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Wednesday, 31 August 2005
The Hot SAUCE Crisis
A Post on Baen's Bar There Might Be A Tabasco Shortage by Tim Covington AKA De Opresso Liber Against the Enemies of Freedom
(Note you may have to register, to get in but it is free and has great discussion groups)

Brought up a possible effect of Hurricane Katrina that had not even occurred to me.

This comes from my wife:
My mom had a wild idea the other night, that now doesn't seem so wild.
I haven't heard anything out of Avery Island, Louisiana. Not familiar
with Avery Island? It's the home of the One And Only McIlhenny's
Tabasco Sauce.
Check out this map. Zoom it out a few times, and look at its surroundings.
Their website is http://www.tabasco.com/ but I haven't been able to hit it.
How much do you think the price on a bottle of Tabasco is going to go up?

TimC


Now folks you can walk to work and shop, you can ride a bicycle, but without the Spice of Life
bland food is just that, BLAND.

If need be the back country barbecues in Flyover, Jesusland might have to step in and help stem the hot sauce shortage.

Now where I come from in Western Kentucky Barbecue is listed in the Yellow Pages as just that Barbecue, not under Restaurants or any other heading but Barbecue.

The best pits don't even bother to advertise, and EVERY little hole in the wall Barbecue Pit has it OWN Hot Sauce recipe, usually made and curing in gal glass jugs.

Oh they do have 8 oz bottles with all the proper labels and things but that's for tourists, locals buy it in clear plastic fifth bottles the same ones whiskey comes in, no label, they just fill them up from a jug slap a top on and you pay and go. LOL

That stuff has a kick it has the same consistency as Tabasco sauce, NOT the thick gooey sweet barbecue sauce you find in grocery stores.

I am certain that the hinterlands of Jacksonian America can step into the breach if need be and stem any Hot Sauce Shortage.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 7:02 PM CDT
| Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Updated: Wednesday, 31 August 2005 7:09 PM CDT
Tuesday, 30 August 2005
You Might Be A Jacksonian American September.
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
It's time to bump up this contest. There are only 13 days left to enter.

To view the previous entries go to the comments on


THIS PAGE

My buddy Gabe and I were brainstorming some spinoffs of Jeff Foxworthy's You Might Be A Redneck Jokes while on a smokebreak at work.

We call them You Might Be A Jacksonian American


You Might Be A Jacksonian American
If you think MREs taste good

You Might Be A Jacksonian American
If you think using the New York Times to line
the bottom of a cat litter box would be redundant

You Might Be A Jacksonian American
If you think the US should withdraw its forces
from Iraq, through Iran

You Might Be A Jacksonian American
If you think the saying "Speak softly
but carry a Big Stick" doesn't need
the "Speak softly"

You Might Be A Jacksonian American
If you look at the following cartoon
with an air of wistful regret.




I think I am going to call a contest, open until Sept 11, 2005, winner will get a teeshirt I picked up in St Petersburg, Russia. The above entries are disqualified. I will pick some neutral bloggers to vote on the winner.



Now if you really want to LEARN something about Jacksonian Americans, all kidding aside, there is no better place to start than

The Jacksonian Tradition by Walter Russell Mead



UPDATE Here are some jpgs of the prize. Now you CAN get them online from RussianLegacy.com
I got mine in a Bazaar in St Petersburg, Russia




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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 5:53 PM CDT
| Post Comment | View Comments (3) | Permalink | Share This Post
Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:04 AM CDT
Free your 180, John Kerry!




I found the following via my friend

third world county

I work nights and sleep days, going to hit the sack in a few minutes so I cannot stay online to get the code for the blogroll, but I want to go on record as supporting this effort and decided to slap this together instead of waiting around. I will update and post some of my personal thoughts later.

UPDATE Now SOME may say this is old business from 30 years ago. It is not. The Man said he would release his 180, and he has not. He even state that he HAD released all his military record and he never did. THAT is not Old Business from 30 years ago it was Last Year.

Myself I am more concerned with other facets of his History, truth be told.

Like: His whitewash of the POW-MIA Investigation. His ramrodding Normalization of Relations with North Vietnam through despite the vehement protests of the American-Vietnamese Community AND their abysmal record in Human Rights.

Regarding these items I have another query of Mr. Kerry, beside the 180.

To Wit.

Was their any connection between the above actions on your part as stated and your cousin receiving an 800 million dollar construction contract?

Oh and along with releasing your 180 I would REALLY like some answers to the questions raised in this article.


Did America Abandon Vietnam War P.O.W.'s?

It is not conspiracy theory, not paranoid myth, not Rambo fantasy. It is only hard evidence of a national disgrace: American prisoners were left behind at the end of the Vietnam War. They were abandoned because six presidents and official Washington could not admit their guilty secret. They were forgotten because the press and most Americans turned away from all things that reminded them of Vietnam
Folks these issues are NOT 30 years ago, they were last year and while the Man was a US Senator and they demand an answer. While Mr Kerry was not alone in this venal cover up it would appear that he and his benefited from it to no small degree financially.

Cao's Blog


Join the blogbursts to help FREE Kerry’s 180 every Tuesday!

We’ve formed a blogburst group and here are the bloggers who are contributing so far. If you want to join the blogroll for Free Kerry’s 180, click here to email me, include the url for your blog. The blogburst is every Tuesday, so don’t forget to blog about it. All you have to do is encourage Kerry to set his 180 FREE, I’ll send you the code for the blogroll.

The more people we have, the merrier!

Aaron's cc
And Rightly So!
Atlas Shrugs
Balance Sheet
Cao's Blog
Christmas Ghost
Civil Issues
Conservative Friends
Cuppapolitics
DANEgerus
doubleplusgood infotainment
Doughnut Holes
Euphoric Reality
Flight Pundit
Fundamentally Right
Furry Press
GM's Corner
Gribbit's Word
House Of Wheels
i-imagery.com
Infinite Universe
International House of Conservatism
Jackson's Junction
Jay Howard Smith
Kender's Musings
Lifetrek
Moonbattery.com
My Vast Rightwing Conspiracy
NIF
PBSWatcher
Pettifog
Pirate's Cove
Pooklekufr: The Kafir Constitutionalist
Power and Control
Private Radio
Progressive Conservatism
Publius Rendezvous
Ravings Of A Mad Tech
Reasoned Audacity
Republican Vet
Reverse Vampyr
Right in Philly
Rottweiler Puppy
Shades of Gray
Something...and Half of Something
Steve's Blog
Steve's Blog
Stop the ACLU
Tall Glass of Milk
The Babaganoosh
The Creative Conservative
The Dark Citadel
The Paragraph Farmer
The Pulpit Pounder
The Sunnyeside Of Life
Think About It
Third World County
TMH's Bacon Bits
Uncle Jack
Villainous Company
Web-Nuts
What Attitude Problem?
Where's Your Brain?

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 8:45 AM CDT
| Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Updated: Tuesday, 30 August 2005 7:57 PM CDT
Monday, 29 August 2005
We Will Pursue Looters Ruthlessly
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
I could be mistaken, but that is what I think
I heard Haley Barbour the Governor of Mississippi
say on Fox, when asked how his State planned to handle looters in the wake of Katrina.

For the unenlightened. One of the most unpleasant
experiences you could have, would be a big burly
Mississippi State Trooper looking down and you,
spiting some chewing tobacco to the side and saying.

"This is MISSISSIPPI Boy, we don't appeal to better natures here."

A word to the wise, loot in a Blue State, they may be more empathetic.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 9:14 PM CDT
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:03 AM CDT
To Make a Safer World
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
I live and work in Cedar Rapids Iowa.
Let me make it clear that I am STILL from
Kentucky. That last sentence was to placate
the departed spirit of my maternal Grandfather
Stonewall Jackson Puckett. ;-)

So yes I live and work in Cedar Rapids, and
recently I found out that the good citizens
to the South of me, in Iowa City have taken
steps to make our area safer.

To wit they have declared Iowa City a

Drum roll, clash of cymbals!

NUCLEAR WEAPON FREE ZONE!

No Really that is what they did, passed an ordinance and EVEN put up warning signs!




"the City Council of Iowa City declared the city a nuclear free zone; signs noting this fact, such as this one on Dubuque Street, are usually found near city limits."

I feel SO much safer to know that a City a half hour drive has taken such steps to ensure that possession of a Nuclear Bomb will be illegal.

Don't you wish YOU were this safe?

You know the really sad part? That is EXACTLY the way the Left thinks about National Security, Rogue States and International Terrorism.

Just pass an Ordinance, put up some signs and naturally all the nasty people in the world will read and obey them. If not then put massive financial investment in Literacy Programs.

I try to picture in my mind sometimes an Iowa City Cop enforcing that ordinance.

"Put the Atomic bomb on the ground and raise your hands in the air.

Put the atomic bomb on the ground and------------

White noise.


Oh there is ONE other slight problem, those signs? They cost $80 a piece and they keep coming up missing.

Your Tax dollars at work, to make a Safer Nuclear Free World. Forget about the potholes in the streets some things are more important.

Do I really need to mention Iowa City is a University town? I say town because the population is 60K and the Student body is 30K.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 7:27 PM CDT
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:03 AM CDT
Sunday, 28 August 2005
Who Moved Where?
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
As I was reading a post over at Eye of Polyphemus it occurred to me how "definition of terms" can radically alter a perspective.

The passage that caught my attention and reminded me of some concepts I had been let build towards a posts starts:

According to George Will, it's the party base's embrace of Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, and MoveOn.org. Most of America couldn't care less about that trio, but the rank and file Democrats are all for such Leftist radicalism. That may spell trouble for the democrats in 2008.

"According to George Will, it's the party base's embrace of Cindy Sheehan, Michael Moore, and MoveOn.org."


In time that COULD be true of the Party's "base" I am not certain if it is now, and I am pretty certain it has not been in the past.

Of course we can get down to a "definition of terms" here.

I think of the Base as being the Broad population of people who think of themselves as Democrats the bulk of the Party in terms of voters going to the Polls.

If you are talking about the ACTIVIST Base, those who do the nuts and bolts work of the Party it would be correct that it has been coopted by The Michael Moore and Moveon.org crowd, for after all didn't Moveon.org say they OWNED The Democratic Party now because they had PAID for ?

Picture the public reaction of an org tied with a Republican Party said that they had BOUGHT the GOP. LOL

I have been mulling over a few concepts, for instance, the idea that Zell Miller broached when he said.

"I did not leave the Democratic Party, they left me."


I keep hearing that the Nation has moved to the Right. I am not certain that is accurate. I am wondering if the Democratic Leadership has moved so far to the left that they have abandoned a large portion of what I considered the Democratic Base.

How else can one explain the radical shift in Politics in what used to be called the Solid South? This has created such things as the Neo-Con movement which I perceive as former liberals who no longer feel at home in the Democratic Party.

It is certainly true there seems to be far more spleen directed against Neo-Cons than against old time Republicans. It is the sort of vehemence often directed at a former Lover after being spurned, it contains not just opposition of philosophical ideas, but the the hysteria of betrayal.

Not how could you think THAT.

But

How could YOU think that.

Or at least it seems so to me.

We live in interesting times. One of the Brightest orators or the Left, Christopher Hitchens is now a Neo-Con. Had you told me 20 years ago that I would eagerly read and agree with a life-time Trotskyite?

I would have told you, that is insane the World could NOT change to that extent.

On September 11, 2001 it did change to that extent.

Though despite claims that Hitchens has abandoned his Leftist principles he maintains that he has been consistent and loyal to them, it is the others who have abandoned them.

Those he maintains who support fascist thugs cannot point their fingers at those fighting to defeat fascist thugs, and use that epithet.

Zell Miller and Christopher Hitchens saying almost the same thing? I did not abandon my Party it abandoned me? Weird. A World Turned Upside Down indeed.

Now EVERYONE knows that the Nation has taken a turn to the Right and become more Conservative, but sometimes I wonder.

Did WE THE PEOPLE change or did the Leadership of the Democratic Party change?

Who was it said, "It ain't what folks don't know, it's what they do know that ain't so."???

In any case I think everyone has this situation all backwards. Though as time goes on it will create its own reality, as more and more former Democrats get driven out of the Party and register and start thinking of themselves as either Republicans, Libertarians or Independents.


The rank and file Democrats will become increasingly for Leftist radicalism.

And that folks will doom them to Political
Oblivion, because they will have abandoned
their TRUE base for MONEY.

MoveOn: "We Bought" the Democratic Party

By Ben Johnson
FrontPageMagazine.com | December 10, 2004

A standard ?action alert? has provided a rare glimpse inside the mind of the Shadow Party.

In a December 9th e-mail signed by ?Eli Pariser, Justin Ruben, and the whole MoveOn PAC team,? the Soros front group stated: ?In the last year, grassroots contributors like us gave more than $300 million to the Kerry campaign and the DNC, and proved that the Party doesn't need corporate cash to be competitive. Now it's our Party: we bought it, we own it, and we're going to take it back.?



To clarify, the hysterical Left believes not only that America?s oldest political party is for sale, but that George Soros has already made the down payment.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 10:08 PM CDT
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:01 AM CDT
Saturday, 27 August 2005
Americans Willing to Foot Bill for Larger Military
Topic: Iraq War


But NO Draft.

That is according to the August

Zogby REAL America Report.

I wish I could supply a source URL here, but it is in PDF form. I have access to it because I am a Zogby Pollee. Actually its a lot of fun and quite interesting to see some of the stranger questions

What Ice cream do you like? Do you eat eggs?

I also enjoy thinking about how I complicate their demographic distributions.

I am a Cherokee-Irish, Scots, Welsh, English, Platt Deutch, Jacksonian America.

I belong to a Union AND the Investor Class, and live in a City of over 100K. I place my Religious orientation as Spiritual but sometimes I wonder how they would handle it if I listed it as Pagan.


So it would appear that 2/3 of the US want spending INCREASED. A tad more want that to decrease the need to call up Reservists.

There are the usual distributions along Party lines.
This concept is supported by 88% of Republicans, 59% of Independents and 52% of Democrats. Leaving the ones who oppose it, way out on the extreme fringes of both orientations and the middle solidly for it as well.

While only half the Liberals support increased spending, two thirds of moderates and 90% of conservatives do.

The Solid South supports it by 71%, the Central/Great Lakes by 70%, while the East lags at 60%, y'al in the West should be offended, they do not even mention you.

No real impact by Religious outlook, with the exception that the Born Again are 81% for it, which is close to the number who think, "Rock and Roll is Here to Stay" one would think the Evangelicals would be Gospel and CW fans so I doubt there is any correlation . ;-)

Big Cities, the seat of power for the Democratic Party favor it least, big surprise that, but DO favor it by 62%, small cities 72%, 68% Suburbanites favor increased spending as do 71% of the Rural population.

Only 25% of Americans want the Draft back, more DEMOCRATS want it back than Republicans. All holds are barred in the case of an actual attack on US soil, in that scenario, 65% of Americans want it back 21% would not.

So it is pretty plain that any Political Figures who are thinking in Vietnam Era Peace Dividend terms, and bring the boys home so we can spend that money on Pork are heading for a steep precipice.

One wonders what they think a desire on the part of the American Public to INCREASE Defense Spending MEANS?

That we want to watch marches in pretty uniforms and listen to John Phillips Sousa?


Maybe it means that the majority of Americans really think we are at WAR. War with implacable foes who desire our total destruction and is global and amorphous in nature.

This might explain WHY as Zogby reports,
Democrats fail to gain traction from Bush slip...

[
The Washington Times - (8/19/2005)
Democrats hoped they would be scoring political points in this year's election cycle as a result of increasing terrorist violence in Iraq and skyrocketing gasoline prices that have combined to send President Bush's job-approval ratings plunging into the low 40s. But things are not turning out as they hoped. The Democrats are beset by internal division over the lack of an agenda, carping from liberals who say party leaders are not aggressive enough in challenging Mr. Bush's nomination of Judge John G. Roberts Jr. to the Supreme Court, bitterness among abortion rights activists after criticism by Democratic leaders that forced them to pull a TV advertisement attacking Judge Roberts, and complaints from pollsters that they have no coherent message to take into the 2006 elections. Independent pollster John Zogby says that although Mr. Bush is not doing well in the polls, the Democrats aren't doing any better. "The Democrats aren't scoring points in terms of landing any significant punches on Bush or in terms of saying anything meaningful to the American people," Mr. Zogby said. In a slap at his party, Democratic pollster Stanley Greenberg said earlier this month that his surveys show that "one of the biggest doubts about Democrats is that they don't stand for anything."


The Political Battle lines are drawn. It is indeed a New Era, those who think in the paradigms of the past generation will be left behind by the Wave of the Future. They have made attempts to wave the Bloody Flag of thirty years ago, but it seems to have fallen on deaf ears. The American People seems not to be tempted by the Bait of an Illusory Peace Dividend, but the promise of Temporary Security. They want a Strong National Defense.
They want the Enemies of Freedom, Liberty and the Rights of the Individual Defeated, and they want Leaders who stand FOR something.

It's like the song.

You have to Stand for Something or You'll Fall for Anything.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 8:46 PM CDT
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:01 AM CDT
Friday, 26 August 2005
The End of the Beginning
Topic: Islamic Jihad
Winds of Change has a section in its

Hatewatch Briefing 08/26/05

which indicates that in SOME parts of the MidEast the Hatred is now being directed at someone besides the US for a change.

Palestinian suicide bombers are seen as martyrs in the Arab world, fighting for a just cause, just like the 9/11 attacks were seen by many as a reaction to "America's hegemony" over the world and a response to the "U.S.'s pro-Israel foreign policy." However, when terrorism strikes home, the reactions change:

Anti-terrorism cartoons in the Arabic press

The MEMRI article
Reformist Cartoons - Part I Condemning Terrorism
By: A. Dankowitz


Is WELL worth reading and I encourage you to follow the Link and peruse it.

It is said that a picture is worth a thousand words, so I will post a couple of the cartoons here to tempt you. ;-)

Satanic Figures Talk after the Sharm Al-Sheikh Bombings
Cartoon No. 16: "What did those animals [i.e. the terrorists] say, what faction are they from?"
"Those who committed this act are most despicable, they stooped lower than us."


From Al-Akhbar (Egypt), July 25, 2005. [23]


From Al-Ayyam (Bahrain), July 25, 2005. [19]

I think the message is clear enough for anyone to understand, with the possible exception of the mentally challenged demonstrators outside Walter Reed Hospital of course.

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 11:17 PM CDT
| Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 7:01 AM CDT
Michael and Me
Topic: Out of Flyover Land
I just caught part of Hannity & Colmes
during my meal break at work.

If you did not see this segment
I URGE you to catch the Rerun


Then, Larry Elders counters Michael Moore (search) on guns, history and politics in his new documentary, “Michael & Me." (search) Hear why he decided he must make this self-financed, independent film



I can say this without hesitation, I can not remember the last time I was as impressed with someone being interviewed as I was with Larry Elder



He dominated the segment. He was not loud or overbearing, he was simply in charge. He never hesitated when questioned.


He never equivocated.

He presented the best defense of the 2cd amendment I have ever seen.

Alan Colmes came off as a helpless observer, every time he tried to trip the man up, the response was immediate, to the point and devastatingly informative.

I know one thing I am BUYING that DVD
For more information go HERE.

UPDATE Change that to BOUGHT that DVD

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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 9:13 PM CDT
| Post Comment | Permalink | Share This Post
Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 6:58 AM CDT
Thursday, 25 August 2005
Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital
Topic: Iraq War
Using the names of Slain Soldiers for Anti-War Propanganda AGAINST the express wishes of their parents is not enough it seems.

NOW the maggots are preying on wounded vets. And YES I WILL question their Patriotism, I STATE it as FACT they do NOT deserve to be Americans.

Be nice if the Code Duello was not illegal.



Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital


By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
August 25, 2005

Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House. Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq.

SEE VIDEO



Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

****************************************************
On Aug. 19, as the anti-war protesters chanted slogans such as "George Bush kills American soldiers," Cybercast News Service observed several wounded war veterans entering and departing the gates of Walter Reed, some with prosthetic limbs. Most of the demonstrations have been held on Friday evenings, a popular time for the family members of wounded soldiers to visit the hospital.

But the anti-war activists were unapologetic when asked whether they considered such signs as "Maimed for Lies" offensive to wounded war veterans and their families.
*****************************************************
Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.
***************************************************



Anti-War Protests Target Wounded at Army Hospital
By Marc Morano
CNSNews.com Senior Staff Writer
August 25, 2005

Washington (CNSNews.com) - The Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., the current home of hundreds of wounded veterans from the war in Iraq, has been the target of weekly anti-war demonstrations since March. The protesters hold signs that read "Maimed for Lies" and "Enlist here and die for Halliburton."

The anti-war demonstrators, who obtain their protest permits from the Washington, D.C., police department, position themselves directly in front of the main entrance to the Army Medical Center, which is located in northwest D.C., about five miles from the White House. Among the props used by the protesters are mock caskets, lined up on the sidewalk to represent the death toll in Iraq. See Video

Code Pink Women for Peace, one of the groups backing anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan's vigil outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford Texas, organizes the protests at Walter Reed as well.

Some conservative supporters of the war call the protests, which have been ignored by the establishment media, "shameless" and have taken to conducting counter-demonstrations at Walter Reed. "[The anti-war protesters] should not be demonstrating at a hospital. A hospital is not a suitable location for an anti-war demonstration," said Bill Floyd of the D.C. chapter of FreeRepublic.com, who stood across the street from the anti-war demonstrators on Aug. 19.

"I believe they are tormenting our wounded soldiers and they should just leave them alone," Floyd added.

According to the Walter Reed Army Medical Center, nearly 4,000 individuals involved in the Iraq war were treated at the facility as of March of this year, 1,050 of whom were wounded in battle.

One anti-war protester, who would only identify himself as "Luke," told Cybercast News Service that "the price of George Bush's foreign policy can be seen right here at Walter Reed -- young men who returned from Iraq with their bodies shattered after George Bush sent them to war for a lie."

Luke accused President Bush of "exploiting American soldiers" while "oppressing the other nations of earth." The president "has killed far too many people," he added.

On Aug. 19, as the anti-war protesters chanted slogans such as "George Bush kills American soldiers," Cybercast News Service observed several wounded war veterans entering and departing the gates of Walter Reed, some with prosthetic limbs. Most of the demonstrations have been held on Friday evenings, a popular time for the family members of wounded soldiers to visit the hospital.

But the anti-war activists were unapologetic when asked whether they considered such signs as "Maimed for Lies" offensive to wounded war veterans and their families.

"I am more offended by the fact that many were maimed for life. I am more offended by the fact that they (wounded veterans) have been kept out of the news," said Kevin McCarron, a member of the anti-war group Veterans for Peace.

Kevin Pannell, who was recently treated at Walter Reed and had both legs amputated after an ambush grenade attack near Baghdad in 2004, considers the presence of the anti-war protesters in front of the hospital "distasteful."

When he was a patient at the hospital, Pannell said he initially tried to ignore the anti-war activists camped out in front of Walter Reed, until witnessing something that enraged him.

"We went by there one day and I drove by and [the anti-war protesters] had a bunch of flag-draped coffins laid out on the sidewalk. That, I thought, was probably the most distasteful thing I had ever seen. Ever," Pannell, a member of the Army's First Cavalry Division, told Cybercast News Service.

"You know that 95 percent of the guys in the hospital bed lost guys whenever they got hurt and survivors' guilt is the worst thing you can deal with," Pannell said, adding that other veterans recovering from wounds at Walter Reed share his resentment for the anti-war protesters.

"We don't like them and we don't like the fact that they can hang their signs and stuff on the fence at Walter Reed," he said. "[The wounded veterans] are there to recuperate. Once they get out in the real world, then they can start seeing that stuff (anti-war protests). I mean Walter Reed is a sheltered environment and it needs to stay that way."

McCarron said he dislikes having to resort to such controversial tactics, "but this stuff can't be hidden," he insisted. "The real cost of this war cannot be kept from the American public."

The anti-war protesters claim their presence at the hospital is necessary to publicize the arrivals of newly wounded soldiers from Iraq, who the protesters allege are being smuggled in at night by the Pentagon to avoid media scrutiny. The protesters also argue that the military hospital is the most appropriate place for the demonstrations and that the vigils are designed to ultimately help the wounded veterans.

"If I went to war and lost a leg and then found out from my hospital bed that I had been lied to, that the weapons I was sent to search for never existed, that the person who sent me to war had no plan but to exploit me, exploit the country I was sent to, I would be pretty angry," Luke told Cybercast News Service.

"I would want people to do something about it and if I couldn't get out of my bed and protest myself, I would want someone else to do it in my name," he added.
****************************************************
Not listening is he? I would say if he bothered to ask the answer from these GIs would be NOT IN MY NAME but then his caring for them is so much Bull Shit isn't it?


I clipped part read the whole article and watch the video.

Best do it on an empty stomach.


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Posted by ky/kentuckydan at 6:47 AM CDT
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Updated: Sunday, 3 June 2007 6:57 AM CDT

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