated by facts.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
6:52 pm
My father is buried in a sweet little place along the Platte River called Fort McPherson National Cemetery.
I wish I could find some pictures to do it justice.
Rest well, Adrian…
http://www.cem.va.gov/cems/nchp/ftmcpherson.asp
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_McPherson_National_Cemetery
@@
May 25th, 2010
6:53 pm
DANG! RW, how could I have forgotten about that one. You are SO right. He was shamed into changing the name. Perfect!
LUV ‘YA!
jay, just in case you’re not comprehending what I’m saying.
To USE our military as ammunition for a political target, is, in my opinion, unconscionable. I know they’re willing to die for his freedom of expression, but it is because of that very fact that they shouldn’t be USED in a personal attack for political reasons.
That’s how I feel, and not you or anybody else will ever change that. I stand firm on my principles.
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
6:53 pm
Wow, almost a full page before someone pulled the race card.
On Cynthia’s blog, she would have done it in her column and her defenders would have pulled it in the first 10 posts.
Jason
May 25th, 2010
6:53 pm
As I sit in Louisiana and watch oil pour onto our shoreline, destroy a way of life, and wreak havoc on our environment, I would really prefer Obama not take this vacation in Arlington or Chicago. He should be here. Oh, that’s right the Feds (republican or democrat) can care less about this state as long as BP and others keep filling their cofers.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
6:55 pm
Personally…I think it is, as usual, a tempest in a teapot. What matters – to the country, not to those in that tomb…is that they are honored in the name of the country. WHO has that honor matters not a flip. It is the honor that matters, not the last person who touches the wreath.
Disgusted
May 25th, 2010
6:57 pm
it is my perception the majority of the Nation does not look upon Obama as being patriotic.
Patriotism is a love of one’s country. In my opinion, Samuel Johnson was absolutely correct. A politician is prone to look more at perception than at reality. I hardly found George W. Bush’s presence at Arlington inspiring. In fact, I was filled with loathing for a man who would use such an occasion to build political support—one whose military records cannot even be found. I would rather have a largely unpublicized observance, such as Obama plans in Illinois. And I agree that there are tens of thousands of war heroes whose graves will never be visited this coming weekend. I will not be watching television and the pandering of the politicians. I will be thinking of General Merritt “Red Mike” Edson when I observe Memorial Day. There’s a man who was worth more than 10,000 of the faux patriots who consider themselves loyal Americans.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
6:57 pm
JohnnyReb May 25th, 2010 6:45 pm SAID: Bosch, I will concede that point, however, it is my perception the majority of the Nation does not look upon Obama as being patriotic.
CHRIS SAYS: And why is that? Because he has admitted that this country, great as it is, has made mistakes. Everyone’s pretty much admitted that Vietnam, Iraq, Slavery, etc, were all horrible mistakes. Are we, as a nation, so full of ourselves that no one can admit that we’ve made mistakes in the past. Only the most jingoistic and uninformed will claim that this nation has never made ANY mistakes. Which is why I have absolutely no tolerance for the Right-Wing in this country. That is also the difference between patriotism and nationalism. And blind nationalism is what the Nazis practiced and preached.
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
6:58 pm
“WHO has that honor matters not a flip.”
So if Hope & Change had Sarah Palin do the honors next week, you’d be OK with that?
F. Sinkwich
May 25th, 2010
6:58 pm
Please forgive JazzyK. Like many liberals, he believes that any policy disagreement with Obama has racist motives.
I pity the pathetic.
So much for our post-racial president.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
6:58 pm
JASON
Thanks for the comment…but face it, mon ami, we are now and have been since 1699 a backwater colony of the imperial designs, policies and politics set far, far away…
A CONSERVATIVE
May 25th, 2010
6:58 pm
..LIBERALs GET OFFENDED BY “THE NATIONAL ANTHUM”–or THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG…..LIBERALs get offended by everything decent & traditional.
md
May 25th, 2010
6:59 pm
“That’s at the heart of this latest dig at Obama.”
You do realize that without the “white” vote, he wouldn’t even be in the WH, don’t you?
Race will forever be an issue if it is used as the most convenient excuse.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:00 pm
Off Topic:
I was streaming a radio station today from Florida to my desk. The jock put these guys who know all about oil rigs and their engineering on a voice scrambler so they could say what they know about the gulf oil fiasco. Jay might know BTLS on CXR.
I heard a lot of BS… But one engineer really got my attention. At first I thought he was full of you know what but thank goodness for google. He’s telling the truth.
The Russians (who are the largest producers of oil in the world) know how and have stopped these kinds of accidents in the past. The solution isn’t pretty. From 1966 to 1979 they stopped 4 out of 5 using very small nuclear detonations at the site of the leak. Apparently the blast force will turn the sea floor over into a crater and seal the muthafrigger right up.
Now …. Let the haters begin. What’s worse? A small nuke over a mile down to stop this clusterfrack or continue on our present course?
We could have it closed in 12 hours.
Just thinkin’……..
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:01 pm
RW @ 6:44
I have never seen the cartoon you are referring to but it appears to be from Jun 21, 2006, from what I found in a Google search. I found this but can’t find the actual cartoon.
http://www.ajc.com/opinion/content/shared-blogs/ajc/luckovich/entries/2006/06/21/pot_to_kettle.html
Matilda
May 25th, 2010
7:04 pm
Johnny Reb: “Bosch, I will concede that point, however, it is my perception the majority of the Nation does not look upon Obama as being patriotic.”
I think you’ve identified a significant element in the problems we face today, or more specifically, why our problems are not being resolved at the rate we would like. What the heck does BEING PATRIOTIC mean, exactly? Let alone one person’s perception of that in another?
There are probably a million ways to define it, yet this abstract and entirely subjective concept is widely used to measure something that should be measured by actions and results. If “perceptions” rule instead of reality, I think we’re all in a lot of trouble. I wish people would stop trying to convince me how “patriotic” they are, and show me they can solve a problem or make the community a better place to live.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:04 pm
If Jay lets my comment go I have one more addition.
If BP has to blow that leak up, they lose the rights to drill that oil field forever. Now maybe we understand why they are dragging their feet?
FunnyBone
May 25th, 2010
7:06 pm
I’m just glad that this Erick the Red was able to make me laugh. Otherwise, he would be another plain old Reepublican and other than sayin’ no, what good are they. And that is reetorical. I ain’t lookin’ for no Reepublican, no matter what you be callin’ yerself these days, to answer that.
Cynthina T.
May 25th, 2010
7:08 pm
Obama and Biden both walk on water.
They turn water into wine and make America shine.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:09 pm
@@, I see your point. I don’t entirely agree with it, but … I see where you’re coming from re; the cartoons. On the casket cartoon, I do think its wrong to criticize on the basis of something that wasn’t even published. That’s what the editing process is for, and everyone in this business relies on it to pull you back from the edge (that’s partly why blogging is a little scary, because that editing process isn’t there. You’re working without a net.)
I honestly don’t recall the AQ cartoon; as described, I agree it should have been withdrawn or at least revised, as it apparently was.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:10 pm
Personally, I don’t want “Private” Obama near the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, the Vietnam Wall or any other military site or monument. He and his ilk loathe the military and use them only for their political purposes. They are doing things right now to weaken it ……….. dropping DADT for starters.
You have seen this before and you will see it again for it fits perfectly …………..
“Contemplate the mangled bodies of your countrymen, and then say ‘what should be the reward of such sacrifices?’ … If ye love wealth better than liberty, the tranquility of servitude than the animated contest of freedom, go from us in peace. We ask not your counsels or arms. Crouch down and lick the hands, which feed you. May your chains sit lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that you were our countrymen!”
Samuel Adams
jconservative
May 25th, 2010
7:11 pm
If joan reflects the opinion of the Tea party, then the Tea Party is in deep trouble. Hopefully enough Tea Party types leave personality at the slop trough and concentrate on the two problems that created their cause, unbridled spending for 30 straight years coupled with unbridled tax cuts for the same 30 years.
You know it is really elementary. If you take in income of $100.00, then cut it by $20.00 and then spend $120.00 you will soon be in trouble. This is what the USA has done since 1981. And I am sure it was with joan’s full endorsement.
But if personality & political affiliation is more important than political facts, so be it. This is just another nail in the coffin of the USA. And the Tea Party has been a bust.
Who has been in charge for the past 30 years?????
Party.. Pres… House.. Senate
Repub.. 20….. 12….. 16
Demo… 9…… 17….. 13
Who has been in charge???? Incumbents!!!!!!!
Have a nice day!
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:11 pm
Jazzyk May 25th, 2010 6:51 pm SAID: There’s always been this not-so-subtle smear against African-Americans as not as patriotic as Whites. That’s at the heart of this latest dig at Obama. Never mind that the first person to die for America was a runaway slave in the Boston Massacre (1770) and that Blacks have fought and died in every American war since the revolution. Bigotry won’t be placated by facts.
CHRIS SAYS: JazzyK makes a good point. Was Bush or any other President ever smeared to this level from day one and have their patriotism questioned as our current President? Clinton was accused of being a draft dodger but never of being outright unpatriotic. Think about it…………….and BTW, I’m White.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:12 pm
(that’s partly why blogging is a little scary, because that editing process isn’t there. You’re working without a net.)
Perhaps, we should all wear helmets?
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
7:13 pm
Chris, Clinton never went on the world apology tour, either.
Big difference.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:13 pm
As to nuking the Gulf …. oh man, I don’t think so. The Soviets didn’t do it in the ocean, did they? I mean, heavily radiated water flowing all over the globe, with a half life of 10,000 years, and a precedent set of a nuclear weapon as a tool?
What’s happening in the Gulf is a tragedy, and I understand the desperation. But a nuke?
And for what it’s worth, Jason — not much I’m afraid — Obama IS coming down there Friday.
@@
May 25th, 2010
7:13 pm
jay, only the title was revised, the image made the same point.
By the by….can I call your hounds leg humpers?
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
7:15 pm
I honestly don’t recall the AQ cartoon; as described, I agree it should have been withdrawn or at least revised, as it apparently was.
Jay B,
The cartoon was never modified, just the name in the headline got changed late in the afternoon.
Gordon
May 25th, 2010
7:16 pm
“Is the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier really just another ground from which to launch political attacks?”
Kind of like this column?
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
7:17 pm
Scout
You’re going to get me riled on that…
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Arondeus
Note what he said in his last testament before his execution:
“Let it be known that homosexuals are not cowards.”
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:18 pm
Please try not to, @@.
I know it’s been used by some, and at times I’ve pulled down those comments and at times left them up. But — and I’m not saying the description is valid — wouldn’t it be more classy to use a word such as “sycophant”?
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:18 pm
Jay May 25th, 2010 7:13 pm SAID: As to nuking the Gulf …. oh man, I don’t think so. The Soviets didn’t do it in the ocean, did they? I mean, heavily radiated water flowing all over the globe, with a half life of 10,000 years, and a precedent set of a nuclear weapon as a tool?
What’s happening in the Gulf is a tragedy, and I understand the desperation. But a nuke?
CHRIS SAID: People watch too many darned movies. Blowing things up usually does not solve all our problems. BTW, people are saying that the Federal government should take this whole process over regarding capping this leak. As much as I now hate BP, only they and the other oil companies have the expertise to fix this. The Federal folks don’t have the people with the expertise to resolve this.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:18 pm
Jay – Blogging without a net is Freedom of Speech.
The press has had it for centuries but within the last few years We The People can speak in public forums all over the world.
20 years ago we were all dependent upon ABC, NBC, CBS, The New York Times and The Washington Post. Those outlets failed to understand the technical ramifications of the internet revolution. People can speak without fear and with passion here on the internet. They media that can’t understand 24/7/365 is doomed.
md
May 25th, 2010
7:19 pm
“JazzyK makes a good point.”
No s/he doesn’t. Racism is most certainly an issue with a percentage of people (and that goes many ways), but the “heart” it is not.
That broad brush doesn’t fly.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:19 pm
Well, if it was the headline, Mike had no knowledge or control over that. He just draws the cartoon itself and leaves the rest to others.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:21 pm
Dave R. May 25th, 2010 7:13 pm SAID: Chris, Clinton never went on the world apology tour, either.
CHRIS SAYS: He didn’t do that because this country has nothing to apologize for? Is that your point? Frankly, as a nation, to never admit that we have made mistakes that have cost lives is sycophantic.
Big difference.
N-GA
May 25th, 2010
7:22 pm
F.Stinkwich – I believe that President Obama is NOT ashamed of his country, but you certainly seem to be
Yet we should all be ashamed,,,,,ashamed of the war begun by Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld. Ashamed of their blatant disregard of the American voter while they sucked up to big oil, Halliburton, Blackwater, big banks, rich folks, Enron, etc. But at least I never voted for him…..EVER! Of that I am proud!
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
7:22 pm
Here’s a blast from the past. I had to resurrect ml After Dark to post the original cartoon. Look fast because the AJC goon squad will be all over me to take this back down.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:23 pm
I meant that from my end, Chupa. Anything I write for the paper gets seen by three or four other pairs of eyes before it’s published. Here on the blog, I write it and publish it, no review.
Of course, everyone on the Net does that. But as the blog “proprietor,” I am properly held to a much higher standard than those who post here. So there’s a tension there that I personally have to be aware of.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:23 pm
josef:
No one ever said that homosexuals are cowards. Some of their murders are the mostly grizzly ones performed. They can be brutal. The point is that have served, they are serving and they will serve. Those of us who find their actions and lifestyle repulsive just want them to keep it to themselves and not flaunt it.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
7:23 pm
What comes after @@? ##
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:23 pm
As to nuking the Gulf …. oh man, I don’t think so. The Soviets didn’t do it in the ocean, did they?
Jay
I can’t verify it but according to things I’ve heard, it was in the ocean. I’ve looked to verify it or disprove it and have been unable to.
I wonder if a very large non-nuclear explosion would have the same effect?
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:23 pm
Yeah Jay – The Soviets did it. So did we.
C’mon – you’ve seen the movies from the late 40’s and 50’s.
Dozens of nukes have been detonated under water but not for decades. The ocean is actually big enough to take it… yuck but true.
Got a better suggestion?
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
7:24 pm
Oh, and you can just click the cartoon to enlarge it.
@@
May 25th, 2010
7:24 pm
Here’s the Al Qaeda cartoon, jay. Read about the public’s displeasure.
http://www.mcculloughsite.net/stingray/2006/06/22/mike-luckovich-a-cartoon-you-will-not-believe.php
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:25 pm
Thanks RW.
That headline was:
A. Very wrong.
B. Nothing Mike had anything to do with.
In fact, maybe I’m wrong here, but I have a vague memory that after that, the cartoons were posted without a headline on them. Is that correct?
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:25 pm
Respect to Jay – understood.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:25 pm
Headline Obama: “‘PLUG THE DAMN HOLE!’
I wonder if he was he talking about the oil spill or DADT ?
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:25 pm
Scout, your obsession is showing again.
Bob Newhart
May 25th, 2010
7:25 pm
Any truth to the rumor the unknown soldier was gay?
Bob Newhart
May 25th, 2010
7:26 pm
Scout,
Did you order the code red?
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:26 pm
md May 25th, 2010 7:19 pm SAYS:
“JazzyK makes a good point.”
No s/he doesn’t. Racism is most certainly an issue with a percentage of people (and that goes many ways), but the “heart” it is not.
That broad brush doesn’t fly.
CHRIS SAYS: Then we agree to disagree. I find it interesting that the same folks who accuse our current President of being “unpatriotic” have no problems excusing previous Presidents for mistakes that cost this country thousands of lives and trillions of dollars.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:28 pm
RW @ 7:22
I can’t read the caption on that. If I enlarge it, it blurs.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
7:28 pm
Scout
And I understand your citation of your religious beliefs and traditions, but allow me the same priviledge. The Gerrit van der Veen Synagoge, Orthodox, in Amsterdam is named for the founder of the underground cell composed largely of Amsterdam homosexuals…
Jazz
May 25th, 2010
7:28 pm
The difference is that Reagan and Bush were not able to attend because of their prior job related commitments, not because they chose to go on vacation. This is shameful.
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
7:29 pm
“CHRIS SAYS: He didn’t do that because this country has nothing to apologize for? Is that your point?”
No, Chris, and if you think that, your reading comprehension skills need more work than even I thought they did.
However, while we can agree that there are certain things this nation could and should apologize for, Hope & Change has certainly gone overboard in his efforts to marginalize us across the globe with his seemingly endless apologies when traveling abroad.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:29 pm
@@, RW
OK, I can see it now. In my opinion, it crossed the line.
@@
May 25th, 2010
7:30 pm
jay:
I hate the buzz words people use around here. “Sycophant” is one of ‘em.
I would never call someone a leg humper. It’s beneath me.
Wouldn’t call anyone a b*tch either. That too is beneath me.
RW-(the original)
May 25th, 2010
7:30 pm
Jay B,
I think the cartoon was very wrong no matter what the headline said. After that headlines came and went, but even when they had none there was a name contained within the URL of the blog post that somebody came up with so they all had a name. Incidentally, the URL for Pot to Kettle didn’t change when the new headline appeared.
Balance Our Budget
May 25th, 2010
7:30 pm
Why do hardly hear a word about Gitmo still being open?When Bush was President the libs were all up in arms over that place.The world supposedly no longer liked America because of it.When Obama became President he promised to shut it down within a year.Does the silence of the libs and inaction of Obama mean Bush was right?Its really hilarious to watch Obama continue doing some of the things that libs disliked most about Bush.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:30 pm
So Jazz, Reagan and Bush weren’t able to look at the calendar and say, “Gee, Memorial Day is coming up? Maybe I should stay in town?”
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:31 pm
Me too, @@
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:33 pm
josef:
And your point is? Judas was also a disciple!
“Not everyone who calls Me Lord, Lord shall enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
7:33 pm
“Did you order the code red?”
LOLOL.
Some here clearly have multiple “personalities”. Some others are as typecast as Leonard Nimoy.
And the rest at us just laugh and say vive la différence.
(Nuking the friggin Gulf??? Jeez, Louise…)
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:34 pm
Dave R. May 25th, 2010 7:29 pm SAYS: Hope & Change has certainly gone overboard in his efforts to marginalize us across the globe with his seemingly endless apologies when traveling abroad.
CHRIS SAYS: Then its interesting that internationally, the perception of the US has changed from negative to a strong positive. Maybe I don’t know what you understand marginalize to mean?
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
7:34 pm
Battles are fought but wars are won or lost.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
7:34 pm
Scout: “He and his ilk loathe the military and use them only for their political purposes.”
Really? I guess Bush and Cheney (ya know…those two WAR HEROS who both served honorably in their youth) didn’t use the military for political purposes. In fact, that is exactly what they did… I mean REALLY NOW?! UGH! So please explain to us all how Obama has used the military for a political purpose. Following the recommendations of our nations military leaders must be a “political purpose”…. Sending troops into Iraq because of the “threat” they had to us and the rest of the world at large…not so much.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:34 pm
Bob Newhart :
No. It was called a “blanket party” back then. Trap the guy in his bunk in the middle of the night and everyone gets a good punch in. No worse for the wear and tear and “highly movtivated” the next day.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
7:35 pm
Scout
@ 7:23
With all due respect, just keep in mind that your third person is my first person…
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:36 pm
Saul Good:
…………… and his salute is so wimpy looking.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:36 pm
Hillbilly – From what I heard today from those engineers and found thru my research it really does take a nuke. Not a “citybuster” nuke. Conventionals can’t get it down at that pressure. Back in the 50’s we had very small nuke munitions designed to fire from our long range artillery. They were designated as “battlefield” weapons…. ughhhhh… we actually did this, but one of these shells would get the gig finished.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
7:37 pm
Jay…Reagan and Bush didn’t have calenders… they had others look up the dates and holidays for them. Bush always liked to know when the big Easter Egg hunt was taking place on the WH lawn. Ronnie always wanted to be be told when the Oscars were on.
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
7:37 pm
Chris, marginalize means that anything that makes us weaker, makes others stronger and increases their competitive power over us.
Guess what? Hope & Change’s job isn’t to make us weaker, in case you missed that.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:37 pm
josef:
Just stand tall, wear the uniform proudly and keep it to yourself.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 25th, 2010
7:38 pm
Well, well, I must say that I am impressed by obozo’s decision not to sully the honor of our brave fallen soldier by keeping his socialist ass away, along with not running that Marxist mouth whilst upon such hallowed ground.
Here, here, obozo, hat’s off.
Jazzyk
May 25th, 2010
7:38 pm
md,
I like the way you sidestepped my point about historical knowledge and bigoted smears.
The fact that some whites voted for Obama doesn’t excuse the bigotry of others or ignorance
about the sacrifices of black patriots for our great country.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:38 pm
“OFF TOPIC #1″
This is pretty good:
“The danger to America is not Barack Obama but a citizenry capable of entrusting a man like him with the presidency. It will be easier to limit and undo the follies of an Obama presidency than to restore the necessary common sense and good judgment to a depraved electorate willing to have such a man for their president. The problem is much deeper and far more serious than Mr. Obama, who is a mere symptom of what ails them. Blaming the prince of the fools should not blind anyone to the vast confederacy of fools that made him their prince. The republic can survive a Barack Obama, who is, after all, merely a fool. It is less likely to survive a multitude of fools such as those who made him their president.” Author Unknown
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 25th, 2010
7:39 pm
I blew that cartoon out of the water, the second I saw it.
Sarah Palin
May 25th, 2010
7:39 pm
“He and his ilk…”
I shoot ilk from my helicopter.
Bob Newhart
May 25th, 2010
7:39 pm
To bad purgatory doesn’t exist anymore, I’d rather hang out there in the afterlife instead of in heavan with the humorless religious right….
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
7:42 pm
Dave R. May 25th, 2010 7:37 pm SAID:
Chris, marginalize means that anything that makes us weaker, makes others stronger and increases their competitive power over us.
Guess what? Hope & Change’s job isn’t to make us weaker, in case you missed that.
CHRIS SAYS: I then feel sorry for your better half because, in your opinion, apologizing, is a sign of weakness. Must make for a heck of a household.
F-105 Thunderchief
May 25th, 2010
7:42 pm
Yeah, use a nuke in the Gulf. I love blackened redfish and grouper.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
7:42 pm
BP will seal off the leak without using a nuke. Although, the prospect of Gulf Godzilla shrimp and the number of mouths just one would feed is worth consideration. I just hope they can get on shore on their own though because I don’t think those little shrimp boats were designed for anything that big.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:42 pm
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin… :
Exactly ………. it’s hallowed ground he and his ild have no business stepping on.
I guess you saw in the news the very tepid response he got at the West Point graduation not to mention that he had to drop the line from his remarks about “there’s a lot of cheering here” …….. because there wasn’t! Many cadets accepted their diplomas but refused to shake his hand.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
7:43 pm
Scout…so when the republicans picked Sarah out of ALL the other republicans in our nation to be a heart beat away from the presidency… THAT was the “best” they could come up with. Talk about “fools”… you can’t really do worse (except for maybe Dan Quayle…though at least he never “quit” pretty much everything he started…like 4 or 5 colleges to get a simple undergraduate degree and ummm….oh ya…being govna of a state with a population equal to a “small” city)…
Too bad you didn’t sign your name to your quote.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
7:43 pm
JAY
@ 7:30
Which is my point precisely…I had the same feeling when they did it as I do here…
Scout–
The point is that if an Orthodox congregation, a breed who’s theological sexual mores make yours look liberal, can recognize the debt they owe to the homosexuals, it may well be a lesson for others of the more conservative faiths…
And don’t go playing the Judas card just yet…that’s a particularly touchy one with me and most of my fellow Jews and this is not the thread on which to go into it…but when the time comes, it’s one I’ll be glad to exchange opinions and perspectives with you on…
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
7:44 pm
“So if Hope & Change had Sarah Palin do the honors next week, you’d be OK with that?”
Sure, why not? If I had my druthers though, I’d like every President to delegate the responsibility to an disabled serviceman or service woman
Eat Mor Chikin
May 25th, 2010
7:44 pm
I shoot ilk from my helicopter.
I thought you shot moo’s.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
7:46 pm
josef:
“Even Satan can disguise himself as an angel of light.”
Time for chow …………………
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
7:47 pm
“But a nuke?”
Jay, NPR had a piece on this very subject a few days ago. The Russians exploded underground nukes…they had to drill down beside the blowing gas well to get them to the right place.
and, for whoever said they were “small” (or words to that effect) according to the NPR report they were at least twice as big as the ones dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
7:48 pm
Jay
If you’re still here, could you see what’s wrong with my 7:46/7:47, please?
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
7:50 pm
joan said, I am glad he is not going. For him to go would be the height of hypocrisy. The man spits on all things American and is not fit to lay a wreath on the tomb of a brave man.
Joan, you are a real class act. When it is time to put flowers on your grave, I hope no one feels like spitting.
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
7:50 pm
“CHRIS SAYS: I then feel sorry for your better half because, in your opinion, apologizing, is a sign of weakness.”
Chris, you are a left-wing a$$ who doesn’t know one thing about me (or for that matter, many others). You generalize to the extreme in everything you post, and try to tell people what they said or typed when you are completely in error. You leap to unfounded conclusions about anyone you disagree with.
I do NOT consider apologizing as a sign of weakness. However, I consider apologizing unnecessarily as a weakness. When Hope & Change issues a blank apology on foreign soil for his perception that this country has been “arrogant” in the past, without stating any specifics, he his weakening us in the eyes of the world.
Now maybe if you’d open your eyes about some of the shortcomings of this President and use your brain for something other than separating your ears from one another, you can learn to learn about other views and other ideas.
Otherwise, you’re a waste of time and oxygen.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:51 pm
The Russians solved the problem. Their problem was is only worked 4 out of 5 times. 80% sounds pretty good at this point.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
7:52 pm
“Many cadets accepted their diplomas but refused to shake his hand.”
Scout, you claim to have been a Marine. Did they teach you anything about the concept of honor?
You claim to be a Christian. Do you remember the commandment about not bearing false witness?
I didn’t have to even look to know that was a lie. An absolute fabrication, invented because you and others like you need to invent such facts because real life doesn’t give you sufficient justification for your odd beliefs.
But you know what? I looked for proof anyway, and here it is, from Fox News no less:
“Their Commander-in-Chief personally handed out diplomas to top cadets and shook every graduate’s hand. After reciting their commission oath, there was one last task at hand, the traditional hat toss, high in the air and accompanied by children racing onto the field of Michie Stadium to claim their prize.”
Source: http://whitehouse.blogs.foxnews.com/2010/05/22/west-point-cadets-are-loyal-till-the-end/
Now. Maybe you would like to sound retreat?
Dave R.
May 25th, 2010
7:52 pm
And with that being said, the CBS lineup is all season finales tonight, so I must leave you to yourselves.
Later.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
7:53 pm
Does the silence of the
libslambs and inaction of Obama mean Bush was right?No. Duh.
Its really
hilariouspathetic to watch Obama continue doing some of the things that libs disliked most about Bush. Also how the cons thought he was gonna be so very, very different.There. That’s better…
Yep, I’ll shore be glad when the rest of the world respects us like they use to a couple of years ago.
Alex, I’ll take clueless for $2000 please.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
7:56 pm
Dave R… it’s pretty well known that the majority of world leaders thought of Bush as a buffoon… while the “respect” Obama. It was HE who brought “respect” back to our nation… the whole world does not BOW down to us. This “empire” was fading anyway (as ALL empires do)….Bush and Co just sped up the process with their “go it alone” attitude. Difference between a “self made” man and one who failed at everything in life but still kept having everything handed to him… we see how well that worked out for us (and all the others around the globe who were harmed, or killed because of his inadequacies).
officer and a gentleman
May 25th, 2010
7:56 pm
WWOD?
Would Obama have EVER considered serving in the military of the United States?
Monty Python subtitler
May 25th, 2010
7:57 pm
A Møøse once bit my sister.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
7:57 pm
Back on topic.
I grew up in Arlington, VA right across the Potomac from DC and about 2 miles from Arlington National Cemetery.
The POTUS should attend the Memorial Day Service NO MATTER WHAT!
Anybody who’s never been to Arlington can run their trap via keyboard, but to walk the grounds and see all the sacrifices made by those who’ve guaranteed our freedom to blog…..
I don’t care what POTUS skipped it before…. Anytime one of ‘em miss that gig is ULTIMATE FAIL !!!
MadeinAmerica
May 25th, 2010
7:58 pm
Obama should WANT to attend the Laying of the Wreaths on Memorial Day. His loathing of America is evident in all that he does from bowing to foreign dictators to betraying our greatest ally, Israel. He is a complete and utter disgrace to our great nation.
@@
May 25th, 2010
7:58 pm
My husband and I may need to take a little trip down to the gulf to support the seafood industry.
(CNN) — Gulf Coast chefs and fishing advocates claim, “Come on in; the water’s fine!” but find themselves facing a public awash in apprehension over potentially oil-tainted seafood.
When New Orleans, Louisiana, chef John Besh recently urged people to choose U.S. shrimp over imports during an interview about the state of seafood in the wake of the Gulf of Mexico spill, commenters responded negatively, writing, “What’s a little tar or mercury in your system anyways?!” and “I hope you enjoy the petrol in your fish.”
^^^ That commenter sounds like somebody hereabouts.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/wayoflife/05/25/fish.fight.safety.misinformation/
josef:
This one’s for you.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/24/gulf.coast.cultural.impact/?hpt=C2
Heartwarming and heartbreaking, all at the same time. A determined people, they…
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
7:59 pm
Scout….I like ya friend…but it seems your credibility is slipping away…”sources” my friend… they help when you try to make points from time to time. Stop reading the right wing propaganda… it’s harmful to your mind. Read ALL sides to ALL issues by true “journalists” instead of hate mongers and entertainers. The sources are out there and they’re really not that hard to find…
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
8:02 pm
“Would Obama have EVER considered serving in the military of the United States?”
I seriously doubt it.
Unless he could have gotten an ….ahem, “part time” assignment in the Illinois Air National Guard…
Jay
May 25th, 2010
8:03 pm
Anybody with any comprehension of the U.S. military would know that a West Point graduate, after four years of intense work and sacrifice, would NEVER throw it all away by such a public act of disrespect for their commander in chief.
It is ludicrous to make — or believe — such a claim.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
8:04 pm
Chu….Obama HAS been there and he’s STILL going to respecting those who gave their lives for our nation. If he went to Dahlonega and respected those who are buried there and who gave their lives for this nation… are they less worthy? Are you saying those buried there in their home towns don’t deserve the SAME respect as the ones who lie there at Arlington? Tell that to the family members who will be in attendance where he speaks that day. Ask them if they think he’s “dissing” our fallen heros.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
8:04 pm
For what it’s worth, the President’s non attendance is not so much bad politics as it is bad manners and bad pr…
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
8:06 pm
Eat hearty, @@. Just remember that chikin don’t eat mercury-filled critters lower down on the food chain. They just eat corn. Monsanto corn. Modified monsanto corn that is resistant to Roundup. The Roundup that makes girls out of men. Now that’s really gay, isn’t it.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
8:08 pm
I refuse to accept the argument that the POTUS would not attend the national ceremony to honor our fallen heroes of America at her nation’s most sacred ground.
Every POTUS should be there EVERY year…. No vacations, no excuses.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
8:08 pm
It is ludicrous to make — or believe — such a claim.
Then again, Scout is but a Cub. Give him time.
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:09 pm
@@ said I hate the buzz words people use around here. “Sycophant” is one of ‘em.
Would you prefer the expression “brown noser”? Sycophant is likely to get you into less trouble, I would say.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
8:09 pm
Chickens’ll eat a whole lot more than corn.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
8:09 pm
Hey Chupa, change your sig. Your name forces me to approve your post every time.
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:12 pm
MadeInAmerica said Obama should WANT to attend the Laying of the Wreaths on Memorial Day. His loathing of America is evident in all that he does from bowing to foreign dictators to betraying our greatest ally, Israel. He is a complete and utter disgrace to our great nation.
Loathing of America? A disgrace? How would you know? Or perhaps your views were “Made On AM Radio”?
Mick
May 25th, 2010
8:13 pm
Here’s a thought; One could argue that president obama is one of the most courageous people in america. Four times the amount of death threats than bush. All it takes is one loon to pull it off. Don’t think it could happen? Kennedy. So, just think what it must be like to take on the problems of america and the world, then have that thought in the back of your mind any time you appear in public. To all you people that mock the man who is president, and for letting the vice-president handle it; obama might just be calculating that this is the one place where biden can be seen and heard – all bets are off on that..
officer and a gentleman
May 25th, 2010
8:17 pm
“Unless he could have gotten an ….ahem, “part time” assignment in the Illinois Air National Guard…”
Yeah, right…
Obama butt kisser.
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 25th, 2010
8:18 pm
It’s rather astonishing that an administration that has taken upon itself to micromanage banks, auto makers and health insurers has allowed an oil company to flay about for more than a month, sprinkling dispersant and dropping virtually useless rubber barriers in an effort to hold back the gooey tide.-BostonGlobe
You reckon?
Ooops, tax me!
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
8:19 pm
@@
at 7:58
A good read…thanks…
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 25th, 2010
8:21 pm
Uh oh, duh heat is on-
Republicans and Democrats pressured the White House on Tuesday to disclose whether it offered a federal job to Pennsylvania Rep. Joe Sestak if he would drop his Senate primary challenge against Democratic incumbent Arlen Specter.
Impeach obozo now!
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:22 pm
Scout’s Dishonor, Jay busted you with your fabrication regarding President Obama’s visit to West Point. Shame on you. Really it was shameful. Have you no regard for honor?
Gale
May 25th, 2010
8:22 pm
FWIW, I agree. The president should lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown in Arlington on Memorial day. We are at war and service men and women are dieing,
Also, thanks Hillbilly and Del for the rifle data below, It was very interesting.
Saul Good
May 25th, 2010
8:25 pm
I report…. how long it take “us” to put out the burning oil wells that Saddam set aflame? How much of OUR tax dollars were spent doing it? Look it up…
(btw…how many of OUR troops were stationed at the oil fields the second we entered Iraq… also how many were stationed in Afghanistan the second we arrived to “protect” the natural gas lines)?
I recall Cheney saying that the oil in Iraq would pay for the whole cost of our “invasion” though just under THEIR watch the cost in Iraq alone was over a trillion dollars….
You reckon?
@@
May 25th, 2010
8:27 pm
eyes:
Sycophant would get me into less trouble? Trouble is my middle name. Not afraid of trouble.
Would you prefer the expression “brown noser”?
“brown noser” would be most fitting considering how closely behind they follow jay’s “comments”. It’s most unbecoming, but that’s just my opinion. Staring at “the moon” can blind one to their own shortcomings.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved:
If I’m not mistaken, chickens eat their own poo.
I’m not asking you to, but I’m willing to take a chance to support the fisherman. Moral support is a good thing.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
8:33 pm
If I’m not mistaken, chickens eat their own poo.
Never paid any attention to that but I’ve seen dogs dine on cow droppings many times.
When the Exxon Valdez had it’s spill, there was a finite amount of oil to be spilled. With this well, theoretically at least, it could be infinite. What do we do if it’s the same as today 30 days from now? 60 days? 90 days? 6 months? a year?
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
8:33 pm
If I’m not mistaken, chickens eat their own poo.
That’s because it takes multiple passes to digest that Monsanto corn. They eat their corn-fed young too. As for Morton’s fishermen, they’ll be well compensated in their new careers as oil skimmers until they can fish again.
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:33 pm
@@, well then, should I see you indulging in any sort of sycophancy in future, I will just tap out “brown noser” on my keyboard.
josef nix
May 25th, 2010
8:34 pm
checking out early…last day of school for the kiddies and they wo’ me down to a low thin gravy…
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:35 pm
josef, take care, teach.
godless heathen
May 25th, 2010
8:36 pm
Spirited debate tonight. Obama is effin up enough with trying to make an issue out of him skipping a ceremony at Arlington on Memorial Day. This kind of crap just distracts from the real issues and doesn’t mean a thing. If Obama needs to go to Chicago and rig some elections, then that’s what he needs to do.
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
8:37 pm
Actually chickens take into their gullet very small gravel. It’s to aid in digestion, since they don’t have the Rolls Royce of digestive systems.
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
8:38 pm
Hillbilly, I think that I have taken in some of that gravel at KFC. Now, I know why.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
8:43 pm
“With this well, theoretically at least, it could be infinite”
Not even theoretically. It could potentially be a LOT, but never-ending? Nope. Because if it WAS we could drill a new well into the reserve and shut down every other well on earth and never have to worry about fuel ever again. Not even close.
DoggoneGA
May 25th, 2010
8:45 pm
“Actually chickens take into their gullet very small gravel. It’s to aid in digestion, since they don’t have the Rolls Royce of digestive systems”
The gravel is only an aid to digestion in the same way teeth are. ALL birds eat appropriate sized stones to help break up their food, since they can’t chew it.
stands for decibels
May 25th, 2010
8:46 pm
Since nobody else has mentioned it, I feel it is important to note that the gentleman who is the subject of Jay’s post, Erick Erickson, is the same individual who, upon learning that Justice Souter would be retiring, felt motivated to tweeted that “the nation loses the only goat f–king child molester to ever serve on the supreme court.”
(This was shortly before The Most Trusted Name In News decided to hire him.)
Jay
May 25th, 2010
8:47 pm
I’ve seen an outer-limit estimate of what that reservoir would hold. I forget the number, but I do remember thinking it was very large. As I vaguely recall, it would take more than a few months but less than a year.
And by then…
Hillbilly Deluxe
May 25th, 2010
8:47 pm
the eyes
I wouldn’t be surprised. I try to avoid the Colonel at all costs.
Earlier downstairs, somebody was talking about using sheep/goats to eradicate Kudzu. That works pretty good on the vines and leaves but if the roots are very old, they won’t kill it completely. I have seen roots on kudzu, that has been there several years, as big as my forearm and that’s no exaggeration. Large doses of chicken manure will kill it, if it is hot and dry but if it rains on it, you’re in bad way. It’ll act like fertilizer.
I was hearing today, on GA Network news, that a teenage boy somewhere in GA, has come up with a way to inject kudzu with helium and kill it. He’s patented some sort of device to do it. If it works, he’s going to make Bill Gates look like a panhandler.
Chris Salzmann
May 25th, 2010
8:52 pm
May 25th, 2010 7:50 pm SAID: “CHRIS SAYS: I then feel sorry for your better half because, in your opinion, apologizing, is a sign of weakness.”
Chris, you are a left-wing a$$ who doesn’t know one thing about me (or for that matter, many others). You generalize to the extreme in everything you post, and try to tell people what they said or typed when you are completely in error. You leap to unfounded conclusions about anyone you disagree with.
I do NOT consider apologizing as a sign of weakness. However, I consider apologizing unnecessarily as a weakness. When Hope & Change issues a blank apology on foreign soil for his perception that this country has been “arrogant” in the past, without stating any specifics, he his weakening us in the eyes of the world.
Now maybe if you’d open your eyes about some of the shortcomings of this President and use your brain for something other than separating your ears from one another, you can learn to learn about other views and other ideas.
Otherwise, you’re a waste of time and oxygen.
CHRIS SAYS: So what did Obama apologize unnecessarily for? Frankly, its about time an administration came around and stopped epitomizing the Ugly American which is what we were during 8 years of Bush under his “If you aren’t with us, you are against us” doctrine. Frankly, you are the kind of nationalistic and jingoistic idiots that cheered this country from one disaster to another and kept clapping for an encore. You don’t know squat. Broaden your mind because its closed like a steel trap. I’d rather be an open minder a$$ then a close minded and ignorant idiot!
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
8:55 pm
Ughhhhhhh.
I say nuke the leak anyway Jay.
How ’bout “Chupa Tea Partiest”?
BillyGee
May 25th, 2010
8:56 pm
What a santimonious sack of garbage, Jay. You and your friends spent eight years attacking Bush at every possible turn in the foulest terms imaginable. You are a just a hypocrite crybaby.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
8:59 pm
Jay – Does anybody get it or do they only want to vomit?
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
8:59 pm
“Obama butt kisser.”
I voted against him, Bush butt kisser…
David
May 25th, 2010
8:59 pm
Erickson is a lying scumbag who falsely accused former Supreme Court Justice David Souter of molesting children and having sex with goats. He also may be sued for libel by falsesly accusing macon’s honorable spas of sex trafficking. He is a liar and a Limbaugh Wannabe. Ignore him!
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
9:04 pm
Does anybody think Term Limits for Congress is a bad idea?
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:06 pm
eyes:
I will just tap out “brown noser” on my keyboard.
Feel free, but you’ll never catch me following too closely behind the host.
Chupacabra
May 25th, 2010
9:07 pm
Jay – your moderation is understood but I’m not here to start a revolution in the streets. Please let me post.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:08 pm
Jay, et al:
I am working on more research but for now this is for your edification:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw (Bush vs. Barry with the Marines)
2) What’s Cut from Obama’s West Point Speech Says Much About Him
May 23, 2010 By Warner Todd Huston
“Drudge has an interesting little snippet concerning President Obama’s recent speech before the graduating class at West Point. It is a short headline about what was cut from Obama’s speech, a cut that really says a lot about the arrogance of team Obama as well as his utter lack of spontaneity and sincerity and his slavish reliance on the teleprompter.
Here’s the little snippet on Drudge:
Tepid applause from cadets: Cuts ‘That’s a lot of cheering’ line from prepared remarks…
So let’s let this straight. Obama actually had written into his speech ahead of time that there was to be “a lot of cheering”? This man who campaigned against the work of these soldiers to be, this man from a party that has called these soldiers murderers, criminals, dullards, and dangerous, these folks were expected to give this president “a lot of cheering”? Obama really expected a lot of cheering from folks he and his party hate so much?
3) Donning a slapstick stance, Obama said the following:
“To the United States Corps of Cadets, and most of all, the Class of 2010 – it is an honor to serve as your Commander-in-Chief. Under our constitutional system, my power as President is wisely limited. But there are some areas where my power is absolute. And so, as your Commander-in-Chief, I hereby absolve all cadets who are on restriction for minor conduct offenses. That’s a lot of cheering. So I’ll leave the definition of “minor” to those who know better.”
Due to lack of cheering, Obama supposedly skipped over, “That’s a lot of cheering,” but left Bush’s joke about leaving “the definition of ‘minor’ to those who know better.” Obama’s remark was reportedly met with a tepid response.
4) On Obama’s Speech at West Point:
Yes, I watched U.S. President Barack Obama give the commencement speech at West Point yesterday and the response from the cadets was all the commentary I needed. There was very little applause and that applause was tepid, hesitant, scattered. There was no yelling, whopping it up, no shout-outs from the cadets to support what the Commander in Chief was saying. He basically belittled them and touted the role of diplomats in the future peace of this nation. You can do a search and find articles from far left and far right and everywhere in the middle dissecting the speech down to the last word, but watch it for yourself, watch the cadets, listen for the applause.
As The Drudge Report notes, “Tepid applause from cadets: Cuts ‘That’s a lot of cheering’ line from prepared remarks…” That’s right, because there was no cheering during Obama’s speech.
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:09 pm
I was gonna say I’d just-a-soon Joe go, but then I thought “it’s a solemn occasion”. Surely he’ll keep his mouth shut.
godless heathen
May 25th, 2010
9:13 pm
Since the topic has strayed to the oil spill. We have this statement from the EPA head Carol Browner: “All decisions about the clean up, all decisions about shutting down the well are being run through the federal government. The federal government is in charge.”
Well there you go. Looks like BP stands for Barack’s Problem.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:13 pm
Chris Matthews on West Point earlier in the year:
“It seems like in this case, there isn’t a lot of excitement,” Matthews said. “I watched the cadets, they were young kids – men and women who were committed to serving their country professionally it must be said, as officers. And, I didn’t see much excitement. But among the older people there, I saw, if not resentment, skepticism. I didn’t see a lot of warmth in that crowd out there. The president chose to address tonight and I thought it was interesting. He went to maybe the enemy camp tonight to make his case.
Read more: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/jeff-poor/2009/12/01/matthews-calls-west-point-sight-obama-speech-enemy-camp-strange-venue#ixzz0ozfnIFAu
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:14 pm
Lawd! I just googled the new guy’s name. How about The Elmendorf Beast? Mangy Coyote?
Michael
May 25th, 2010
9:17 pm
Honestly, after having served for the last 10 years and having multiple deployments overseas, I really don’t care if it is the President or the Vice President laying the wreath at the Tomb. There are far more troubling things going on in this country like the fact that we keep allowing foriegn heads of state to come here and demean our country, with the support and applause of many in our own government.
Jay
May 25th, 2010
9:17 pm
Chupa, change your name and there’s no problem.
And Scout, so in other words, you got nothing to back up your claim. It would seem a retraction would be in order.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
9:20 pm
Chupa, 12 years and adios.
Get done what you can get done and then get gone…
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:20 pm
Jay:
From you ? ……………….. the King of non-retraction or ignore the question/point when you’re backed into a corner ?
LOL !
“Was he not booed at West Point because the Corps of Cadets (student body) all agreed with him? No. He was not booed at West Point because prior to Obama’s speech, the Commandant of Cadets ordered them to applaud enthusiastically and to refrain from any “political” response to the speech…..”
godless heathen
May 25th, 2010
9:21 pm
++1 to what Michael said.
Mick
May 25th, 2010
9:21 pm
Scout
So what’s your point, that graduating cadets don’t like the president? It’s silly stuff.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
9:22 pm
The blogger formerly known as Chimichanga,
12 years and adios.
Get done what you can get done and then get gone…
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
9:23 pm
Scout, STAND DOWN.
And quit disgracing yourself further.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:24 pm
Try to watch this if you can stand it ………. quite informative.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXeTSAJIMRU
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:24 pm
Just so the new guy knows…Mangy Coyote was, in no way, intended as an insult.
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:25 pm
I see the brown nosers have arrived.
dave
May 25th, 2010
9:27 pm
DoggoneGA – he has the CMH, don’t get no braver than that! But, it is beyond your understanding. You are what you are…
Nuke the oil spill
May 25th, 2010
9:27 pm
Every hour that goes by we could have solved the oil mess in our country’s history.
I don’t give damn who to hang right now but I just want it closed down NOW!
Nobody has a way out of this fiasco except the Russians.
Great…. Now we can depend on them to launch our heavy space items and they can save our beaches too……
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:27 pm
Make that brown noser, singular.
AmVet
May 25th, 2010
9:28 pm
Followed closely by the blue nosing leg humper!
Nuke the oil spill
May 25th, 2010
9:29 pm
typos…. bear with me… I have to multitask to make a living….
Mick
May 25th, 2010
9:31 pm
Scout@9:24 pm
Thanks for the link; couldn’t find one fam dam thing wrong with it….
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:34 pm
Heraclitus just admitted to having his nose where it don’t belong.
Schnirt
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:34 pm
Mick:
Try this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw
Matt
May 25th, 2010
9:38 pm
Well this is the same guy who called the retiring Justice Souter a goat-fornicating child molester. This seems pretty tame for him, honestly.
Scout: Looks like someone has been catching up on some Neal’s Nuze!
getalife
May 25th, 2010
9:38 pm
Is he that good ole boy from Macon, Ga.?
Mick
May 25th, 2010
9:39 pm
Scout
My friend, obama was giving a commencement address. The video with bush was hilarious, tell me what did he do to earn their respect?
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:41 pm
Matt:
Yep. Maybe that is where I saw it. I read a lot of news everyday.
Did you ever see this one ? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIHz5tevLAw
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:42 pm
Matt:
No one is perfect but those cadets just know who is sincere and who is not.
@@
May 25th, 2010
9:46 pm
OUCH! Stark contrast in the military’s reception.
Matt
May 25th, 2010
9:47 pm
Yes, Erikson is a city council-member in Macon (and you think Atlanta has race issues).
He is famous because of his blog although he did fill in for former WSB host Chris Krok on the local AM station in Macon.
mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack the Liar Obama - BEND OVER, Here comes the CHANGE!
May 25th, 2010
9:49 pm
Who cares, what NObama does Memorial Day – his day of honor was MAY DAY.
Anti-lib
May 25th, 2010
9:49 pm
I agree with Joan, I would rather the current president not lay the wreath on the tomb…….he hate’s America and should not have anything to do remotely patriotic. He’s an embarrassment to this country!
Mick
May 25th, 2010
9:50 pm
Scout
Have you ever been to a commencement ceremony? Bush is a better ex-president then he ever was as president. Big deal marines….I bet obama could bring down the house with the navy.
Mick
May 25th, 2010
9:53 pm
anti
**He’s an embarrassment to this country!**
He could be doing a better job, but an embarassment? Not so much.
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:57 pm
Mick:
You are sooooo right ! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=InBXu-iY7cw
Scout
May 25th, 2010
9:58 pm
…………. and here you go !
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elsxa65L_Bk
mmm, mmm, mmm, Barack the Liar Obama - BEND OVER, Here comes the CHANGE!
May 25th, 2010
10:02 pm
Mick, Sorry, embarasment is not harsh enough for the LIAR in Chief. Douche bag comes to mind.
Betty Boop
May 25th, 2010
10:07 pm
Scout, You deserve a dishonorable discharge from this blog.
Paul Harvey
May 25th, 2010
10:08 pm
Hmmmm…..Would it change the context of Obama skipping the Memorial Day ceremony if you had added he was getting back to town later that day for a Paul McCartney concert?
And now you know…….the rest of the story.
Mick
May 25th, 2010
10:08 pm
Scout
That’s the best you can do? Hero worship is a sin.
mmm…..I think you needed to get it out…..do you feel better?
Jay
May 25th, 2010
10:12 pm
Scout, tonight you’ve made it clear to everybody here that you do not live by the values that you espouse. You have made a blatantly false accusation against someone, an act that violates both your faith and your Marine honor, and have refused to acknowledge it.
I know what a man of honor would do. I see what you have done.
And we’ll leave it at that.
Mick
May 25th, 2010
10:15 pm
Jay – don’t expect any humility on blogosphere. How easy it is to be the master of your own domain, its the perfect forum for no accountability.
96 SC
May 25th, 2010
10:18 pm
Unknown infers the gender, race, and personal character is not relevant. This is simply a symbol to a warmongering nation, who will practice violence on each other if a suitable victim is not available.
md
May 25th, 2010
10:20 pm
“md,
I like the way you sidestepped my point about historical knowledge and bigoted smears.
The fact that some whites voted for Obama doesn’t excuse the bigotry of others or ignorance
about the sacrifices of black patriots for our great country.”
Sidestepped??
Your post said racism was at the heart of the problem, which is incorrect. It may well be at the fringes, but not anywhere near the heart.
Mr. Snarky
May 25th, 2010
10:24 pm
Erikson knows offensive. He specializes in it. Fortunately, we do have a President who questions American Exceptionalism. Which is really just a sanctimonious license to invade…exactly what the far right wants.
Matt
May 25th, 2010
10:24 pm
Yeah, I’d love to read an officers FITREP after they refused to shake the president’s hand. Oh man.
AU H2O
May 25th, 2010
10:28 pm
Big Difference between Reagan, GW 41, and Obama. Our 40th and 41st missed the Memorial Day visit to the tomb of the unknown because they were both on official duty elsewhere. Obama is missing it because he is taking a vacation, his second since the oil spill started. Must be nice golf weather out in Chicago or something pressing like that.
md
May 25th, 2010
10:33 pm
“There are far more troubling things going on in this country like the fact that we keep allowing foriegn heads of state to come here and demean our country, with the support and applause of many in our own government.”
“Many” is an understatement when the entire democratic party gave the man a standing ovation for what amounts to them not doing their jobs.
Mr. Snarky
May 25th, 2010
10:37 pm
“It is ludicrous to make — or believe — such a claim.”
Jay, lies is all they got…they pull stuff out of their orifices, throw it out there and hope it sticks,
It’s pathetic, really.
Check the facts
May 25th, 2010
10:43 pm
George HW Bush showed up for all Memorial Days except one. He got shot down in WWII so he gets a pass.
Bill Clinton made it to all 8 in his term.
GWB missed one because he was at Normandy.
Barack needs to make this gig. Oh yeah… He needs to make this gig every year of his presidency.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 25th, 2010
10:46 pm
The hatred that must brew deep in the hearts and souls of some… A mystery that may never be solved.
Evan
May 25th, 2010
10:51 pm
Oh yes here we go, because Erickson points out the absolutely obvious, he is now a biggoted racist and needs to be shut down like Glenn Beck. Sometimes I wander if liberals and progressives understand how incredibly stupid they sound when the answer to every question about this president or his policies is either “Your a Racist” or “Its Bush’s Fault”. We do not hate Obama, although we could stand to see his mug a little less on the TV (I swear if I hear one more story from a basketball court talking about his jumpshot i’m going to shoot myself), we hate the direction this country is moving in and policy after policy that the man proposes. THIS IS NOT THE EU AND WE WILL NOT STAND FOR IT. And anyone who calls Glenn Beck a racist obviously has not watched his show and just like the President of the United States and Attorney General and Big Sis who didn’t read the AZ bill and call it racist, are incredibly ignorant. WE ARE NOT STUPID….STOP TRYING TO BOLD FACE LIE TO OUR FACES ABOUT EVERY ISSUE THAT COMES UP AND THEN PLAY THE RACE CARD IN ORDER TO TRY AND MAKE THOSE THAT DISAGREE WITH YOU QUESTION THEIR CONVICTIONS BECAUSE OF FEAR OF BEING CALLED A RACIST. ITS NOT WORKING !!! Its an interesting gameplan from the Messiah himself, but it is obviously not working….On second thought, keep up the race baiting and labeling those who disagree with you as racist….because after the House is back in the hands of those who do not hate this country and want to see it succeed 2012 is going to roll around……………
And all of those middle of the road, conservative/independent white bigots, racists, gun clinging, god fearing, oil burning, freedom loving people who voted for Obama in 2008 (he would not have been elected if they had not voted for him) will not be fooled again by empty rhetoric and bold faced lies. All those people that voted for Obama due to the pure hatred and “SEDITION” (according to Barry’s lib Gov. in MA) aimed at Bush for 8 years and fear of the exact thing that is going right now…..being labled a racist. Please continue with this absolutely enlightend path straight out of the white house.
Dusty
May 25th, 2010
10:52 pm
Well, getting here late and this stuff is still amazing. Most amazing is Jay Bookman saying he does not remember Luckovich drawing anything against American military. WHAT??
As @@ and RW have named one cartoon, I hope it is the one I remember, the one where an American soldier was being roasted on a spit. Luckovich seemed to draw many things that depicted his feelings against America at war. He also drew Uncle Sam staring pitifully from behind prison bars and on and on with different ones. BUT BOOKMAN DOES NOT REMEMBER?
Selective memory indeed. Bookman scrutinizes words or signs that are said and done by conservatives but all unfortunate liberal leanings seem to slip his mind. Perhaps he thinks liberals never make a mistake. HIs followers here seem to have the same outlook. Ah well, they elected Obama so they are getting plenty of practice overlooking mistakes.
Matt
May 25th, 2010
10:55 pm
The inchoate hate shown towards Obama does remind me of what was done to GW Bush.
Was it this bad in the 80’s? My dad said that Tip O’Neill and Reagen got along off-camera. I think both sides have become more unglued.
Mr. Snarky
May 25th, 2010
11:00 pm
The best way Obama can show respect for the military and those who paid the ultimate price is not to abuse the military by sending more young men to their deaths for dumb, poorly executed, pre-emptive, unjustified wars as his predecessor did.
Anyone can lay a wreath on a tomb.
Dusty
May 25th, 2010
11:26 pm
Mr.Snarky,
You can lay your white flag aside now. Obama is doing exactly what George W. Bush did In Iraq and Afghanistan in case you haven’t noticed.
The only difference is that Bush told us what he was going to do and did it. Obama said he was going to do something different, bring the troops home etc. Then he did NOT do it.
Yep, anyone can lay a wreath on a tomb. Yes, and anyone can tell a lie and call it the truth. Or, .to be nice about it, you can say Obama did not lie, He changed his mind!!
Mr. Snarky
May 25th, 2010
11:42 pm
Dusty,
I don’t remember Obama invading any countries that didn’t attack us. So saying Obama has done what bush did is false.
True he hasn’t yanked the troops out. But then Obama did not say he would pull them all out as soon as he was out of office. He said he would bring them home as soon as possible when it made sense. People on the far right and left are so confused by that.
theyeshaveit
May 25th, 2010
11:54 pm
Scout’s Dishonor, shame on you. Where is the no hand shake evidence?
theyeshaveit
May 26th, 2010
12:03 am
Dusty, Do you remember Sadam’s weapons of mass destruction? Whose monumental lie was that? Yes, mam, your Dubya. And do you remember Dubya flying onto the deck of a carrier and announcing that the war was over? Whose lie was that? Yup. Dubya’s again.
Scout
May 26th, 2010
12:11 am
Jay:
“Scout, tonight you’ve made it clear to everybody here that you do not live by the values that you espouse. You have made a blatantly false accusation against someone, an act that violates both your faith and your Marine honor, and have refused to acknowledge it. I know what a man of honor would do. I see what you have done. And we’ll leave it at that.”
I guess you are still angry with me for the several times I caught you playing loose with the anti-gun statistics ……… and I’ll do so again if necessary.
But guess what …………… we WON’T leave tonight’s argument at that. Pontificate all you want.
1) I left you a great video showing the difference between Marine responses to Bush and Obama. The difference is astounding.
2) I left you Chris Matthews account of his going “into the enemy camp” at West Point back in December and the tepid response he got there.
3) I left you accounts of his “tepid” reception/applause at West Point this weekend and the fact that he had to “alter” a line from his speech due to the lack of “cheering”.
4) I read this weekend that some of the cadets had very quickly taken their diplomas and didn’t shake his hand. Unless the source you quoted stood there and watched all 1,000 cadets do it or not, his statement is just a general statement that “he shook all their hands”. That is not conclusive of anything at this point and your throwing that back at me is not impressive and it certainly does not carry the weight of evidence.
5) I am still trying to find that article and/or a video of the ENTIRE handshaking event. If, in fact he shook every hand in spite of the article I read, I will give him credit for that and retract my statement on that particular issue. Big deal.
6) You sir post blantant, biased, bigoted threads on this site weekly when you have much more access to the true facts than I do ……… so you sir (in a profession that is rated almost at the bottom of the ethical rung) are in no position to lecture me.
7) And as my Drill Instuctor always said, you wouldn’t make a decent pimple on a Marines ass !
So, you can take your pompous, hypocritical 10:12 post and you know what you can do with it.
Scout
May 26th, 2010
12:15 am
Dusty:
“BUT BOOKMAN DOES NOT REMEMBER?”
See my 12:11 am on Bookman.
Brett
May 26th, 2010
12:17 am
What else might one expect from a current REPunk?? The never-serveds. The flag-wavers. The shouters of phony words as “hero,” Patriot,”
“Family values,” “Jeesussah,” etc. Those people are a stench in the nostrils of the very word, “decency.” A sham & a shame for all that “Murcuh” once represented. Time to build concentration camps for the lot of these dysfunctional, dangerous social misfits.
Brett
May 26th, 2010
12:33 am
Ahh. We have “SCOUT.” Lecturing. The cloest thing to a “drill instructor” this woodchuck/clod ever encountered was his – mother. (A term I use euphemistically.) Another “Little Man.” We used to call them “Little wee-wee Boys.” And so they are. Another military hero. Another mythical tiny cretin creating a tough-guy “past” for him/itself.
Searching crazily for some sense of masculinity – without knowing the meaning. Weak and needy, these tiny people plunge onward midst their hatred and jealousy. Another example that an uneducated, dumb America is an easily preyed upon America. The arrogance of raw ignorance.
Lack the time, but would love to detail this pansy’s “duty stations.”
Scout
May 26th, 2010
12:39 am
Brett:
LOL !
Scout
May 26th, 2010
1:01 am
“Obama Snubs Nation’s Heroes, Becomes the First President to Skip Ball Honoring Medal of Honor Recipients in Over 50 Years”
………….. and now he is putting in the Jr. Varsity for Memorial Day.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
6:06 am
For the record, I will be glad to visit Erick Erickson’s grave.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
6:07 am
Scout has no honor. Also.
Norman
May 26th, 2010
6:25 am
I can be sure Obama will not visit my grave when Obamacare kills me prematurely!
I Report (-: You Whine )-: mmm, mmmm, mmmmm! Just sayin...
May 26th, 2010
6:29 am
Say, wasn’t this a kkkampaign promise?
Deal to lift military’s gay ban in doubt -Urinal
Just askin….
Saul Good
May 26th, 2010
6:31 am
Scout… since you wanted to post some videos of Bush earlier…I have two for ya!
Mission Accomplished!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=voyjTC0FuE8
The the MOST “presidential” thing I have ever seen ANY of our nation’s leaders do:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bATjvty5p8k
(just remember….he didn’t want to “scare” the kiddies… because simply standing up and saying “thanks for having me kids… I have some important presidential duties to attend to” was something he could not think of… so instead, he just sat there looking scared sh$tless… this video shows the TRUE Dubya… to this day it still makes me uncomfortable to just watch it as he squirms).
Tea Party Evangelists
May 26th, 2010
6:32 am
Scout, just got exposed for the bitter little liar he is. . Even though he is not the only one who spouts unproven nonsense and biased commentary as fact on a daily basis.
That Brett guy hit the nail on the head.
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
6:43 am
whiner – 6:29 – no.
http://politifact.com/truth-o-meter/promises/subjects/military/
this has been yet another edition of simple answers to simple questions.
luangtom
May 26th, 2010
6:54 am
Who cares? This is news?
Doggone/GA
May 26th, 2010
6:57 am
“This is news?”
You want news? Go to the news section. THIS is an OPINION page
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:06 am
doggone – 6:57 – ahhhh … the fine subtleties of a BLOG with a home on the OPINION page … they just seem to whoosh right by some readers …
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:08 am
Who cares? This is news?
This is the sort of thing that TeaTards repeat ad nauseum until the corporate media feels compelled to, as they’ll genteelly put it, “report the controversy.”
That’s when it becomes news, and by that time, it’s been framed by the TeaTard leadership.
They pull this crap all the time, and maybe, just maybe, we could nip this garbage in the bud for a change and expose the vile, lying sacks of crap–your Glenn Becks, your Erick Ericksons, your trough-swilling ingrates like Scout who act as their unpaid surrogates–for what they are.
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:11 am
So Luchovich spelling out Mission Accomplished in military caskets disparages the military how?
To the unbiased eye it’s commentary on the fact that mission was not accomplished, and good soldiers have died since it was declared. That speaks to the “leadership” of the war, not those who are prosecuting the war.
You wingnuts slay me, coming on anonymous blog and screaming about liburals and calling people names is basically how you support the military you hold so dear, even though you send them off to die with no valid reason. You lecture on how Obama shouldn’t be CIC, yet you put an AWOL soldier to the whitehouse and then did it again. No credibility, no shame.
Sad.
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:11 am
dB – 7:08 – it’s the right-wing echo chamber … been in effect since 1992 …
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:12 am
Say, wasn’t this a kkkampaign promise?
And really, is there a level of Hell low enough to contain a man who routinely refers to the first African American President as a Klansman?
Eddie
May 26th, 2010
7:12 am
I agree with Joan. Obama isn’t fit to lay a wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier. As far as the liberal pinko goes, he probably never served his country a day in his life. He’s just another leach wanting to live off the blood and sweat of others. Therefore like Obama he doesn’t have a clue about the ultimate sacrifice.
josef nix
May 26th, 2010
7:12 am
USinUK
And a cheery good a.m. to ya!
Three more days and then I can come talk to you on the day shift! Hope life is well across the pond. Somebody asked me what I’d be doing this summer…blogging, what else? Maybe I’ll even be able to top some of the previous post records…eh? And who says I’ve no ambition,,,?
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:12 am
RWT – 7:11 – you’re too hard on them. I’m sure they put a little yellow ribbon magnet on their SUV and all …
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:13 am
jo nix – 7:12 – keep those goals low and manageable!!
seriously, are you all done with your post-planning? did you get your contract for next year? are there big changes afoot at your school??
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:15 am
ooooo… Norman,
Did you get your meeting with the Death Panel? Did they give you your expiration date?
I can’t wait to get mine.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
7:20 am
Scout continues to disgrace his fellow Cubs. They should kick him out. He is no longer worthy of the “Cub” title. From this day forth, he should be known as Lost Scout. Perhaps he will find his way home, to reality, one day.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
7:24 am
And really, is there a level of Hell low enough to contain a man who routinely refers to the first African American President as a Klansman?
Not to worry. He’s living it. A fitting punishment.
joe the american
May 26th, 2010
7:25 am
the talking head blather on this topic is of no significance especially and including this blog
Normal
May 26th, 2010
7:26 am
Good morning all. I hope your day will be the best yet.
A little bragging here…My grandson, 7 years old won the Presidents award for academic excellence! He also won a math award and a top reader award. He has made us proud….
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:27 am
Normal – good morning, my friend! and congrats on your bright-as-a-button grandson!! tell him your fellow Bookmaniac are cheering him on
Dave R.
May 26th, 2010
7:29 am
Lay off Scout boys and girls.
Yeah, I can disagree with him on any number of issues, especially on social issues, but I will never question his honor.
He has stated that he will do research and try to find video corroborating his first assertion and will apologize if proof cannot be found, and I have no doubt that he will do exactly that. Personally, I don’t think any cadet would have refused to shake Hope & Change’s hand, but who knows?
But it is also clear that the military, by and large, do not respect this President in any way, shape or form as they did the previous one. Regardless of which side of the war you are on, there is no doubt that the enthusiasm shown to President Bush visits and speeches were far higher than our current CINC.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
7:29 am
I can be sure Obama will not visit my grave when Obamacare kills me prematurely!
Wrote it in your will, huh, just for peace of mind.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:29 am
Normal, give the fine lad a hug on behalf of all of your virtual friends.
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
7:31 am
Yeah, I can disagree with him on any number of issues, especially on social issues, but I will never question his honor.
He has no honor to question. That has been proven.
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:31 am
I see the Teatards couldn’t put lightning in a bottle after all.
The recent Paul victory in Kentucky isn’t that suprising since the southern red states march in lockstep with what thier party masters tell them to do. I guess the more (truly) conservative voters of the western red states aren’t that gullible or pliable, they understand hypocrisy and carpetbagging. Sister Sarah did what she could to rally her Teatards to her annoited choice in a local race, in a state I doubt she could even identify on a map… with labels… But to no avail. The people of Idaho said “no thanks Sarah, we can figure out who best represents us without a Real American coming here to tell us how to vote”…
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:31 am
Dave – “But it is also clear that the military, by and large, do not respect this President in any way, shape or form as they did the previous one.”
really? it is? and how is that, exactly? have you polled the military to find out their opinion???
Outhouse GoKart
May 26th, 2010
7:32 am
Well Im SURE Reagan, Bush and W had VALID reasons for their being absent. In Obamas case he hates America, the Military, you and I and to add insult to injury he is sending Joe “DirtClod” Biden.
Normal
May 26th, 2010
7:34 am
I thank you all of you for your kind words. He has a guitar recital Saturday and and after that, it will be reward time. His wish is my command…Love it!
Dave R.
May 26th, 2010
7:35 am
“He has no honor to question. That has been proven.”
Selective reading, Universe?
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:35 am
Dave,
How much of this repsect can be attributed to the simple fact that one would almost rather declare themselves gay in the military than a Democrat?
I do believe they’ve been a bit hard on Scout as well. I believe he will either produce his proof or recant/apologize whatever. I’ve hed my goes at Scout, and I have plenty of differences with him, but I find him to be somewhat honorable, even if his posts have gotten gradually more and more bitter and outwardly offensive over the last year or so… This is what the politics of destruction has wrought.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:36 am
there is no doubt that the enthusiasm shown to President Bush visits and speeches were far higher than our current CINC.
There you have it. Dave R.’s virtual applause meter data is THE metric by which military service personnel respect should be measured.
Normal
May 26th, 2010
7:37 am
Outhouse,
You’re a hoot this morning.
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:38 am
Normal – “it will be reward time” 2 scoops at Baskin & Robbins!! (pistachio almond was always my fav)
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:39 am
Normal – 7:37 (and OGK) – he’s been on a roll this week …
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:39 am
In Obamas case he hates America, the Military, you and I and to add insult to injury he is sending Joe “DirtClod” Biden.
So when Poppy Bush sent Dan Quayle, that was value-added?
Dave R.
May 26th, 2010
7:39 am
“really? it is? and how is that, exactly? have you polled the military to find out their opinion???”
Why do you insist on being disagreeable just to be disagreeable, USinUK? Despite his possibly erroneous initial assertion, Scout was also very diligent in posting other situations in which Hope & Change has been in front of members of our military, and the video evidence shows they react to him very tepidly compared to President Bush.
Now, maybe you just prefer to skip over that which has been posted by people you don’t agree with, but some of us prefer to see the totality of evidence, rather than defend or question in ignorance.
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:39 am
“Well Im SURE Reagan, Bush and W had VALID reasons for their being absent”
This begs the question, where WAS George W Bush during his last couple years of service in Alabam Air National Guard?
I’d rather a never served (like Cheney) lay a wreath at the tomb than a person who shat on the Armed forces by deserting in a time of war.
Normal
May 26th, 2010
7:41 am
So when Poppy Bush sent Dan Quayle, that was value-added?
At least Dan didn’t have to spell anything there…
…and perhaps, Joe won’t have to say anything, either…
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
7:42 am
Selective reading, Universe?
Yes, the posts on this thread. Do you need me to point them out to you.
As for your claims, got proof.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:42 am
Dave, Chimpy McFlightsuit’s ability to get assembled troops to cheer for him on cue is the sort of thing any tinpot dictator can arrange.
Rightwing Troll
May 26th, 2010
7:43 am
Joe won’t HAVE to say anything, but will he be able to NOT say anything? That’s the question.
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:43 am
Dave R – “Why do you insist on being disagreeable just to be disagreeable, USinUK?”
wow, so it’s “disagreeable” to question an assertion stated as fact???
talk about thin-skinned.
as far as video “evidence” … yeah, just like the “evidence” used in the ACORN case …
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:44 am
Normal … “At least Dan didn’t have to spell anything there”
“t-o-o-m … e”
Normal
May 26th, 2010
7:45 am
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:44 am
Redneck Convert (R--and proud of it)
May 26th, 2010
7:47 am
Morning everybody. Mighty nasty already. Can’t we all just get along?
Dave R.
May 26th, 2010
7:47 am
There are none so blind as those who cannot see . . .
Even Chris Matthews can see what those of you on this blog refuse to see.
stands for decibels
May 26th, 2010
7:47 am
At least Dan didn’t have to spell anything there…
I saw your smiley, but actually, I’m one of those guys who always cuts Quayle slack over that whole “potatoe” thing.
Outhouse GoKart
May 26th, 2010
7:51 am
Perhaps Joe will elaborate on Brussels being the Captital of the Free World.
Or perhaps Joe will fall down or drop the wreath or something comical. Its almost a guarantee….
Lil Johnny Crappleseed
May 26th, 2010
7:53 am
“Mommy whys everybody got a bomb?”
“Mommy why does President Obama hate me?”
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
7:55 am
No, it’s NOT OKIYAR. It doesn’t matter who you are, EVERY Presidents should go to the Tomb of the Unknowns on Memorial Day.
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
7:57 am
um.
squirrel!
David Johnson
May 26th, 2010
7:58 am
Hopefully soon we can all say Barack who?
USinUK
May 26th, 2010
8:02 am
“Even Chris Matthews can see what those of you on this blog refuse to see.”
baaaaahahahahaha … you mean Chris “ooooo, Bush is soooo manly in his flightsuit” Matthews???
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:02 am
And just for the record, I’m sure there were Democrats who bashed Bush for not going…but have no problem w/ Obama going back to Illinois.
Normal
May 26th, 2010
8:04 am
Wrong again, Peadawg…
Scooter
May 26th, 2010
8:06 am
Dang,Jay sure did poke the hornet’s nest on this one! Whew!
Have a good day all. (both sides of aisle)
Mysteries of the Universe, Solved
May 26th, 2010
8:07 am
George who?
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:08 am
“Wrong again, Peadawg…”
I didn’t say you. I said some. Both parties play this political game. Stop denying Democrats don’t do any this bullshyt either. But, like I said, it’s wrong for ANY President to not go to the Tomb of the Unknowns.
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:10 am
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/playoffs/2010/news/story?id=5220309
That’s the important thing right now! Tell TNT who you think’s going to win the NBA Finals.
Jay
May 26th, 2010
8:12 am
Peadawg, I’m sure that a lot of folks on the right are looking right this moment for evidence that Democrats did as you suggest. If they find anything, we’ll see it.
But mark me down already as being very dubious that they will.
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:14 am
“But mark me down already as being very dubious that they will.”
Ofcourse. Democrats don’t play the political bullshyt game. Just Republicans. *rolls eyes* DADT and TNT interviews are more important for Obama, right Jay?
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:17 am
Mark your comment down, Jay, as IOKIYAD.
Jay
May 26th, 2010
8:18 am
If Dems played this particular game, Peadawg, as you allege, then I’m sure we’ll see proof of it shortly.
Either they did, or they didn’t.
itpdude
May 26th, 2010
8:19 am
This is typical politics and I hate to say it, Jay, but the neo-cons are so good at it because so many of the neo-cons are re-treaded Democrats. The GOP is now the sanctuary of the neo-cons who were of the Democratic party, the party that brought us Borking, the party that brought 3 Nixon SCOTUS appointee rejects (one for the incredibly innocuous offense of smoking pot), the party whose one-time head parsed words so expertly he needed the definition of “is.” The party that said block grants would starve children and force seniors onto cat food. The party that ripped Reagan for speaking at a German cemetery when the intellectual thrust of his being there was at the height of decency and justifiability.
I hate to say it, Jay, but these are Democratic party tactics learned by the GOP, much of the time by neo-cons who were Democrats at one time, and the GOP, much like the Japanese being not the greatest inventors but the greatest imitators, is doing the job even better at unfairly tarring and feathering than the Democrats ever dreamed. Though, looking at Ted Kennedy’s commentary on the Bork nom is one of the most embarrassing hit-pieces ever released by a nationally recognized politician in the last 100 years.
Anyone in the two major parties probably has it coming, in other words.
Peadawg
May 26th, 2010
8:22 am
Jay, the fact that you are dubious about it says a lot about you. You’re about as blind as Cynthia. They’re politicians. Throw the party affiliation out. They’re politicians.
Jay
May 26th, 2010
8:31 am
Well, we’ll see who’s right. Do you agree with that much, Peadawg? If Democrats did that, somebody combing through the archives will be able to document it and prove me wrong. Agreed?
But in a day or so, if no such documentation emerges, it’s because it doesn’t exist. So we’ll see. We’ll see which of us is correct.
Big D
May 26th, 2010
8:41 am
Best word of the day goes to….Outhouse GoKart and it is…DIRTCLOD. LMAO….
Scout
May 26th, 2010
8:53 am
Dave R:
Yes. I am working on it. Stay tuned.
Rightwing Troll :
Yes …….. patriots and tories got quite “bitter” with each other.
andygrd
May 26th, 2010
9:07 am
My two cents—-
As a retired military officer, I have seen mistakes made and I have seen mistakes forced upon the military by our civilian leadership at all levels. I have seen the left and right use and abuse the military to meet their own needs. Having served in two Wars, being away from the family for extended periods of time, etc…. It was the life I choose and then later on, the life my wife accepted and chose. So you people on either side of the isle, make your silly little comments. However, remember, Americans died to give you that freedom. If you are going to criticize the military, and that is every Americans right and responsibility, make sure you have all the facts. As in who, what, why, when and how…… And remember, the military takes it orders from civilians… and they have political agendas at times.
As an independent, more republican than democrat, President Obama is the Commander and Chief. If he decides to send Vice President Biden in his stead, so what!! Honor is still being paid. And that is all that matters.
On both sides of the isle, the journalists will write and comment on items that will stir people up…. It is “ENTERTAINMENT”. Pure and simple entertainment!! Just like what you see on Fox, MSNBC, CNN, ABC, CBS, etc…. Profits drive the entertainment……..
Jay, I have read your columns over the years, some I agree with, and some I don’t… I challenge you to make a real difference, you and other staff members…. Present both sides of an issue. Let your readers decided from the issues. I and many others will support you ……
itpdude
May 26th, 2010
9:12 am
Oh, and btw, Obama sending Biden to the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier is not an issue. Really, how many ceremonies should a POTUS have to do? And now it comes out that several former GOP POTUS’ did same? Then the blogger justifies the seeming hypocrisy of some drivel about questioning Obama’s commitment to American supremacy or something? Who sez the US should believe in its own supremacy, anyhow? Supremacy breeds arrogance and arrogance breeds contempt of “others.” Hmm, sounds like the stuff that got us killing over 100k civilians in Iraq since 2003.
That’s a good thing?
jms
May 26th, 2010
9:21 am
yawn
saywhat?
May 26th, 2010
9:51 am
Does Scout consider himself and his like minded ilk “angels of light”? It would make sense……
HDB
May 26th, 2010
10:10 am
A CONSERVATIVE
May 25th, 2010
6:58 pm
..LIBERALs GET OFFENDED BY “THE NATIONAL ANTHUM”–or THE PLEDGE TO THE FLAG…..LIBERALs get offended by everything decent & traditional.
First…it’s the National ANTHEM…and
Second: Liberals are NOT offended by decency and tradition….but we DO want to make things BETTER….not just maintain the status quo!! The question that I ask is this: which party promotes decency….but is caught in so many scandals as to look hypocritical??
Artie Piscano
May 26th, 2010
10:17 am
I’m on active duty and served in combat. I could care less how or where the President spends his time. I’m not offended by it, nor should the families of those buried there, since the vast majority of military families don’t like him anyway.
But I will say that our Commander in Chief should brush up on his Chicago sports history while he’s vacationing in his “home town”.
Catching a game at “Cominskey” might be nice LMFAO.
Scout
May 26th, 2010
10:20 am
andygrd :
I’ve tried many times to get threads for both sides of an issue. Won’t happen. “This is an opinion thread” ……….. and it’s his opinion.
Fox Trooper 2/11ACR
May 26th, 2010
10:37 am
Yeah the only difference is that this POTUS is actually going on vacation, not that Reagan or Shrub right in skipping it either. A fact is a fact. “It’s OK because the other guy did it” is no excuse. We’re supposed to expect more from this POTUS – RIGHT? So now the lefties settle for “if it was good enough for the last guys, it’s OK for us?” What happened to Hope and Change? The Left vs Right Paradigm is a sham.
HDB
May 26th, 2010
10:47 am
The question that isn’t answered by conservaatives is this: Isn’t the President GOING to honor our fallen troops SOMEWHERE?? If the Vice-President is honoring for the nation…and the President is honoring the fallen in Illinois….is he NOT honoring the fallen? He’s doing it in a more private fashion…rather than a public statement!
Since he IS going to Louisiana Friday to address the issues there….I’d say he’s doing what is appropriate at this time…….
Fox Trooper 2/11ACR
May 26th, 2010
10:54 am
Oh well, guess it’s OK – after all he’s your guy. He disrespects the memory of my fallen brothers at every juncture, and then denies it. He could make a statement about his stance on this issue by simply being the one to lay the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier – instead he thumbs his nose at everyone who has ever worn a uniform in service of our country and goes on his second vacation since the spill in the Gulf began. The Republicans are no better, they’re not “Conservatives” – they’re “Republicans” just like those defending this POTUS aren’t “Liberals” they’re “Democrats”. Wake up America. A real Liberal is Dennis Kucinich. A real Conservative is Ron Paul.
Judith A Gleason
May 26th, 2010
10:57 am
Going to Arlington National Cemetery to lay a wreath at the tomb of the unknowns has everything to do with a Commander in Chief who seems to not like the military showing some basic respect to the men and women, alive and dead, who have actually kept us free.
Excuses such as calling people shameless to try and make this o.k., or our children’s excuses of “They did in first”, is really getting old. Quit being partisan and always making excuses for Obama.
Every President should show respect to this country and its warriors.
make this o.k. rather than calling the President to account for taking another vacation instead of doing this is jus
Judith A Gleason
May 26th, 2010
11:00 am
I hit o.k. before I finished my last sentence so here it is. Trying to make this o.k. rather than calling the President to account for taking another vacation instead of doing this to show support for our military is just not right.
Darrel
May 26th, 2010
11:29 am
Clearly you have never served in the military, let alone a combat zone. You have never watched friends and comrades die, or severely wounded. Obama is a war president. He has two active wars going, and troops are dying and being maimed – under his watch – his responsibility. Make all the excuses you want, Obama should stay with tradition and go to Arlington. The fact that a vacation to Chicago is more important, and the fact that you make excuses for him sickens me. I find you both disgusting.
Rainah Ness
May 26th, 2010
11:42 am
>>who cites a very ugly and biased opinion as if it were a fact that existed outside the tiny, bigoted little minds of haters.
ROFL!!! Oh, saying ‘little minds of haters’………. Oh! (gasp, gasp, gasp…… ROFL!!!!) That is soooo classic. Talk about a bigot.
THAT is a bigoted statement all by itself………..
Oh, that’s a classic hoot!!!
Thanks for making my day!
Innocent Bystander
May 26th, 2010
1:22 pm
I know I’m late to the party, but I wanted to call Scout out on his misleading YouTube video comparing Bush and Obama meetings with Marines. I guess my Marine Corps had more integrity than yours because as all GOOD Marines know that Bush got the loud ovation because he just walked in like a cowboy. THe reason it was so quiet with Obama was because when he was introduced “Hail to the Chief” was playing – which requires all military people to stand at the position of attention.
Did you scream and yell at the POA Scout? It seems to me that the Marines received Obama well.
memorial day history : Latest News
May 26th, 2010
1:25 pm
[...] Cemetery in favor of returning to his political hometown of Chicago has already drawn sharp criticism from the right. Meanwhile, others view Memorial Day as the ideal occasion to consider drastic [...]
KAP
May 26th, 2010
2:27 pm
No US Flag Salute, no crossing his heart…this is NOT MY president.
BILL PENROSE
May 26th, 2010
4:17 pm
I personally am 100 percent conservative anymore and do not agree with most of the things that are shaping our country like an European failure. However after saying that — I am a veteran and do not see anything wrong with sending the vice President to Arlington. Even though I also Don’t care for the Vice President I think this is a good gesture on his part. Even though I don’t agree with their politics I respect and praise Vice President Joe Biden for laying the wreath at the Tomb of the unknown soldier. I am not sure but I think Mr Biden has a son serving in the military, and that makes me respect him more than most everyone else running Washington.
Happy Memorial Day to all Americans.
Sanddog
May 26th, 2010
6:03 pm
If you don’t “get” why it’s offensive for Obama to blow off laying the wreath at the Tomb of the Unknowns, there is probably nothing I could say to make you understand.
John Lobert
May 26th, 2010
6:26 pm
And don’t forget – it was GW Bush that started one unnecessary was and screwed up the other. He also skipped the Tomb ceremony.
Mike G.
May 26th, 2010
9:47 pm
. . . the Typical left wing opinions are posted here to “excuse” and support the United States Commander in Chief for NOT showing respect or consideration to the families of those who gave their lives for this great country at Arlington “National” Cemetery.
Barry nor your posts demonstrate any true patriotism for the America he so desperately wanted to lead and destroy . . yet all of you profit from the same soldiers who have laid down their lives for your free speech.
If you like, you are certainly welcome to “leave” America and go abroad… sharing openly your protest for America, its Constitution, and the values, beliefs and traditions that have made this a great nation.
Tony
May 27th, 2010
8:39 am
I agree that Obama’s presence at the tomb is the height of hypocrisy. While it’s true that both Bush’s and Reagan each missed a visit, this President has two wars on his watch and a country that is in great need of unification.He has no excuse. But presidents are judged by their full spectrum of beliefs and what they do while in office.Obama was never in the service and his attitude towards our military is secondary to his social engineering policies, In fact, Obama see our military as an anathema to his agenda.As to the Bush’s and Reagan at least they wore the uniform. When Regan missed one wreath laying he had a little problem that year, he was recovering from an assassination attempt.Do I care if he goes, not really. A false pretender is the ultimate liar and as commander in chief he couldn’t shine the shoes of those who understand the word “sacrifice”.
Elna Beard
May 27th, 2010
5:52 pm
To who it my concern,I am an American and white and since there is so much unrest in the country and around the world,I think that Obama, should show this country that he cares and put the reath on the unknown soilder memorial himself.I don’t care what the presidents have done just this one is thinking of himself only.Since he travel’s to other country’s at the drop of a hat.And I don’t think they should have the 22 people in the white house that they have because none of the other president’s wives had ,let his wife do something but not at the tax payer’s expence.You have a great day !!<(:)<
ProgressivePeach.com
May 27th, 2010
11:02 pm
Erickson is a nail — the last nail in the coffin that holds CNN’s credibility.
hnbc
May 27th, 2010
11:17 pm
Joan, Id’be most happy if you went somewhere far away … how ’bout, oh say, Iraq? Where woman don’t count?
Just tell me why it’s okay for Bush, Regan, et al to miss laying the wreath and not Obama wihout any one-sided political rhetoric. Then, I might be okay with you being here.
grandmotherof9
May 28th, 2010
11:21 am
The who,when,where, and what have been discused. Here’s more on the why.
First, Bush missed the 2002 ceremony as he was in Normandy at a memorial there. I read a comment on the Washington Post article that said: Michelle is on the Board of Directors of The Chicago Council http://www.thechicagocouncil.org and this weekend they are having a big meeting. That is why O. will not be going o Arlington.
Lardo
May 28th, 2010
1:35 pm
I love of liberals accuse conservatives of being partisan. Like they’re not. Let me clue you all in here.
When lefties promote “bipartisanship” what they are really saying is, “DO IT MY WAY! SEE IT MY WAY! THINK MY WAY!!!!”
When liberals agree to “meet you half way”, they’re talking about mile post 99 of a 100 mile highway. And that’s only so they can grab you by the back of the neck and drag you in that last mile.
See, the liberal motto is, “I think. therefore, I’m right.” (Note: They’re wrong on BOTH points. They do not. And they are not. Ever.)
JUst look at healthcare. They were bound and determined to give (stick?) it to us whether we wanted it or not. Because THEY know better. I saw no signs of bipartisanship or compromise an the part of any Demoncrat. Unless by compromise they meant selling out. Saw that from a number of Demoncrats.
Oh, and hey… shout out to the Hangar Dogs (www.hangardogs.com) and the Jimmy Doane Show (www.jimmydoane.com)
VietVet
May 28th, 2010
4:36 pm
Being one of the fortunate to return from our (mistake) in Vietnam. I am extremely disgusted but not surprised by Chris’s comments. I enlisted, I volunteered to get there and volunteered again to occupy a doorgunner position on a Huey. I don’t give a rats behind whether or not the benefit of hindsight has put our involvement in Vietnam in the (mistake) category but you Chris link it to slavery. You Chris make a comparison about people like me and the Nazi’s. I don’t need obama (lack of title and capitalization intentional) apologizing for me or any of the other millions of men and women who have served this country with honor. Most of us can even produce a birth certificate!
Spector130
May 29th, 2010
9:07 pm
I’m sure the other Presidents that didn’t attend the ceremony had a better excuse than “being on vacation”. BHO is an extreme communist that could care less about our country, our service men and women, the Constitution or anything else AMERICAN!!!! I’ll have to agree with Joan that he doesn’t deserve the honor of the wreath ceremony..
Seeker
May 31st, 2010
1:24 pm
John 15:12-13(HCSB)
This is My command: love one another as I have loved you. No one has greater love than this, that someone would lay down his life for his friends.
It saddens me that while we have just lost our 1000th man in the War in Afghanistan we are at home arguing over something like this. I may not personally prefer President Obama as a president, but we should always respect the office. One other thing I do know, I have never been president of the United States. I am a pastor, and understand in small measure the pressures and stresses of leading when there are few who will follow, though nothing I am sure close to the leader of the greatest nation in the free world. To quote from the presidential charactor of Andrew Shepherd in “The American President”: “Is the view pretty good from the cheap seats…?”
Yes, I wish President Obama had laid the wreath, but I would also wish the same from all our previous presidents. I am a conservative. When I first received an e-mail on this subject, I wondered about the wisdom of pressing this point. I continue to wonder at persuing this line of discussion considering what day this is. I will not return to this blog. I have more important things to do than spend time arguing about who is right and who is wrong. I choose to remember with honor those who have demonstrated they know what love is…
PS – using text abreviations to use fowl language is still using fowl language and simply demonstrates a weak vocabulary or a weak mind.
gloria
May 31st, 2010
2:28 pm
all of you supporting this O decision & trying to flame the politicizing of it SUCK POND WATER. EVERY commander in chief should be there and do this. If they aren’t, they should take the heat at the time they decided. Obama isn’t attending this year. He is an adult…leader of the free world…let him be a man. take the heat. if YOU can’t even let him take the criticism for his decision — it is YOU who are politicizing this…NOT the media. GROW UP. And you have the nerve to question if the tomb houses a veteran who was brave when he died….you should be ashamed. But then, i bet you’ve never pointed a gun at our enemies so the rest of us can blog freely on the internet about it from our cozy homes.
James
June 1st, 2010
12:07 pm
I think you should all get a grip. Yes, we should not use the tomb as a political tool, but remember this President has bowed to every forgien leader who has nasty things to say about us and let Mexico’s President come here an talk trash about us too. Our President is a whimp who hasn’t got the balls to stand up for us-why? I’m thankful that I heard what he was saying and didn’t just listen to what he was saying when he ran for office-I didn’t vote for him and won’t again. We need jobs and a President who will stand up for America-not applogize for us or let others put us down. Our Military and our people desevre better.
Coll
June 1st, 2010
1:06 pm
I have read almost all of the posts on this blog, and I am actually amazed at how off-topic and completely irrelevant the majority of them are. I think it’s actually a good thing that VP Biden laid the wreath, taking into account his son’s recent return from Iraq. That being said, I do believe it is the privilege and obligation of the President to be there in Arlington because of the historical significance of the event. For those of you who believe he can do this from anywhere with the same meaning, the idea of this ceremony is that he is honoring all of our soldiers everywhere, but most importantly those who have died, by placing the wreath on the tomb of the unknown soldier. I believe this is an important ritual, and it should be observed by every president (including the ones who have missed it in the past, although they seem to have been doing things other than taking a “vacation”). As for the rest of this conservative/liberal business, it doesn’t matter what party you are affiliated with, I am glad that someone (especially Biden, who probably has a better perspective on that ritual due to his son’s involvement in the military and the fact that his son made it back) was there to honor the fallen heroes on Memorial Day.