Paul Sheilds was dead on and I quote his best points below. But its up to us to do something about it. Politicians lie, Politicians pander (on all sides) but its our duty to protect the Republic. If we don't speak out we have to look ourselves in the mirror and realize its our own fault.
Please get innvolved, please write letters to the editor. Also send me links to any good stories, examples of politics of divisiveness, nonsense, or invective. I was shocked at the negativity and also hate of many of the emails that came across my desk at the Georgia Assembly.
If articulate, respectful dialogue is not sustained and rises above the the crassness then we all lose. Share things with me you find, hold others you know (myself included) accountable when we fall short of such standards. Just a quite: Hey thats out of line can go a far way.
Little things like the fact that 40% of our veterans come home disabled in some way and our Presidents Budget has not included the long term costs of taking care of their health--both mental and physical. That should be spoken out loudly against. I'm watching the generation after mine be pulled under every day by our lack of accountability and lazyness.
We are to blame if we don't speak out. I think the condecending tone of Obama's preparitory remarks was a decent question to at the very least question and move on from. But a flag pin?
But there was no more egregious example of sort of the macho-swagger, press-pass, take-no-prisoners prosecutor attitude than asking Senator Obama, "Why don't you wear a flag lapel pin?"
And I'd just give you two quick examples on this, because this is the kind of question -- the explanation to ask? "It's all over the Internet." I mean, so are theories about John Kennedy's assassination and the United States government blowing up the Twin Towers. That's no reason.
I mean, Jim Webb, Democratic senator from Virginia, who was a company commander in the -- Marine company commander in Vietnam and won the Navy Cross, the second-highest award the country can give, the Silver Star, two Bronze Stars, and two Purple Hearts, and opposed the war in Iraq, does not wear a lapel pin.
Dick Cheney, who during the 1960s sought and received five deferments to avoid military service and explained that he did so because he had other priorities than military service, supported the war in Iraq and wears a flag lapel pin.
So I guess the question then becomes: Why doesn't -- should it be that why doesn't Jim Webb do it? I mean, this really bothered me. Now...
MARK SHIELDS: Judy, we found out on the Rand report this week that one out of five veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan suffers from post-traumatic stress syndrome or depression, one out of five. That's over 300,000. We have no plan for them as a people.
Now where is the patriotism? I mean, the flag lapel pin, I mean, is so fatuous, is so absolutely silly. I mean, if one wears -- if one is an uncritical supporter of the United States' invasion and occupation of another country, that makes him a patriot and someone who opposes it isn't? And you wear a flag to show that?
MARK SHIELDS: They've [obama and clinton] locked themselves in and they were dishonest, because let's be very frank about it. Judy, we've seen this week the FAA is not working. The Food and Drug Administration says that they can't even begin to test medicines and medical devices. We've had, in addition to that, we've had, today, the Wall Street Journal reported we can't inspect meat that's going into our children's schools.
You know, the federal government needs more resources. It needs more money to do its job. We need to rebuild bridges. We need to rebuild roads. Everybody says that.
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