|
Little Caesar and the World Super Bowl in Hell
BUZZFLASH
READER COMMENTARY
by
Bob Gaiek
The drums of war have been beating so loudly and for so long, I just could not get worked up about the most recent roman numeral version of the media event known as the Super Bowl. This time flashbacks of Vietnam were popping up.
Like our neo-Confederate governor Sonny (chicken man) Perdue, I loved football while growing up and even played some college sports. Unlike Al Bundy -- who scored 4 touchdowns in a high school game -- I have come to be more concerned about the state of the nation and the world than guys on steroids risking all to become "numba one."
Unfortunately, the Bush Cartel is so obsessed with being "numba 1" that it will stop at nothing in marketing war mongering as something everyone should love and lend full support to. War is being hyped and branded as the American pastime. The hype leading up to and during the Super Bowl pales in comparison.
In the Atlanta-Journal Constitution, the author makes the case that Americans should not be treated as consumers when it comes to war. The writer observes:" Democracy requires choice and deliberation, debate and dissent. Branding is all style and no substance."
The original link came from BuzzFlash, where the titular head of the Bush Cartel is sometime called "Little Caesar." This is a fitting title for a would-be monarch with Rambo's brain and Caesars' body -- the difference being that the fictional Rambo had guts and was willing to place himself in the action.
The current Cheerleader-in-Chief is shamefully promoted by the Cartel machine as a former "fighter jock" who served during Vietnam.This leaves the impression that he really was not a draft dodger. BuzzFlash readers know that Little Caesar was AWOL during his coveted assignment with the Texas National Guard, campaigning for Winston Blount in Alabama. He has never really stopped campaigning, even while "Rome burns."
A helicopter passed overhead yesterday -- a rarely heard sound -- and it brought back memories of events that a combat veteran never forgets: hot food, mail, medevac or, most important of all, the first leg of the trip back home to America. To Little Caesar, the sound of a helicopter means nothing more than an easy way to beat the traffic.
Another link in Buzzflash points to an article about an Australian Vietnam veteran who feels that Iraq Showdown is being engineered by a "power-and oil-hungry megalomaniac whose cynical disregard for the consequences defies comprehension." This fellow is backing his words by sending his medals back to his government -- a very serious action indeed.
I would follow his lead, but it is clear that no one in the Bush Cartel would give a damn, especially the "rummy" who is now personally planning this next war -- the guy who virtually spit on Vietnam combat veterans who faced and accepted the draft. His comments were, apparently, aimed at those who weren't scorned enough the first time around. Like Trent Lott, his initial response was to issue a written statement clarifying his remarks. Not good enough, Rummy; you are a "rock star" only in your dreams and you and your moronic boss man are plotting a course for a Super Bowl in hell.
In college in 1967, two of my "liberal" English professors were former military officers. They advised me that the best way to beat the draft was to "volunteer" for Army Officer Candidate School. I discovered that the National Guard had a waiting list numbering in the tens of thousands. Infantry OCS signed me up on the spot -- demand was high. Unlike the "few months" of training the Rummy decried, it was two months in New Jersey in the winter and six months in Georgia in the summer.
George W. Bush would soon gain a backdoor entry to the National Guard, instantly anointed as a 2nd Lieutenant, without benefit of ROTC or any special skills -- just like the appointment to be president.
This man is now hell bent upon plunging America into a war that soon could become worldwide. Many solely rely on prayer to "support our President"; many more protest and issue dissent that is met with scorn and a vile new brand of McCarthyism.
I may be tempted someday to send back some of my medals or throw them on the steps of the Capitol as Senator John Kerry once did, but I will never give up my Purple Heart. I'm saving that for super hawk Donald Rumsfeld. I want to ask him: "Tell me again how you feel about the draft and 'Old Europe'." That will be when young Americans get a first hand taste of what it was like in the Vietnam era -- I hope it never comes about, but it is already starting to feel that way in my gut.
By the way, who won the Super Bowl, Sonny?
Bob Gaiek, Atlanta
BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
Articles in the BuzzFlash Contributor section are posted as-is. Given the timeliness of some Contributor articles, BuzzFlash cannot verify or guarantee the accuracy of every word. We strive to correct inaccuracies when they are brought to our attention.
