The Hartford Courant today printed an editorial about several incidents which indicate a loss of civility in the public discourse. Say the editors:
The health care issue has seen incivility raised to a tactic — premeditated rudeness — in town hall meetings across the country, driven by hate radio and vituperate bloggers.
Local crackpot broadcaster, WTIC-AM's Jim Vicevich took that sentence personally, excoriating editors for not including a list of uncivil incidents during the Bush administration.
I, for one, am glad that Vicevich self-identifed with "hate radio," because the first step in recovery is recognizing that you have a problem.
Now Jim, if we could only convince you to admit that your undergrad degree in economics does not put you on par with Paul Krugman. Your 15 watt notion of the free-market is nothing more than a rehashing of the cribbed talking points of think-tanks, bloggers, pundits and lobbyists for the corporate giants who need nincompoops like you to do their bidding.
Where was Wilson when George Bush was standing in the same place and actually lying. Oh, that's right, George Bush isn't black.
Wilson has apologized to the President. And the President has wisely, graciously, if unsatisfyingly, accepted Wilson's apology, and wants to move on.
I feel as incomplete as Inigo Montoya (from the Princess Bride). As incomplete as when Obama allowed Creepy Joe™ Lieberman back into the fold.
The problem is not Wilson's accusation. If we were to ask ever elected official in the room last night to stand and clap if they had ever offered a political lie to the public, we would have witnessed a standing ovation. Politicians lie. All politicians lie. (In fact, we all lie, Joe.)
And, for me, it's not about the loss of protocol. I, for one, would have been happy if one spineless Democrat had occasionally stood up to George Bush or Dick Cheney.
No, Wilson could have shouted, "you're ugly" or "you're a socialist" or "you were born in Kenya," and they all would have had the same effect. Guys like Wilson seem to think it's okay to shout at President Barack Obama because he's considered an impostor. To them, he's a black man in a white man's office. And a lot of folks don't give him the respect that they've given other men, in the same office, who deserved far less respect.
What Wilson did was send a signal to the racists, and the gun nuts, and the whack jobs, and the crack pots, and the birthers, and the deathers, that the man sitting in the President's chair is doing so illegitimately.
What Wilson did is give these creeps one more reason to believe that Barack Obama is somehow not their president.
"He must be a liar," they repeat. "Joe Wilson said so, and he's a Congressman."
Right here in Connecticut this morning, WTIC wingnut radio host Jim Vicevich, who hilariously called himself "the voice of moderation" today, played the Wilson accusation 6 or 7 times in the short time I was listening. And then he argued himself that the president was not being truthful, but was using "weasel words." And then he entertained at least three callers who called Barack Obama a liar, and each time he amplified the accusation by "proving" that the President was not being completely upfront about the proposed health care bill (Vicevich claims he has had some really "smart people" with "advanced degrees" who read and really understand the bill - a former Assistant U.S. Attorney General, Vicevich's sister, and the RadioVice blogmaster Steve McGough, who happens to work for health insurance giant UnitedHealthcare).
ASIDE: Just for the record, Vicevich hung up on two people who disagreed with him and, then, only after they were safely off the phone, he spent two or three minutes berating them. Bully=coward. The "voice of moderation" indeed.
The echo is deafening, and the crackpots are soaking it up. Listen to them repeat the chants "liar, socialist, nazi, racist (yes, can you believe? "racist")." Vicevich is leading the chorus of malcontents, and goes so far as to continue to remind them of their constitutional right to bear arms. I think any broadcaster with an ounce of sense and responsibility has to understand that lighting a match while standing in a puddle of gasoline, is not a good or gracious or democratic idea.
BTW, Jim, lay off the "young president" bit unless you really want to commit to the racist intent of calling him "boy."
Tonight, Jim Vicevich is the "guest of honor" at a fundraiser for Republican candidates for mayor and common council in my hometown of Middletown CT. I can only say, that any of those candidates who attend the fundraiser have lost my respect, and likely my vote.
And perhaps the only satisfaction is knowing that his Democratic opponent for the seat raised more than $300,000 for his campaign in the hours after Wilson's outburst.
It's been a puzzle to me how the major AM radio station in the state has given itself over completely to right-wing blather (and the Red Sox and UCONN Huskies) when it neither reflects the feelings or attitudes of a majority of the population, nor any relation to the truth.
Yet, WTIC-AM becomes more strident with every passing day, and from it's morning drive-time jock, a right-winger who declares himself a libertarian, to the show which follows, in which a shallow, vacuous, feeble-minded host parrots the day's wingnut talking points for his tiny, but dedicated audience, to the national feeds of hate-mongering bloviators, the station panders to the fears of the uninformed to define a focused audience for advertisers. Some would say it all comes down to money. But is there something more?
Is the corporate-owned radio giant a megaphone for conservative corporate talking points aimed at perpetuating a free-market, small-government myth. One has to begin to think so, otherwise this boil on the bum of broadcasting wouldn't make sense in a state which is largely liberal and Democratic.
And because WTIC neither owns the airwaves over which it broadcasts, nor is any longer peforming a service to the public, it's up to us to begin to ask why it should retain its license.
This is something we can do locally to fight a surge in fascist thought that's flooding America. Sara Robinson has written thoughtfully on the topic, and now she has more to say.
Back to our local conservative radio station which has failed in its mission to serve the public. It calls itself "new talk" radio, but "news" is a gathering of fact, and fact no longer is the basis for the "talk" on the station. Time to listen carefully, take notes, and report to the FCC anytime you feel the station is promoting hate, racism, homophobia and particularly incitement to treason.
God help me, I can't bring myself to avoid local WTIC-AM, hate-radio host, Jim Vicevich, if only to hear how devise (de-vicevich), he's become.
Here's the man who was denying there was a recession through October, suddenly blaming all the financial woes created by George Bush, on Barack Obama. And yes, finally admitting to recession.
Here's the man who believes in free-market capitalism, shocked, I tell you, shocked, at the greed of corporate bankers and Wall Street financiers. But declaring that the economy can heal itself, when the Chicago school of Economics has been roundly derided as a failed policy. Business leaders can't seem to police themselves.
Here's the man who demanded respect for George Bush as commander-in-chief, who demanded respect for the office of the presidency, who insisted that protecting America from terrorism is the most sacred responsibility of the president (though the president swears to uphold the Constitution), now, on a daily basis, tearing down the words and actions of the current president.
Here's the man who excoriated the left for impatience with "the surge" now, talking about the failure of the stimulus package before it's even implemented.
Here's the radio host bragging about his fairness, hustling anyone who disagrees with him off the phone.
So I visited via the web today, and observed his vaunted "chat-room," a veritable circle-jerk of flat-earthers, zealots, conspiracy-theorists, science-deniers, wing-nuts, Hannity-philes and chickenhawks. And there, in the chat room, I found Jim's chat-room profile.
Hmmm? Vicevich claiming to be 43? That would mean he was born in 1965. That would mean when he graduated from Bucknell in 1974, he was 9 years old. And I though his self-proclaimed "genius" was hogwash.
Still, his webcam shows a man who clearly is at least as old as his graduation year would make him out to be, 55 or 56. Or a very haggard 43.
Nothing wrong with being 56. That's how old I am. But I can't imagine ever trying to pass as 43, and Jim, based on this picture, I'd lay off that claim too.
Granted, Vicevich began his extra hour on Friday, Jan. 2, but this morning, on his first Monday, of his first full week of expanded programming, I decided to tune in one last time to be an earwitness to the transition to advanced stupidity.
I was not disappointed.
At five minutes to nine, conservo-solo-host Ray Dunaway called Vicevich to the mic, and together they concluded that Harry Reid (who I am no great fan of), was the "most despicable person on earth." Harry Reid? Spineless, maybe. Driven by devotion to his benefactors, probably (but these days, which politician isn't?), but "most despicable?" Seems like the start of some the same kind ongoing right-wing hyperbole Limbaugh invented.
Harry Reid is a "weasel" Dunaway pronounced.
So much for balanced on-air opinionating.
Vicevich began his show with a months-old Nancy Pelosi soundbite that he must have played hundreds of times on his show (every time I ever listened, he played it at least twice), a music cut from Rodney Crowell (one of the twelve American acts he actually knows anything about), and then launched into a stammering (because he is a stammerer) tirade about corrupt Democrats. While he might be right on the Democrats, he laughably omitted any hint that Republicans, especially Bush Republicans, might also be guilty (and have been shown to be guilty) of cronyism, corruption and pay-to-play.
Vicevich announced the litany of tired-and-true conservative commentators who would join him over the next few days, hiccuped through a lame tribute to Diane Smith, and then with Dunaway on mic with him, they launched into a defense of "poor John Rowland" who was driven from office on "trumped-up charges."
Oh lord.
Is this the same John Rowland I'm thinking of? The one who was convicted of corruption and did jail time? That John Rowland?
I had had enough. I reprogrammed my pre-set, and tuned into John Dankowsky, who inevitably will garner a lot of new listeners. If WNPR would feature traffic reports (and they should), I would never have a reason to tune to any AM radio stations.
With confirmation that CBS is preparing WTIC-AM for sale, we can only hope that the dim-burning light of conservative liars will disappear when some corporate giant like ClearChannel who will make it all-satellite all the time, and another local station will disappear, along with its vexingly-stupid show hosts.
In his blog Sunday, Colin McEnroe writes reluctantly, it seems, about the way agitated listeners might help return his voice to the airwaves. He says:
I can also tell you that your energies would probably be better used contacting public radio and telling them you'd support a show like mine through memberships and donations. There. That's all I have to say.
And for whatever reason, chalk it up to "professionalism," or humility or magnanimity or confidence or unlikely Irish optimism, but he seems to mean it.
So, if you want McEnroe to appear back on the air, a phone call, or an email to WNPR, promising a donation (for $125 you can get a UCONN garden gnome, god help us), might make sense.
You can email WNPR at memberservices@wnpr.org, or call Bree Pelczar, assistant to the CEO at (860) 275-7222. The CEO is Jerry Franklin. Or send an email to John Dankosky (who wrote this) at jdonkosky@wnpr.org.
Not as if Connecticut Public Radio is a model of stability. After decades they recently laid off the voice of continuity at WNPR and CPTV, Bob Henry. We won't get into the problems with public broadcasting in Connecticut, that's meat for another morning, but suffice it to say, it's a case where administrative costs (read salararies), are what drag that station down.
BTW, if you're at McEnroe's blogsite, be sure to read his post on the bittersweet task or removing the Christmas tree. Beautifully written. Touching. McEnroe at his best.
And one silver lining, McEnroe's energy will likely be poured into his blog in the short run, and it will likely be entertaining to read over the next several weeks.
I've been told that this Stan Simpson column was in Saturday's Courant. I couldn't find it in my print edition, or online.
The Real Story Behind The Purging At WTIC AM Radio By Stan Simpson on January 3, 2009 4:52 AM
Just getting back from a Disney vacation, but even in Orlando, Fla. I heard the news about the latest purging at WTIC NewsTalk 1080, my former employer.
This is the deal at the CBS-owned station -- and really the only thing to keep in mind: WTIC is hemorrhaging money and it's up for sale.
So, management is liquidating its assets -- in this case some of its on-air talent - in order to lighten the financial load for a prospective buyer. The brass there should be upfront with its loyal and intelligent listeners about this.
The ousting of Colin McEnroe and Diane Smith was NOT about improving programming. It was about dumping salaries.
Talk radio has become dominated with right-wing conservative chatter. Some have noted that the hosts getting canned at WTIC are not right-wingers.
I don't know to what degree partisan politics is at play with the purgings. I do know that it was cheaper for the station to expand Jim Vicevich's 10 a.m. to noon show an additional hour than to retain McEnroe or Smith. Again, this is about cutting expenses..
I've never really embraced this notion that politically partisan talk radio is the only genre that sells. There is a mostly untapped market out there looking to be entertained, but also wanting to hear a diversity of opinions and perspectives.
The termination of my Saturday show a few weeks ago was disappointing because we were clearly reaching that audience.
What I've respected about both Smith and McEnroe is their ability to brand themselves across multi-media platforms. If they still desire a role in media, they'll find one -- or create one.
As for the other CBS-owned stations in Farmington, my guess is that the FM side is next for some purging.
Creepy Joe™ Lieberman is emerging from the smoldering heap of the McCain campaign to try to regain face in his home state, and in the nation.
In the process, he's attempting to re-write history, or to ignore any of it that's inconvenient.
His interview with Katie Couric was broadcast yesterday, and he hit the morning TV (Fox 61) and radio shows (WTIC-AM) in Hartford.
In the Couric interview, he backs away from saying that a question about Barack Obama being a marxist was a "good question." Though the facts don't seem to back his adjusted history up.
NAPOLITANO: Hey Sen. Lieberman, you know Barack Obama, is he a Marxist as Bill Kristol says might be the case in today’s New York Times?
Is he an elitist like your colleague Hillary Clinton says he is?
LIEBERMAN: Well, you know, I must say that’s a good question. I know him now for a little more than three years since he came into the Senate and he’s obviously very smart and he’s a good guy. I will tell ya that during this campaign, I’ve learned some things about him, about the kind of environment from which he came ideologically. And I wouldn’t…I’d hesitate to say he’s a Marxist, but he’s got some positions that are far to the left of me and I think mainstream America.
Maybe he thinks, over the course of four years, that will forgive and forget, like his colleagues in the Senate.
But there are plenty of guys like me who will patiently wait to help remind the electorate when Creepy Joe™ decides to run again.
Just thought I'd share the "success" of local right-wing radio (WTIC-AM) shouter Jim Vicevich's blog in the past six months. He got off with a bang, thanks to some significant pointing from big-time wingnut bloggers, but it's been all down hill since then. It's an average of 25 visits a day for a blog that's advertised on a 50,000 watt "flamethrower" AM radio station broadcasting in a very densely populated corridor of the country, and doing the opener for Limbaugh. As Vicegrip might say himself, "Not much to see here folks."
I wanna know when McEnroe is going to challenge Buddy Vicevich to a live, on-air debate. If it happened, and if Colin can manage not to be nice, polite and willing to humor even the lamebrained, then Vicevich would have to change his name to mincemeat.
To properly list all the illogical, disjointed, contradictory arguments WTIC-AM conservative chickenhawk announcer Jim Vicevich makes on a daily basis, would take a blog longer than any of you is willing to read.
Vicevich hates Barack Obama. In emulation of the great Joe McCarthy, Vicevich calls Obama a "marxist." And Vicevich, for who stammering is nearly an artform, had the nerve to call attention to how many times Obama said "um" in the most recent debates.
Also, lately, Buddy V, has taken to disdainfully calling Barack Obama "the messiah" while simultaneously disputing Obama's Christianity. Maybe Mr. "I gave my soul to Jesus" Vicevich ought to re-read the gospel, in particular, Matthew 7, chapters 1-5:
1Judge not, that ye be not judged.
2For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again.
3And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?
4Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye?
5Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother's eye.
Today Vicevich called Barack Obama a "scaredy cat" because Obama has indicated he is not planning another debate with Hillary Clinton. And who could blame him after the travesty on ABC Wednesday evening. In fact, Vicevich spent hours of his show repeated the slurs of Sean Hannity about Obama and his relationship with 60's radical Bill Ayers (for more on the truth about Ayers, see here).
But Vicevich should be the last to call anyone a "scaredy cat." Consider this:
- Vicevich is old enough to have served in Vietnam, but despite his support of the military, war (and yes, the Vietnam War), and patriotism, he did not serve - Vicevich consistently hides behind vets who have served (including his sometimes co-host and co-blogger, Sergent Mel) - Vicevich is consistent in his support of the troops except when he isn't, never speaking out against the outrages of the Bush administration who sent ill-prepared, ill-equipped troops into a poorly planned assault from which the volunteer troops have no escape (blocked by repeated call-ups and stop-loss orders) - Vicevich consistently hangs up on callers who back him into a corner - when he can't come up with a response to someone who challenges him, he simply hangs up, says, "this conversation is over," or shouts over the caller. Typically, he will spend the next fifteen minutes making fun of the caller who found the fault in his illogic, without ever giving the caller the opportunity to respond. For the record, I've made three calls to the show, and have been hung up on each time - Vicevich will never allow a guest who disagrees with him on his show into the studio with an open mic. Why? Not sure, but it certainly prevents all those (and they are legion) who could prove what an imbecile Buddy is from having the opportunity to do so - Vicevich has a blog, but there is no area on the blog for comments from readers. A sure sign that someone is afraid of a little truth shining on their innuendoes - Vicevich consistently supports hard line public policy for which he will never have to really show support. Support the troops, but don't ask me to volunteer to help with homeless vets, or wounded veterans at the VA hospital. Support the boycott of the China Olympics, but don't ask me to tell my management that we will not accept commercials from sponsors who are aligned with the Olympics. Abandon those who need medical, welfare or social services help from the state, but don't ask me, as a Christian to spend my time and money helping them, even if Jesus would. Don't help those who have been hoodwinked into high-risk mortgages, but when my own business goes belly-up, allow the government's bankruptcy laws to protect me from my creditors
Seems to me that Jim Vicevich should be considering the beam in his own eye before calling Obama a "scaredy cat."
Last time I heard someone called a "scaredy cat," was in the third grade. I think the response was: "It takes one to know one."
Jim Vicevich hung up on me again (third time). And he's lying about it as I write this.
To his credit, Vicevich, who hosts a right-wing talk show on WTIC-AM, is trying to bring attention to the crisis in China, in which the government is slaughtering Tibetan protestors. In the process, Vicevich has been haranguing the "mainstream media" for not covering the story. He's wrong on that, as he is on many things, since the story has received prominent placement by most major media outlets. For some strange reason, he's also taking the opportunity to slam liberals for trying to bring attention to genocide in Darfur, while "ignoring" Tibet. I think he'd be surprised to find that support of Tibetans is a longstanding issue in liberal circles.
He has suggested boycotting the Olympics, or at the very least having the athletes skip the opening ceremonies. Both good suggestions. Both suggestions unique for a free market conservative, since most of them are afraid of breaking market ties with China.
But when I called (and I will admit I did use radio "nomme de microphone" Greg from Hartford), and suggested that he could actually make a moral decision and ban all commercials for major Olympic sponsors from his show, or quit, he acknowledged he could do that but it would be a major financial hardship for him. He got angry when I suggested that he could make a decision between life and livelihood, and, for some reason, asked me if I know a single Tibetan. When I said I did (and I do know Bumhba who owns Little Tibet in Middletown), Vicevich hung up on me, and went on for minutes about how I had set a trap for him.
He can call it a trap, but when a radio host spends a good portion of his day accusing "liberals" of not caring, of not having the moral courage to stand by decisions, of not having the guts to walk the walk, then it seems legitimate to question his credibility on an issue he claims to "care" about.
You can talk all you want, but when it comes to making a decision that would involve a sacrifice, well, maybe a few dead Tibetans are less important than the income from a McDonald's ad.
This attitude goes hand in hand with the chickenhawk conservative attitude of supporting any war those conservatives don't have to fight in.
BTW, Vicevich declared, on air, that I had lied about what I wanted to talk about to his screener. That's not true. The screener asked what I wanted to talk about, and I said "Tibet." I did give an alias because Vicevich is reputed to have a blacklist of folks he refuses to talk to on-air. I'd be happy to be on his blacklist, but for a radio host who pretends to want to hear all sides of an issue, it's a strange practice to avoid callers he disagrees with.
My only regret is that I may have upended Vicevich's campaign in support of Tibetans.
Many of Connecticut's brilliant pundits predicted that the presidential candidates would never visit the state before Super Tuesday. Of course, Hillary Clinton was here last week, and again this morning, John McCain was here Sunday, and it would have been difficult to ignore Barack Obama's astonishing visit today with Ted Kennedy and his niece Caroline.
What was unpredictable, except to the prescient Obama campaign workers, was that he could fill the Civic Center (now the XL Center), beyond its capacity with 17,000 ecstatic supporters.
I had hoped to skip out of work early to attend, but it was a hectic day in which phone calls were interrupted by meetings, which were interrupted by deadlines. At 5:20 I hopped into the car and headed downtown. I had been listening to Colin McEnroe on WTIC-AM, who was himself amazed at the turnout and the energy. As I reached the intersection of the Whitehead Conlon Highway, McEnroe announced that the XL Center had reached its capacity and that the doors had been closed. At that moment, a police car, lights flashing, came down the highway, shut down the road, and the Obama motorcade passed.
I got on the highway, headed home, and continued to listen to WTIC. As I arrived home, Obama began to make his stump speech. Inside, I turned on the TV hoping to find the speech broadcast by one of the local TV news stations. Instead I found the low rent TV news reporters speaking over the speech, describing the crowds, and the dignitaries, but ignoring the candidate's words. Neither the local public radio station, nor any of the news stations was broadcasting the event. In the end, I pulled out an AM radio, and listened to the speech on WTIC-AM.
So while it's extremely difficult to listen to the conservative wingnuts on their airwaves, it's appropriate to acknowledge the public duty performed by WTIC-AM during the visits by presidential candidates today.
The $1.5 billion for transitional, supportive and permanent housing, and for emergency shelters is important (no not simply important, vital and lifesaving) ask anyone who runs a shelter and they'll tell you that every shelter is overburdened, and there's not enough space to house those in need.
There are Republicans like Stu McKinney who would like to add state dollars to federal dollars ($126 million) that Connecticut gets.
Then there are conservative radio talk show hosts, like Buddy Vicevich, who seem to contradict themselves (and their own "christian" principles) when they say things like:
Homelessness is everyone's responsibility. Individuals need to volunteer and donate money to feed and shelter the poor and needy. And certainly local town and city governments have a responsibility to become involved as well. I am not sure it is a state government issue although I could be convinced otherwise. I know its not a federal mandate.
No Jim, it's a mandate from your friend, Jesus. How do you think he would have supported homeless vets?
The worst part, though, is that we're spending $2 billion a week fighting an immoral war in Iraq, and in the process creating a whole new generation of homeless vets.
I guess it proves a few things: - Vicevich doesn't have an original idea in his head - Blogs are like assholes, everyone seems to have one - Assholes are like blogs, it doesn't take an expert to create a pile of shit - Like most right wingnuts, Vicevich deals in innuendo already proven false - Like most right wingnuts, his sources are beyond ridiculous (Drudge, Powerline, the NY Post, the Washington Times) - Like most wingnuts, he's willing to go with the innuendo, go with the unsubstantiated rumor, go with the White House press release - That Vicevich is as dense as cyprus and as shallow as skim ice - That this Chickenhawk is chickenshit - he doesn't allow comments on his site, not even moderated comments - That he likely doesn't understand the irony in his blog title: Radio Vice Online (or that the term "online" is sooooo 1990's) - That Vicevich has bought into the biggest myths of the Bush administration ("Love him or hate him, President Bush did not lie ... Read the following articles.") - That he needs a little help with the resume, e.g. "With 6 Emmy nominations.." means the same thing as "never won an Emmy," doesn't it? - That as a Christian, a smoker, a zealot, and one of the very few right-wing radio hosts, Vicevich feels persecuted in a blue state - That he is "with it" on the whole "internets" thing
Good luck Jim. Pinocchio made it, though I can't cite a ventriloquist's dummy who ever found his own voice.
Yes, that's exactly what Senator Creepy Joe Lieberman said yesterday. Though he didn't mean it in the way you and I might expect. He was saying something like: Give them a break. Let them do the job they were sent there to do. Let them be blown to bits by roadside bombs. Let them suffer through extended deployments. Let them be wounded and maimed for life. Look, as long as it isn't me.
I heard chickenhawk blowhard Jim Vicevich at the end of his WTIC radio show yesterday saying the same kind of thing. Both of these cowards never served, but are willing to offer up the blood of these sons and daughters, mothers and fathers, who volunteer out of a sense of duty.
Both of these cowards maintains that they are the voice of the soldier. Both claim that the soldiers want to do their job.
Here's what troubles me.
First of all, both of these know-it-alls, bases his understanding of what a soldier wants by talking to a handful of military men and women. That's anecdotal, and certainly not conclusive. No single soldier, nor small group, speaks for the entirety of those in the military on any side of the issue.
Fourth, what do both of these geniuses expect. In training, military recruits are trained to forgo individuality for the sake of his/her comrades and their mission. I would expect that most soldiers would support the mission, or suffer the consequences.
Fifth, much documented information has shown that many military, and their families are fed up. And this isn't something that just started happening yesterday. Many service men and women have lost faith in their leaders because these leaders have not supported them with the right equipment, the right medical and mental health care, nor the right mission.
Sixth, the re-enlistment rate is apparently high. But I've heard that many soldiers re-up because they feel they are abandoning their brothers-in-arms, if they don't. It's a commitment to their friends at risk, and not to the mission or their commander-in-chief. Lieberman also doesn't mention the huge financial incentives offered by the military to re-up.
These two bloodthirsty, delusional chickenhawks need to give it a rest, and really give the American soldier a break.
I was on my way to Paul Higgins funeral, and god help me, I had Jim Vicevich on the radio talking to Republican lobbyist Ron Kaufman about the recent defection of Republican congressmen from the Bush Iraq policy.
Let's set aside all the inaccuracies, all the bellicose posturings, all the peculiar innuendo and all the lies that were being spewed, and focus on Vicevich's mock horror.
"How could they do this?" Vicevich howled in dismay. "Is this courage?" He was distraught because the troops would not be "allowed" to finish the job they were sent to do. He went on to say that he would never enlist to fight in a war that he wasn't given the opportunity to finish.
Truth is, he never enlisted at all, ever, even when he had the opportunity to do so. Vicevich is a chickenhawk of the purebread variety. Ready to send young men and women to fight for his "philosophy" as long as they are not related to him. (His own grown children are not in the military either). He stands behind his "friends" the soldiers, whom he exploits to get ratings on his pitiful methane-fest of a radio show.
Imagine the temerity of such a chickenhawk to question someone else's courage. Remind you of a certain commander-in-chief?
When I got to the funeral, I looked up at a banner which read: "You cannot lead where you will not go," and all I could think of was Vicevich and Bush (okay, Creepy Joe Lieberman came to mind too). It's ironically very similar to a campaign speech Bush gave during the last election campaign (read in its entirety it is ironical to the core), but the point was completely different.
These guys are the kind of leaders who stand at the rear lines and yell, "Charge!"
