Monday, January 23, 2006

Good stuff to read on the web

On the web and in print, I have been stirred by the words of:

James Webb, a Secretary of the Navy under Reagan. In Purple Heartbreakers, a special piece in the NYT, Webb calls out the Bush Administration and the Right-Wing liars such as Rush, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, Coulter, Rove and the Cybercast News Service on their most repulsive habit of questioning the valor of any veteran who dares interfere with their agenda.

As the child of a veteran, it continues to anger me that such men as Bush, Cheney, and Rove would have their cronies such as Limbaugh (and woman Coulter), Hannity and the rest of the Noise Machine (none of whom served with distinction in the military or put their own lives on the line for their nation) attack the service, medals and valor of these heroes, accusing them of not serving honorably.

Looking at the insults and lies heaped upon John McCain, John Murtha, Max Cleland and John Kerry, I know it is not only damaging to those individuals, but to the very core of our country. As Webb points out, how can any soldier trust these men who continually speak of supporting troops, while disparaging veterans?
link to read this article

Charles Marsh of UVA, in an important column, reprinted by Will Samson. Take time to read Wayward Christian Soldiers which examines the poor theology of the Christian support of the War in Iraq. As a Christian and religion professor, Marsh understands the dangers of Christian loyalty to this war, especially in light of recent Christian agreements, such as the Lausanne document and Scripture. It is a must read!

Ike: Will also beat me to the punch (such a good blogger) reminding us of the farewell address of President Dwight D. Eisenhower, who warned the nation of "the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military-industrial complex" and how at odds it was with peace.
link to Will's posting

Thomas B. Edsall's words have not stirred me, but they have given me time to reflect even more on the career of Ralph Reed and why, in light of the Abramoff scandal, he must explain some of his actions or not be trusted. link here

2 comments:

Mike Murrow said...

that quote from eisenhower is also in a new doc called "why we fight" which is about exactly what eisenhower warned about.

it openned in limited showings but will go wide soon.

i think the doc will have more cred as the director waited until after the election to release it so as not to make it about Bush alone but about the empire in general... which whats his face did.

DJ Word said...

I am really looking forward to seeing that movie. I saw the director speak on it on the Daily Show.