Pat Tillman was a safety with the Arizona Cardinals and not a quarterback.

First of all, Joan, well said. It disgusts me that they used this man's death to drum up support for an already trumped-up war.

Second, Pat Tillman played safety for the Cardinals, not quarterback. Don't give the right any reason to harp on useless mistakes that they can use to distract from the issue. I can hear O'Reilly now: "Clearly she doesn't know what she's talking about - she didn't even know what position he played."

What a dumb mistake. Thanks, I'll fix it.

Joan, would you please let us know of your TV appearances in advance (and pardon me, if you're already doing this and I've somehow not noticed). Scarborough Country is on at an inconvenient time for me; but I will make the effort to catch it if I know you're a guest.

And please tell MSNBC to give Joe the earlier time slot(s) now occupied by the obnoxious Tucker "I'm Too Young to Remember Vietnam and Too Preppy to Care" Carlson. Thanks.

...and none of them from what I would term "natural" causes. I was sure that Vonnegut had at least another decade in him, given that sparkle in his eyes the last time I saw him on "Now." A friend and I were commenting that he and Jimmy Carter both have (now had) that same sparkle.

Thanks again, Joan, for managing to get Glenn Greenwald on Salon's pages; he's a great complement to the other writers and columnists.

as far as I know Rove, or anyone else, doesn't have to accept being attacked and forced to debate an issue beyond the point where he answered them.

I also don't think Crow or anyone else has the right to put their hands on someone when they clearly are walking away.

Crow must have been cranky after using only one square of toilet paper.

Part of the Pentagon's effort to remake the ambush of the 507th Maintenance Co. into the Jessica Lynch Story was to ignore the bravery of other soldiers in her unit.

At the time, the Pentagon released reports that "a blonde soldier", presumably Lynch, had fought until she ran out of ammunition. This, of course, wasn't so. Lynch was knocked unconscious in the crash of her vehicle and never fired her weapon.

SGT Donald Waters from Oregon fought until he ran out of ammo, despite bayonet and gunshot wounds. He was captured and executed. Despite his family's demands for an investigation and recognition of his heroism, the Pentagon refused to do so... not wanting to have to retract their earlier statements about the "blonde soldier" being Lynch. The family went to CBS News a year later and that caused the Pentagon to scramble to do the right thing, finally.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Donald_Walters

I would offer up the notion that the good ole ranger was just playing the game of pass the blame and trying to avoid the fireworks that are being aim at his peers for what happened to Pat Tillman..

Despite the moral meltdown that is taking place in our country I still argue that telling the truth and doing the right thing does not make one a hero nor does it take courage..

What can't be denied is that iconic photo of Tillman makes him the new Che Guevara, who's that going to rile? His photo should be on T-Shirts, posters and graffitied walls around the world.

Pat Tillman's death was not "shameful" in any way. The military could have used his death to educate the public about the realities of the dangers of "friendly fire" deaths or injuries and to show what they have been doing to prevent these kinds of deaths. The war in Afghanistan was, and is, supported by most Americans. We wouldn't have turned simply because one person died tragically. Does it really matter how someone dies while they are serving their country? Do the "friendly fire" deaths count less than the "enemy fire" deaths. What about people who die in accidents while serving in a war zone?

This administration has fostered an atmosphere where lies are the norm. They lie even when they don't have to, when there is nothing sinister to cover up. They lie simply to make a better story, even when they don't have to.

"Ranger O'Neal=No Hero

...Despite the moral meltdown that is taking place in our country I still argue that telling the truth and doing the right thing does not make one a hero nor does it take courage..

-- Thrasher"

All things being equal, I would completely agree with you. Honesty isn't something that should be reserved for the above and beyond set alone. Unfortunately we are now in a period where truthtelling is the aberration rather than the norm, due to a culture of both intimidation on the part of leaders/opinionmakers and a persistent, lingering streak of willful ignorance among some of our citizens. The result is that those trying to get the truth out about things like Lynch, Tillman, Abu Ghraib, and, really, the whole construction of the war, are villified by those who perpetrate or support the deceipts in question.

A telling example can still be found in the Plame case. Whether or not the agent-outing law was actually broken, the publicization of her identity and role at the CIA can only be taken, in the final analysis, as a warning from those in the Administration to other potential whistlblowers, throughout the vast array of government agencies, to keep their mouths shut if they think of exposing government falsehoods to the American people, who ultimately are the ones being lied to on a daily basis even while they continue to send their children and tax dollars for The Cause, with the real potential of never seeing either again. And what for? To maintain the political fortunes of the White House. When such a boundary is no longer respected by our leaders, and the press corps, who's role it is to expose official lies, takes on the responsibilities instead of official court transcriber, the liars and theives will rule the day, and the demons run amok. This is where we've been for years, and this is where we're likely to stay for a long, long time. Our politics and public discourse are infected, and only fairly recently have the symptoms readily come to our attention, because they are now quite literally crippling us.

So yes, it is a sad state of affairs when the simple characteristic of just being honest for honesty's sake needs to be celebrated as a form of heroism in itself. But someone's still gotta tell the Emperor his schlong is showing, especially when no one wants to hear it. I say let the folks who do that be our heroes, if that's what it takes to make honesty and transparency in government our core values again. Only then, maybe, can our democracy resume.