War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.

John Stuart Mill

English economist & philosopher (1806 - 1873)

Sure, and why don't you demonstrate your opposition to the war by immolating yourself on the steps of the capital. That'll show the President you are not fooling around.

Now Jonah Goldberg can actually enlist just like a lot of guys in their mid 30s to early 40s, get the basic private's pay whatever that is now, and actually experience the horror of war up close and personal. Gee...I wonder if he has some rich relative that'll pay to ensure he never gets to actually serve in case there's a draft.

Of course that would be putting Mr. Goldberg in the same room with Dick Cheney who had "other priorities" and George Bush who can send people to die in a war, but was too important to actually fight in one when he was young enough to serve. Another young, rich, white, and married Republican couldn't be that important, could he?

'Forty-two U.S. soldiers have died in Iraq already this month, and recruiters are waiting by their phones to hear from their replacements.' As Americans, we should be paying attention to the ever-mounting number of deaths in this war. But please, don't dishonor them by using their deaths to score debating points.

My parents volunteer at a food bank in the Seattle-area, and have seen a large number of families of National Guard members posted to Iraq coming in for food. The loss of income has really hurt these working/middle class families and many can't make it without charity.

At least he has royalties from his books full of bullshit. That alone is a lot more than I make in a year, and I currently pull down double what I used to make as a staff sergeant in the Army.

He should try to sell that malarkey to the guy who worked for me a decade ago who had THREE (count 'em) children and made something like 2/3 of my paycheck. He was soooooooooooo glad to be able to buy my old rusted-out wreck of a car from me for $300 (in two installments) I couldn't help but have pity for him. I swear, the guy ate leftover macaroni and cheese for lunch at least three times a week. If he's still in, he's probably in the sandbox right now, wishing he were never born.

"I'm 35 years old, my family couldn't afford the lost income, I have a baby daughter . . ."

Well, geeze, no wonder Jonah Goldberg, the pasty-faced, fat-assed nancy-boy, can't volunteer to serve his country - even though he is all down with Bush's ill-advised Iraqi adventure. The good news may be that in light of the indicators that W now wants to start a fight with a much larger and more difficult foe - Iran - perhaps Jonah will have another chance to serve.

Age and kids are no excuse for Jonah Goldberg. The first U.S. soldier killed in Irag in 2006 re-enlisted in the army when he was 35 years old. When he was killed (at age 37), he left behind a wife, a 5-year-old son and a 5-month-old son. Let's get Jonah the number of his local recruiting office...

So poor lil Jonah says he can't serve in Iraq because "I'm 35 years old, my family couldn't afford the lost income, and I have a baby daughter."

And that makes Jonah different from so many of our troops serving in Iraq - how?

Does he think he's the ONLY person in his mid-30s with a family, including young children, that would suffer hardship if he went to fight in Iraq?

Jonah, if you won't serve your country, at least be honest about it. You're not in Iraq fighting the war you say you support because you're a hypocritical coward.

Hey, it would almost be worth it to find out exactly how much income Goldberg would lose by giving up his National Review salary to enlist in the Army, and then setting up a fund to supplement his Army pay; contingent upon his actual enlistment and completion of basic training. It would have to be a combat MOS, though, with a real risk of going to Iraq, otherwise all bets are off.

Everyone should send a white feather to the Los Angeles Times in recognition of their newest chickenhawk columnist.