Are there any American politicians who have been to war and are still warmongers?

I'd say leaving the decision to go to war entirely in the hands of those who have been shot at in war is a fairly sound policy. Not that it did the Germans any good.

Somebody should do some research into the role poor self-esteem plays in this sort of neocon chickenhawking. I would suspect that these guys feel, deep down, insufficiently masculine, and that this in turn has a lot to do with their bleating for endless war. I mean, neither of them is very attractive, they look way out of shape, and I believe somebody here implied that they look like pedophiles. I think they are compensating for feeling like szlubs, feeling emasculated by their appearance and probably by everything around them, so, you know, they can't have that and so they kick a bunch of dust in the air and hope that nobody can see them for what they are. I know I'm jumping to conclusions that don't really follow without further inquisition, but it's really terrifying that these guys, and consequently the steady beat of the War Drums, are essentially motivated because they don't feel like manly men. It's pathetic.

... as we're discussing the politicization of the "war," I'd like to point out that the war is so unpopular that whoever manages to "bring 'em home" is going to look like a hero, and probably a genius as well. It's surprising that the Republican spinmeisters are going to leave this PR coup to the Democrats. (Note to Dems: Do NOT let Junior take credit for bringing even one of them home, except in a box.)

As long as we're discussing the politicization of the "war," I'd like to point out that the war is so unpopular that whoever manages to "bring 'em home" is going to look like a hero, and probably a genius as well...

-- anonxmous

Good way of looking at the road ahead. Funny you have to come up with the idea and somebody has to sell it to the next President.

"In order to make sure there's not this kind of federal cufflink."

What is a federal cufflink? I feel I'm supposed to get it, but this one escapes me.

I love how badly it upsets Shooter and his ilk that their heros don't look like the pictures they've had embedded in their minds.

These neocon scumbags make their livings by creating a literary (a.k.a. "typed") vision of themselves as strong and majestic and liberals as weak and scrawny.

How many times have people posted the list of Democrats who have served and Republicans who haven't in your comments section? It never sparks as much ire as simply posting these pictures. Pull back the curtain.

As you've pointed out, you don't even have to say shit in regard to the photos. You didn't create the shallowness that has people following this (false) neocon majestic image. But it does appear you know how to fight fire with fire and attempt to put an end to the bullshit.

At every fire I've been to, there is a guy called the IC - Incident Commander. He's the guy who orders people into the fire, if that is going to happen. He is usually a battalion commander or a chief, so he has many years of experience going into the fires.

You can have opinions about the way they fight fires, but you cannot be the IC without experience fighting fires. And they never have an IC who has never fought a fire and is trying to start fires as fast as they can put them out.

(I am not a firefighter, I just interact with them occasionally)

Like many of the contributors here, I have been struggling to find ways to communicate what has been happening to this country to groups and to individuals who have a stake in its outcome. Lately, I have been sending many of the articles I read here at Salon, at other blogs like Talkingpointsmemo, Crooks and Liars, FDL, etc. to a former student of mine who is currently serving in the Army in Iraq, after she served a tour in Afghanistan. Occasionally she sends back replies about issues that strike close to home for her, and sometimes she asks for additional information. I send these pieces without comment, asking only that she read and reflect on these issues as she sees fit.

One of her sore points involves those who do not serve spouting opinions from the safety and comfort of their homes or offices. I am looking forward to what she has to say about what Fred Kagan promotes about delaying her rotation home. She has stated that most of the soldiers that she has encountered in Iraq talk frequently about many of the issues that appear in magazines like Salon.

Do whatever you can to force a discussion about issues you care about most. Engage your minister or priest or rabbi or imam, buttonhole a teacher at your local school, get on the agenda at your city council meeting. Move it beyond the fertile developmental ground that readers have churned up here. If the Senate and the House dawdle, make your attack local. Glenn has worked long and hard to develop a forum for himself that has gained national attention; find your own way to generate a groundswell for stopping the insanity of this war, the criminality that is the attack on the Constitution, and the inexcusable enablers that pose as journalists and chroniclers of our time.

For me, it's cultivating one person at a time. There are millions of us. Find your target.

G'night ladies, and I leave you with a quote from "A few good men."

Anyone who thinks "A Few Good Men" represented the military accurately has never served. The Jack Nicholson character would have never made captain, much less colonel. Promotion boards are good at weeding out those types.

The writer of that wretched movie got his ideas from John Wayne movies and Sgt. Rock comic books, and it shows.