Excuse the long gap in blogs. I've been busy shooting a new video, as well as designing a Stekki Daiyo! DVD, revamping the web page (nearly set to premiere), learning After Effects, experiencing outrage overload, and securing a few more writing gigs to pay the rent. Satisfied?
Anyway, one of the more stomach-churning events of the past week was the totally staged landing of the Top Gun monkey fascist on the aircraft carrier, where essentially he said that the war had been fought with--according to how he phrased it--barely any civilian casualties. Really?
There's been lots of words spent on this, but Paul Krugman again keeps it short and pointed.
Man on HorsebackSome background: the Constitution declares the president commander in chief of the armed forces to make it clear that civilians, not the military, hold ultimate authority. That's why American presidents traditionally make a point of avoiding military affectations. Dwight Eisenhower was a victorious general and John Kennedy a genuine war hero, but while in office neither wore anything that resembled military garb.
Given that history, George Bush's "Top Gun" act aboard the U.S.S. Abraham Lincoln -- c'mon, guys, it wasn't about honoring the troops, it was about showing the president in a flight suit -- was as scary as it was funny.