Generation Chickenhawk
From “Generation Chickenhawk: the Unauthorized College Republican Convention Tour”:
On July 13, 2007, I visited Section 60 of Arlington National Cemetery, where the bodies of American soldiers killed in Iraq were freshly interred. Afterwards, I headed across the street to the Sheraton National Hotel, owned by right-wing Korean cult leader Sun Myung-Moon, to meet some of the war’s most fervent supporters at the College Republican National Convention.
Must-see agitprop. 3.5 stars.
July 21st, 2007 at 8:59 AM
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July 23rd, 2007 at 3:08 PM
I’m not surprised by these hypocrites because I’ve been running a political board on Netscape (formerly CompuServe) for decades. The right-wing “I only WISH I could have gone to this fine war, but…” cant is nothing new. Most amusing are all the gen-x’ers who pompously condemn boomers who evaded ‘Nam, but saw no reason to serve themselves.
July 23rd, 2007 at 4:28 PM
Perpetual war for perpetual profit.
The worst thing that ever happened to the republican party was the end of the Soviet Union.
Suddenly they needed a new boogeyman to feed to the war machine. With the Muslims they may have hit paydirt.
July 24th, 2007 at 3:40 AM
And the paydirt has no qualms about hitting back. There were countless intelligent ways to conduct a “war on terror”; giving the radical faction endless fuel for their anger wasn’t one of them. If they do strike back (anyone have any doubt that they will?), it would be nice if they had smart bombs which only struck the idiots who got us into this mess. Unfortunately, we’ve engendered thousands of civilian casualties in our misguided Crusade, so it’s doubtful that they’ll care who’s hit in their crossfire. Way to go, Bush and Dick! Really protected us! Nobody in their right mind argues that we’re less at risk than we were before the war. Glad I don’t live in DC anymore…
By the way, why exactly did Cheney’s energy task force study maps of Iraq oil fields in March 2001- 6 months before the preventable 9/11? Most likely for the same reason that Osama is still a free man (Bush admitted after 9/11 that he doesn’t think about Osama much, nor is he concerned about him) while we’re chained by this hopeless war. Mission accomplished- they brought em on!
July 24th, 2007 at 3:45 AM
Cheney’s task force documents: http://www.judicialwatch.org/iraqi-oil-maps.shtml
Bush not concerned about Osama: http://youtube.com/watch?v=Tcib62ibR0k
Whoever the administration is protecting, it’s not us.
July 24th, 2007 at 4:26 AM
Um, a bit related:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html
Is this directive common knowledge around the US?
July 24th, 2007 at 4:53 AM
I drive by that hotel everyday to get to work. It’s a s-hole. I’d already seen this video, it’s pretty funny (although we could have done without the dancing).
July 24th, 2007 at 10:28 AM
Starocotes, is there a particular part of the directive you’re referring to? I don’t have the patience to read that sort of thing to see what’s so glaring.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:12 PM
JeffZ said: There were countless intelligent ways to conduct a “war on terror 
First, in sympathy, my fantasy bumper sticker of 2001, “War on Terror? Splint on Smallpox!” Second, a link to a disputation of your statement can be foundhere, from which I pull: “By the same reasoning Lyndon Johnson could have asked for the same powers in the ‘war’ on poverty, which kills many more people than all the terrorists of all affiliation will ever kill.”
Peace.
July 24th, 2007 at 12:24 PM
@Starcotes, I blogged that the other day, here, mostly just a cut and paste with the observation that: “Arguably we’ll be needing to block all U.S. economic activity, as there is no way we can be seen has having done aught else but threatened ‘the peace or stability of Iraq’.” Hasn’t really got the press I think it deserves, but then, what does?
Dang it, when’s that Dr Fate mag gonna hit the stores so I have something better to do with my time than worry how our PNAC overlords are ruining the world?
July 24th, 2007 at 12:41 PM
@Scott: That whole directive basically sounds like the president can rule around the congress in the case of an emergency and the case of an emergency is defined very loosly.
It’s a lot like what Palpatine did in Revenge of the Sith as stupid as that sounds.
Basically its the following parts:
“Catastrophic Emergency” means any incident, regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the U.S. population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions.
……..
The President shall lead the activities of the Federal Government for ensuring constitutional government.
……..
(The President) may seize property, organize and control the means of production, seize commodities, assign military forces abroad, institute martial law, seize and control all transportation and communication, regulate the operation of private enterprise, restrict travel, and, in a variety of ways, control the lives of United States citizens.
July 24th, 2007 at 1:15 PM
Beau: I could’ve phrased that line better. By “fighting” the “war on terror”, I really meant confronting the ideas which lead to terror and doing things to improve our credibility. Catching Osama would’ve been nice as well. Just wanted to emphasize that by all accounts, being in Iraq is doing the exact opposite of the goals it was supposed to achieve. When the initial opposition to Bush started, a lot of people pointed out what a mental lightweight he appeared to be. I don’t think anyone suspected he was nearly as stupid as he turned out to be.
July 25th, 2007 at 8:17 AM
JeffZ: I grokked what you meant, as confirmed by your follow-up. If clearly used in context of “struggle to end an injurious condition” I have no problem with language like “war on [X]”. (Well, I do, but they’re of a decidedly different flavor.) What I have trouble with is putting the nation on a “war” footing and destroying the Constitutional protections such as habeas in the name of such a “war”.
The evil people who committed the evil deeds of nine-one-one should be brought to justice. That’s one issue, properly addressed through the various criminal justice activities of the combined international community and affected individual nations. The circumstances which create terrorists need to be addressed; at the very, very least, even stipulating the tremendous disproportionality of wealth and power can somehow be truly just and justifiable, it remains that any such disproportionality invites terrorist/guerrilla tactics from have-nots who want more and are willing to kill to get it.. That’s another issue. Neither is simple, but the latter is by far the more complex.
Peace.