They Hate Us...They Really Hate Us!

Big props to Sally Field for her passionate speech condemning war at The Emmy's. She's soooo right. If mothers ran the world, there would be no such thing as war. But for some reason...our so-called cultural arbitrators have decided American citizens whose career choice lands in the field of the arts; be it acting or music or visual...have somehow relinquished their First Amendment rights.

I guess those so-called arbitrators of culture believe everyone should be as limited in the realm of intelligence, depth and compassion as they are. It's quite amusing how off the mark media critics are in their opinions compared to the current overwhelming anti-war sentiment of Americans, but it's not amusing at all when our elected represetatives share that same opinion.

Thursday September 20th, 2007 is a date that marks a a new low for our government. The Senate could not pass the Webb Amendment giving soldiers and National Guardsmen serving in Iraq enough time off from their tours to keep them from losing their lives, their families, their jobs and their minds. The Senate could not pass the Dodd/Leahy amendment to Restore Habeas Corpus - every human's right to face their accusers and defend themselves in a court of law. But, 72 Senators, which means many Democrats were in that mix, voted to condemn Move On for their ad that asked the question 'Will General Petraeus Betray Us?'. It was a fair question and as polls have shown us, a large majority of the American people believed he would and as a loyal political figure he lived up to our expectations.

But the finger wagging DC Establishment think they can tell Americans that there are people in our government, under civilian rule and paid for by citizens tax dollars, that are off limits when it comes to public criticism. Excuse me but if 'civilians' are fair game for scrutiny then by God so is the military. If the GOP can tear Cindy Sheehan, the 9/11 families, and veterans protesting this war (including those who have served in Iraq) apart then Mr. Petraeus is fair game.

Since when did America become a nation willing to give those in power a free ride? Since never. Americans aren't giving any member of the power structure a free ride and that's not just pissing off Republicans anymore. It seems DLCC Darling Steny 'I Hate The Little People' Hoyer is especially annoyed with 'the base' because we keep insisting his party keep the promises they gave when we gave them the majority.

Both General Petraeus and Ambassador Crocker based their claims of progress and less violence in Iraq on a rebranding strategy promoted by the civilian administration that reclassified the definition of 'insurgent casualties'. If an Iraqi was killed by a car bomb? No longer a victim of the insurgency. If an Iraqi was shot to death from the front rather than behind, no longer a victim of the insurgency. They narrowed the definition of insurgency caused deaths to suit their political purposes. And the so-called 'venerable' General Petraeus hopped on the Parsing Train with his striped conductor hat cocked to the side and his right arm ready to pull the horn and toot a car full of big fat lies because he's a good soldier? I. Think. Not.

Many supposed wonderful Generals (Shinseki, Abizaid, Zinni, Batiste, Casey, Pace and so on and so on) lost their rank or job for telling the truth to the public and the Bush Administration when it comes to Iraq. But for some reason publicly trashing those generals is perfectly acceptable to both political parties but the ones who currently spout the administration's propaganda are off limits. I. Think. Not.

Those who enter the armed forces swear an oath to protect and uphold The Constitution and not the sitting administration's personal desire for unchecked power. And while the petty officers and infantrymen on the lines in Iraq are just following orders, their commanding officers in charge of making sure their oaths are followed are the ones failing them and the American people. Those are who we as Americans have the right to hold accountable.

But if we as a nation are willing to say the military should operate without criticism and without oversight; we are not a representative Republic with constitutionally codified checks and balances. We're something else. Something very dark. Something maybe a small minority of our nation thinks is fine but the lion's share of us are not willing to accept.

General Petraeus is not the only person who should be accused of betraying the American people. The United States Congress, one day after cementing the demise of Habeas Corpus, took the time out of their day to condemn an organization made up of millions of concerned citizens for exercising their right to free speech.

There's a part of me that thinks maybe they all really do 'hate us'. And I have no idea where that puts us in the future. Except for the fact that it doesn't matter if they do hate us. They work for us, no matter how they feel about us. And it's up to us to tell them what to do.