Letters to the Editor
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UP YOUR CHILDREN'S BUTTS LIBTARDS
Enjoy the squeal!
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utter bullshit
Before Elliott Roosevelt served as a Brig. Gen. in the 25th Bomb Group, he had indeed served briefly in combat -- as a bombardier in a P-38 in the North African campaign in 1942.
What utter bullshit. The P-38 was a single-seat fighter (it was the one with the twin-boom tail), not a bomber in need of a bombadier, and it was not yet operational in 1942, having come on line in early 1943. Learn a bit of basic military history before you spout off, please.
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So What?
Eh, leave it alone. Was Boxer taking a swipe at Rice? I don't know and don't care. I cannot imagine Condi does; she has a State Dept. to run.
But, I think Tony Snow and other Republican mouths ran with that angle because there wasn't anything complimentary to boast about her appearance before the committee. It's called misdirection, and the Repubs are experts at that.
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focus, people
On Bush's watch:
We lost 3,000+ US citizens on 9/11;
We've lost 3,000+ US citizens who served in our military in an unprovoked attack in an illegal war;
the SOB is leading us into another war with Syria and Iran...
...and all the Republican War Machine has is "Boxer talked mean to our Condi!"
What the fuck?!?!?!
Are you people retarded, or what?
It's time to take real action, not just an election where we change some window dressing.
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Boxer's remarks to Rice
Seems like this is standard operating procedure for the right wing. Take some remark by a democrat, fly into high dudgeon about it, and flog it to death in the media for days and demand an apology. All the better to distract people from the real issues like the surge.
Look at the furor over Kerry's remarks about Bush getting stuck in Iraq, which they twisted into an insult to the troops, and Kerry's mention of Cheney's daughter being a lesbian, hardly a secret.
Seems like a good tactic. Pretend to be insulted to put the other side at a disadavantage, and of course, energize the base.
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Syco-phant man
Anybody who ever served in the U.S. Army knows that a P-38 is a little folding can opener you hang on your dog tag chain. Jeez!
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Democratic Maternalism
As well as the connections between Barbara Boxer's and Laura Bush's comments, how about the connection to Nancy Pelosi's parade of children and grandchildren when she became Speaker of the House? All of these women are using motherhood as a political strategy to various degrees. Perhaps it's necessary in order for them to be taken seriously but, to me, these tactics are insulting and--perhaps more importantly -- inherently conservative, and pretty disappointing in terms of feminism.
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Correction about E. Roosevelt, and...
Right, right, right. Dumb error. Elliot Roosevelt served as a bombadier on a B-24 in the N. African campaign.
Wikipedia indicates that he "flew a P-38" and that is probably wrong; at least it is inconsistent with the larger controversy about how he got promoted to Brig. Gen. without having been a pilot. Col. Roosevelt's main interest had been in air reconaissance, in Africa as well as Europe. They used the multi-tasking Lightnings as well as British Mosquitoes a lot for recon flights. Maybe Elliot Roosevelt flew one, I don't know. More likely, he "commanded" a group of Lighntings.
Now, there is no point whatsoever in belittling Col. Roosevelt. And I didn't mean to. I said so from the outset. But again, there is no point in either mythologizing his military career in order to promote some kind of "Democrat war-hero" theory, nor in demonizing a perfectly respectable history of service. Col. Roosevelt served honorably, although pretty clearly his circumstances were not so heroic as those of Lt. John Kennedy, Lt. Geroge H. W. Bush, or Pvt. Bob Dole. The only reason I took a little shot at Roosevelt was in response to attempt to paint Democratic presidential families as superior patriots. War or no war, we don't see a whole lot of military families on the upper west side of Manhattan, or from Berkely.
So back to topic -- none of those guys were "sent" into combat by their fathers. George W. Bush has no more business "sending" his adult daughters into battle than FDR would have had "sending" HIS daughters into battle.
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childless
Elephantman asked, "Any questions" I didn't read all the postings, but I read a lot of them and didn't see him or anyone else address my question: Why is it insulting to note that a woman is childless? I mean that as a serious question. Why is it a bad thing or embarrassment to be childless? I ask that as a woman childless by choice, something very few people in my life (I'm now 64) ever really believed, but it is true. I've been happily married twice, I love kids, but I never, ever wanted the job of raising one. Or two. Or God forbid, more.
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What's your record?
Judging from the clues you've given us about your father's service in WW II and some other revelations, I gather that you were eligible for the Draft during the Vietnam War.
How did you get out of it, Elephant Man?
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LindaAnne
It's not insulting, except when it can be used as a cudgel to beat your opponent over the head in a fit of self-righteousness and indignation.
It's a game called, "Gotcha!" and politicians use it all the time. Unfortunately for them, the wonders of technology has brought us the "tape archive." And it usually turns out that he who won the Gotcha! points today, can be found guilty of the same sin as his opponent at sometime during their long career. This is called, "Gotcha Yourself!" Which is also fun to play, but takes a little time and effort to do the research.
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Ha! Good guess, Locutus!
But you'd be wrong. I was too young, by a couple of years. My dad entered Roosevelt's command as a teenager. When I turned 18, they were sending people home from Asia as fast as they could. The draft had ended. I have often since wish that I had enlisted anyway. I think the experience would have been good for me, and I could have used the money for college.