Monday, September 12, 2005
This Is Why They're Fighting?
From the NYT's account of yesterday's "Freedom Walk" in Washington:
The events of 9/11 and what's going on in Iraq have no cause-and-effect relationship. The only thing one has to do with the other is that The Weasel & Co. (including rock-star Rummy, who makes me want to swoon, too, albeit for different reasons) have successfully linked them in the minds of the gullible, the misinformed, and/or the "don't bother me with facts, he's the commander-in-chief" crowd.
Earlier in the day, several protesters appeared to run into trouble with the large police presence at the Pentagon and along the route. One man who registered for the walk was detained by a Pentagon police officer after he slipped a black hood over his head and produced a sign that read, "Freedom?"And from the Washington Post:
The man was removed from the Pentagon registration area, handcuffed and taken away in a police car. It was not clear whether he was charged or simply detained and the police did not respond to messages requesting more information.
Ann Grossman, 56, from Silver Spring, Md., also carried a homemade sign, which read "Honor Our Troops, Respect Their Lives," that was confiscated by police at the Pentagon. Ms. Grossman registered to participate in the walk, saying she did so to voice her opposition to the Iraq war, and she was allowed to participate without the sign.
Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld joined the walk and was treated like a rock star, hounded by passersby who begged his Secret Service detail to snap their photos with him.The marchers present commemorating September 11, especially families and friends of victims -- I'm not speaking of them here. What has driven me nuts since I first heard about this Freedom Walk was the sheer sanctimonious chutzpah of The Weasel's misAdministration in coming up with it in the first place. It continued the implicit conflation of the events of 9/11/01 with Iraq. As the Post's article concludes (emphasis mine):
"I wish I remembered my permanent marker so he could sign my T-shirt," one woman lamented after shaking Rumsfeld's hand. Patricia Rivera, 26, an Air Force enlistee, gasped and said: "Oh, my. What an honor! What an honor!" after having her photo taken with Rumsfeld.
Kevin Pannell, who stood on his prosthetic legs, said the Sept. 11 attacks still take their toll on the nation.Mr. Pannell deserves the thanks of a grateful nation for his honor and sacrifice. But hard though it is to say this, his honor and sacrifice do not make what is untrue suddenly true.
"I lost my legs in Baghdad, and 9/11 was the initiative," said Pannell, 27, of Woodbridge. "The longer it goes since it happened, the less people seem to think about it. I think about it every day. We don't need to forget 9/11."
The events of 9/11 and what's going on in Iraq have no cause-and-effect relationship. The only thing one has to do with the other is that The Weasel & Co. (including rock-star Rummy, who makes me want to swoon, too, albeit for different reasons) have successfully linked them in the minds of the gullible, the misinformed, and/or the "don't bother me with facts, he's the commander-in-chief" crowd.
