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The Pundit Post
Collateral Damage
by Tammy J Fischer Labey
May 28, 2008
So today we get two "Top Stories" coming off the campaign trail. Apparently, HRC is all but MIA
because, other than a rerun analysis of her Puerto Rican dance festival, we just got a 3 second
snapshot/honorable mention of her Pablo MT appearance today. Oh yeh, and there was
Chelsea's letter to supporters asking for help in making an "Important Decision" to select the
next winning T-Shirt design....but I digress.
The first "Top Story" was out of the McCain Camp: Where the candidate himself was interrupted--
four times--in what must have been an un-nerving test of McHothead's tranquillity, by war
protesters; purportedly Iraq War Verterans at that. They were Iraq War Veterans? Protesting the
Iraq War? Dunno, we never got to see them, for all practical purposes. Although I will grant the
camera made a half hearted attempt to pan back enough to catch a partial view of McCain
supporters expressing disdain for the Iraq War Veterans trying to exercise their right to free
speech.
Not on my dime, said [in so many words] Vietnam War Veteran, indeed--hero--John McCain.
Since when does the media not sieze the opportunity to video tape a good scuffle? How many
times was the "don't taze me bro!" loop played from John Kerry's Q&A in Gainsville, FL last fall?
Anyone remember what John Kerry said? No? Guess all eyes/cameras must've been trained on
the action, leaving John Kerry w/out an audience: For the duration. So, where were John
McCain's cameras???
Well, let's not be silly; for the most part you can bet your bottom dollar those camera(s) remained
fixed on the guy standing at the podium, speech suspended in mid tele-prompt, waiting for order
to restored. I mean have you seen how long the unemployment line is getting lately? For his part
John McCain did an admirable job of keeping his cool, given his notorious temper. Aside from the
rather undignified snort he let slip at the fourth interruption, his handlers were likely pleased
w/the composure mustered. At one point, no doubt after the rabble rousers had been...
subdued?...restrained?...gagged?...ok, "removed," the presumptive GOP nominee even
managed to interject Triumphantly: "We will never surrender!" as though he were presently
positioned under enemy fire; single handedly fighting to hold down the fort, wave the flag, and
stabilize the price of oil.
OK; glad to hear it Senator, not that we ever doubted it, given your promise to stay in Iraq for,
say...100 years, if that's what it takes. But, ummmm, what happened to the Iraq War Veterans
protesting the war the day after Memorial Day? I saw one (1) report stating they were "forcibly
removed from the scene--presumably by campaing security."
Where they arrested?
Am I the only one wondering?
Meanwhile, BREAKING NEWS, Barack Obama finds himself on the defensive for mistaking the
Auschwitz concentration camp w/a lesser known sub of the Buchenwald concentration camp. I
was going to take the night off tonight, but alas, when the pundits started equating Senator
Clinton's "assassination" comment to Senator Obama's mixing up concentration camps I couldn't
help but exercise my right to blog, lest it be lost. Lou Dobbs weighed in by expressing his
exasperation w/Obama’s fact keeping abilities. CNN's Candy Crowley, trying to maintain her
journalistic integrity and keep her job all at the same time (no small feat, don't we know) is
chalking it up to sleep deprivation for both Hillary and Barack.
Give me a break.
In college, I spent an entire summer studying the holocaust w/back to back credit overload. (OK,
so I'm intense.) It meant reading book after horrific book. I highly recommend it to any college
student looking for a quick weight loss program. I lost my appetite for most food about midway
thru Elie Wiesel’s “Night” and can only recall the rest of the course in terms of feeling enveloped
in a cloud of death. It left an unforgettable overwhelmingly oppressive impression and changed
the way I look at human nature in general. But I can no more recall the details of a single atrocity
in all that reading than I can summon names of the plethora of concentration camps scattered
over a dozen European countries. There were hundreds; and hundreds more sub camps.
So let’s try an exercise in empathy here. If I were one of the American libertarians that went from
camp to camp setting free emaciated victims, I would hardly care amid the horror of it all, to make
a special effort noting the foreign names of camps. Even if I were so inclined, later after I got
back to the United States w/a heavy heart immersed in horrific imagery, it’s not likely I would’ve
placed a great deal of emphasis on discerning which tortured soul came from which camp—that
is if I was willing to discuss it w/family members at all. On the contrary, it would quickly become a
blur, as did the stories of Holocaust victims I read during the summer of ’81, the diary of Ann
Frank notwithstanding.
Likewise if I was hearing a family story passed down for the sake of posterity, I would probably
substitute Auschwitz in my own mind, as would most everybody else, historical references
notwithstanding, because everybody knows what Auschwitz represents. Unless you were there,
on the other hand, or a friend/relative of someone who was there, it is highly unlikely you know of
Gosler, or Holfeld, or Ellrich or could, for that matter, name a single sub-camp of the Buchenwald
complex. Later, if I wanted to share that story w/others, as an anecdote illustrating the emotional
devastation and “ripple effect” of war, I would draw on Auschwitz because that camp has
become synonymous w/evil, invoking all such hellholes in the minds of most Americans now two
or three or more generations removed.
But all of that is intuitive, is it not? A “no brainer” as they say. Unless you are a Republican (still
in empathy mode here) trying to find an angle on the single biggest threat to your reign of power
to come along in over 40 years; in which case you “pounce” sadly obfuscating the significance of
a poignant story. Once again, the truth becomes collateral damage--thats almost become a
given. But the grotesque twist here is how the contributions of a WWII veteran (Obama’s great
uncle Charlie Payne) were obliterated in the process: On Memorial Day.
Where is the respect? Better yet where is the interview of Charlie Payne?
Sounds like a Larry King opportunity to me.
Anyone listening?
Buckle your seat belts, people. Put your armor on, and stay engaged. We are going to need
every micron of energy for the weeks leading into the general election. It’s going to be a rough
ride, with the corporate interests scrambling to protect their billions.
We will force this fight into the light, because we know that we must, for all that is just.
GOBAMA '08!!!
by Tammy J Fischer Labey
May 28, 2008
So today we get two "Top Stories" coming off the campaign trail. Apparently, HRC is all but MIA
because, other than a rerun analysis of her Puerto Rican dance festival, we just got a 3 second
snapshot/honorable mention of her Pablo MT appearance today. Oh yeh, and there was
Chelsea's letter to supporters asking for help in making an "Important Decision" to select the
next winning T-Shirt design....but I digress.
The first "Top Story" was out of the McCain Camp: Where the candidate himself was interrupted--
four times--in what must have been an un-nerving test of McHothead's tranquillity, by war
protesters; purportedly Iraq War Verterans at that. They were Iraq War Veterans? Protesting the
Iraq War? Dunno, we never got to see them, for all practical purposes. Although I will grant the
camera made a half hearted attempt to pan back enough to catch a partial view of McCain
supporters expressing disdain for the Iraq War Veterans trying to exercise their right to free
speech.
Not on my dime, said [in so many words] Vietnam War Veteran, indeed--hero--John McCain.
Since when does the media not sieze the opportunity to video tape a good scuffle? How many
times was the "don't taze me bro!" loop played from John Kerry's Q&A in Gainsville, FL last fall?
Anyone remember what John Kerry said? No? Guess all eyes/cameras must've been trained on
the action, leaving John Kerry w/out an audience: For the duration. So, where were John
McCain's cameras???
Well, let's not be silly; for the most part you can bet your bottom dollar those camera(s) remained
fixed on the guy standing at the podium, speech suspended in mid tele-prompt, waiting for order
to restored. I mean have you seen how long the unemployment line is getting lately? For his part
John McCain did an admirable job of keeping his cool, given his notorious temper. Aside from the
rather undignified snort he let slip at the fourth interruption, his handlers were likely pleased
w/the composure mustered. At one point, no doubt after the rabble rousers had been...
subdued?...restrained?...gagged?...ok, "removed," the presumptive GOP nominee even
managed to interject Triumphantly: "We will never surrender!" as though he were presently
positioned under enemy fire; single handedly fighting to hold down the fort, wave the flag, and
stabilize the price of oil.
OK; glad to hear it Senator, not that we ever doubted it, given your promise to stay in Iraq for,
say...100 years, if that's what it takes. But, ummmm, what happened to the Iraq War Veterans
protesting the war the day after Memorial Day? I saw one (1) report stating they were "forcibly
removed from the scene--presumably by campaing security."
Where they arrested?
Am I the only one wondering?
Meanwhile, BREAKING NEWS, Barack Obama finds himself on the defensive for mistaking the
Auschwitz concentration camp w/a lesser known sub of the Buchenwald concentration camp. I
was going to take the night off tonight, but alas, when the pundits started equating Senator
Clinton's "assassination" comment to Senator Obama's mixing up concentration camps I couldn't
help but exercise my right to blog, lest it be lost. Lou Dobbs weighed in by expressing his
exasperation w/Obama’s fact keeping abilities. CNN's Candy Crowley, trying to maintain her
journalistic integrity and keep her job all at the same time (no small feat, don't we know) is
chalking it up to sleep deprivation for both Hillary and Barack.
Give me a break.
In college, I spent an entire summer studying the holocaust w/back to back credit overload. (OK,
so I'm intense.) It meant reading book after horrific book. I highly recommend it to any college
student looking for a quick weight loss program. I lost my appetite for most food about midway
thru Elie Wiesel’s “Night” and can only recall the rest of the course in terms of feeling enveloped
in a cloud of death. It left an unforgettable overwhelmingly oppressive impression and changed
the way I look at human nature in general. But I can no more recall the details of a single atrocity
in all that reading than I can summon names of the plethora of concentration camps scattered
over a dozen European countries. There were hundreds; and hundreds more sub camps.
So let’s try an exercise in empathy here. If I were one of the American libertarians that went from
camp to camp setting free emaciated victims, I would hardly care amid the horror of it all, to make
a special effort noting the foreign names of camps. Even if I were so inclined, later after I got
back to the United States w/a heavy heart immersed in horrific imagery, it’s not likely I would’ve
placed a great deal of emphasis on discerning which tortured soul came from which camp—that
is if I was willing to discuss it w/family members at all. On the contrary, it would quickly become a
blur, as did the stories of Holocaust victims I read during the summer of ’81, the diary of Ann
Frank notwithstanding.
Likewise if I was hearing a family story passed down for the sake of posterity, I would probably
substitute Auschwitz in my own mind, as would most everybody else, historical references
notwithstanding, because everybody knows what Auschwitz represents. Unless you were there,
on the other hand, or a friend/relative of someone who was there, it is highly unlikely you know of
Gosler, or Holfeld, or Ellrich or could, for that matter, name a single sub-camp of the Buchenwald
complex. Later, if I wanted to share that story w/others, as an anecdote illustrating the emotional
devastation and “ripple effect” of war, I would draw on Auschwitz because that camp has
become synonymous w/evil, invoking all such hellholes in the minds of most Americans now two
or three or more generations removed.
But all of that is intuitive, is it not? A “no brainer” as they say. Unless you are a Republican (still
in empathy mode here) trying to find an angle on the single biggest threat to your reign of power
to come along in over 40 years; in which case you “pounce” sadly obfuscating the significance of
a poignant story. Once again, the truth becomes collateral damage--thats almost become a
given. But the grotesque twist here is how the contributions of a WWII veteran (Obama’s great
uncle Charlie Payne) were obliterated in the process: On Memorial Day.
Where is the respect? Better yet where is the interview of Charlie Payne?
Sounds like a Larry King opportunity to me.
Anyone listening?
Buckle your seat belts, people. Put your armor on, and stay engaged. We are going to need
every micron of energy for the weeks leading into the general election. It’s going to be a rough
ride, with the corporate interests scrambling to protect their billions.
We will force this fight into the light, because we know that we must, for all that is just.
GOBAMA '08!!!
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