Political Cortex: Brain Food for the Body Politic

The second statement came from a kindly, soft-spoken banker and family man from Paris who told me, "You know, we have seen the death and destruction of war on our soil here in Europe.  That is why we are very cautious about advocating future wars."

How vastly different those two comments on war were compared to the brash and aggressive verbiage of George W. Bush.  Here was someone who, after joining the Texas Air National Guard as a means of dodging service in Vietnam, skipped a mandated physical in his reluctance to fly a solo mission over the city of Houston as part of his required training.  

After rushing America to war in Iraq to head off an adverse result from UN weapons inspector Hans Blix on the crucial issue of whether Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction that constituted a clear and present danger to America, a claim ultimately proven to be false, Bush was seen and heard over the White House video system thrusting his clenched right fist into the air when the first bombs were falling on Baghdad and exhorting, "Feels good!"

Dick Cheney pursued conflict aggressively as he ignored State Department reports of experienced Iraq hands that insisted that Saddam Hussein posed no immediate danger to America's safety and took the unprecedented step of visiting the CIA and strongly pressuring Middle East operatives of that agency to help him make a case for war.  When bombs fell he quickly maneuvered the company he formerly headed, multinational Halliburton, onto Iraqi soil to reek government profits without a single bid needing to be tendered.  

On the subject of Vietnam Cheney secured as many student deferments as possible to avoid service in a war that he, like Bush, professed to be necessary to fight international Communism.  After exhausting his student deferment source he ultimately impregnated his wife as a means of avoiding service.  When asked why he did not serve in Vietnam, Cheney replied without further explanation, "I had other priorities."  

Bush's team of push button computer neoconservative warriors were in the same position as Cheney.  They all had "other priorities."  William Kristol, chairman of the aggressively militaristic New Project for the American Century, as a student at Harvard lavished praise on Richard Nixon for his ferocious bombing of Cambodia, but steered clear of combat.  As a staunch neocon he seeks to establish America's globalized imprint in the interest of Halliburton and Bechtel style democracy.  Kristol salivates at the prospect of military combat, as long as he is safely ensconced behind his ABC microphone or computer terminal far from the action, where his salvos are entirely verbal and there is no enemy present to fire back.  

Paul Wolfowitz and Richard Perle are among the most vigilant computer warriors.  These stalwart opponents of Communism also took a pass when it came to personally confronting the Communist enemy for which they expressed such detestation in Vietnam.  

On the media front Bill O'Reilly is vigilant in his support of Bush style neoconservative militarism.  Big Bad Bill of Fox News also took a pass when he had the opportunity to fight in Vietnam, as did talk radio druggie-windbag Rush Limbaugh.  When Michael Moore appeared a few months ago with O'Reilly he asked his host a loaded question:  "Will you urge your son to fight in Falluhaj?"  Big Bad Bill responded, "You're not gonna get me into that."  His reluctance was reminiscent of his silence on the topic of the sexual harassment suit he recently paid a large settlement amount to have dropped.

Bob Herbert in the New York Times recently tackled the important issue of the aggressive military stance of the Cheney-Bush Junta and its neocons along with their urgings of vigilance and sacrifice alongside the reality that they have not in the past nor are in the present practicing what they preach.  When America was fighting World War Two and President Roosevelt's son James was available at all to serve as an assistant to his father, who suffered from infantile paralysis, he was conspicuous in his Marine uniform.  

You call for sacrifice, Mr. Bush.  Are the twins in uniform?  Mr. Cheney, what about your politically active daughter?  Is she in uniform?  Mr. Bush, what about brother Jeb's son George?  We see his picture in the paper frequently.  He is spoken of as a future Republican political star.  Is he in uniform?

At last calculation the number of military sacrifice bearers among the Cheney-Bush Junta's vigilant push button warriors stood at precisely zero.  This prompted a recent petition effort to supply heretofore-unrealized linkage.  In short, if you are going to call for military sacrifice, do not confine your efforts to everywhere but home.

A demand should issue from Americans with a right to be disgusted:  "Calling all vigilant neocon warriors in command!  We have this message for you:  Climb out of your cocoons far away from gunfire and combat and practice what you are preaching to other Americans.  In short, either put up or shut up!  Assume personal sacrifice or end your unceasing propagandistic onslaught of deceit and hypocrisy!"