Ah, the Romance!

by mattttbastard

Just when you thought Dubya couldn’t get anymore douchier:

“”I must say, I’m a little envious,” Bush said. “If I were slightly younger and not employed here, I think it would be a fantastic experience to be on the front lines of helping this young democracy [Afghanistan] succeed.”

“It must be exciting for you … in some ways romantic, in some ways, you know, confronting danger. You’re really making history, and thanks,” Bush said.”

As Hilzoy notes, the lame-duck-in-chief previously expressed a chicken-shit hawk perspective re: frontline service that is completely at odds with his recent Churchillian pose:

“I was not prepared to shoot my eardrum out with a shotgun in order to get a deferment, nor was I willing to go to Canada, so I chose to better myself by learning to fly airplanes.”

Mister Leonard Pierce proceeds to layeth the smacketh down:

Every living male in my family other than me has fought in a war — Korea, Vietnam, the Gulf or Iraq. None of them exactly regrets his service, and there’s a wide range of opinions among them about politics and the necessity of the various wars in which they fought. It’s not a homogeneous group by any means, with plenty of die-hard liberals and plenty of stone-ribbed conservatives. But not a fucking one of them in a million years would describe their wartime experiences as “romantic.”

Courage; it couldn’t come at a worse more convenient time.

h/t Big Media Matt

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

Quote of the Day: ROE Reversal

by matttbastard

“We’re disrupting the lives of our veterans with this occupation, not only the lives of Iraqis. If a foreign occupying force came here to the U.S., do you not think that every person that has a shotgun would not come out of the hills and fight for their right for self-determination?”

– Iraq veteran Jason Hurd, speaking @ Winter Soldier: Iraq/Afghanistan

Related: The Other War: Iraq Vets Bear Witness; Tom Hayden on Lt. Col. David Kilcullen and the revival of the Phoenix Program in Iraq; Tom Engelhardt preemptively commemorates the 6th anniversary of the Iraq War.

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers

PSA: Fight Back Against Anti-Choice Op-Eds and Articles

by matttbastard

from the ARCC-CDAC

Hi everyone, There’s been a steady stream of anti-choice op-eds and articles published in the media lately, regarding Bill C-484, which passed Second Reading in Parliament on March 5. This bill would create a separate offence for killing a fetus when a pregnant woman is attacked. It endangers abortion rights by creating fetal personhood, and would also interfere with the autonomy of all pregnant woman.

We’d like your help in countering the anti-choice misinformation around this bill. We’d also like to show support to the writers opposing the bill.

Could you please take a moment to write a letter or letters to the editor? Below are links to recently published pieces as well as how to send your letters. If you need the full text of an article, let us know (some papers require that you purchase online articles.)

Letters should be brief, forceful, and meaningful in expression – pithy.
Providing your unique or provocative perspective will increase the chance of publication.

The receipt and publication of many, many letters would certainly send a clear message of opposition to this bill to both the media and the public. Please also cc your letter to your MP.

For further information on the bill, visit our website at http://www.arcc-cdac.ca

From the Abortion Rights Coalition of Canada info@arcc-cdac.ca

————–

Today’s bullies – yesterday’s feminists
Barbara Kay, National Post Published: Wednesday, March 12, 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/opinion/sto … ?id=368477
Letter to the editor:
http://www.nationalpost.com/contact/let … the+Editor

Layton keeping eye on Stoffer regarding unborn-child bill Stephen Maher, The Chronicle Herald, Published: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 http://thechronicleherald.ca/Canada/1042959.html
Letter to the editor: letters@herald.ca

Anti-abortion billboard branded ‘misleading, false’
Joe Matyas, London Free Press, Sun Media, Published: Tuesday, March 11 http://lfpress.ca/newsstand/CityandRegi … 1-sun.html
Letter to the editor:
http://lfpress.ca/cgi-bin/comments.cgi? … &s=letters

Epp elated to see bill head to committee Park MP vows to continue fight to make bill law in spite of NDP axe during second phase Michael Simpson, Sherwood Park / Strathcona County News, March 11, 2008 http://www.sherwoodparknews.com/News/383058.html
Letter to the editor:
http://cgi.bowesonline.com/pedro.php?id=22&x=contact

Canadian women need a fetal homicide law
Suzanne Fortin, National Post Published: Monday, March 10, 2008
http://www.nationalpost.com/todays_pape … ?id=364293
Letter to the editor:
http://www.nationalpost.com/contact/let … the+Editor

A killer of two; Fetus deserves legal status when mother is murdered Posted By Hoy, Claire
http://www.thesudburystar.com/ArticleDi … x?e=939059
Letter to the editor:
http://www.thesudburystar.com/feedback1 … orialemail

IWD 2008: so many butts to kick, so little time Rabble staff, Rabble, Published: March 8, 2008 http://www.rabble.ca/news_full_story.sh … 328&rXn=1&
Join the online discussion at:
http://www.rabble.ca/babble/ultimatebb. … 4&t=001355

Bill to protect ‘the unborn’ is the wrong approach Antonia Zerbisias, The Toronto Star, Published Friday, March 7, 2008
http://www.thestar.com/living/article/310182
Letter to the editor: lettertoed@thestar.ca

Unborn-rights bill passes new stage
Mia Rabson, Winnipeg Free Press, Published Friday, March 7, 2008 (also printed in Victoria Times Colonist) http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/ … 0088c.html
Letter to the editor:
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/info/l … index.html

Pro-choice radicals oppose ‘unborn victims’ crime bill Parliamentary vote stirs up abortion debate Mark Hasiuk, Vancouver Courier Published: Wednesday, March 5, 2008
http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/ … =15586&p=1
Letter to the editor:
http://www.canada.com/vancouvercourier/letters.html

Good reasons for all sides to support this unborn bill Lorna Duek, Globe and Mail, Published: Wednesday, March 5, 2008 http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ … login=true
It appears you need to be a ‘Globe Insider’ to write online letters to the editor at the Globe and Mail. But, if any of you are…

Recommend this post at Progressive Bloggers