Suicides, homelessness...hail the conquering hero

I was just thinking that I don't see quite as many yellow-ribbon magnet bumper stickers anymore. I guess the Support the Troops cult has turned to other priorities, and those magnets are so easy to remove.

I'd be embarrassed too. After all, the whole Support the Troops meme, was about shaming people like me who oppose the war, and not ever really about supporting the troops.

Otherwise, we wouldn't have the homelessness reported Monday on MSNBC, or the suicides reported last night on CBS. We wouldn't have vets scrambling to get medical and psychological coverage.

Would we.

So, here's an idea. Pull those yellow ribbon magnets from the glove department, and add an inscription.

Support the troops. Bring 'em home.

I've been thinking this for years; I just wish I'd thought to say it out loud first

Bill Maher should get a lot of crap for his recent definition of an asshole, but I couldn't agree with him more. This segment from his New Rules portion of his show is a beautiful dissection of the jingoistic, bellicose, hypocritical ravings from the chickenhawks on the right. Wear a flag pin, wear a yellow ribbon, wear a rubber bracelet, but for god's sake don't volunteer yourself or anyone in your family for difficult duty.