What's wrong with her Crawford protest
August 15, 2005 8:52 PM   Subscribe

Cindy Sheehan's Sinister Piffle
By Christopher Hitchens
The military and its relatives have no extra claim on the chief executive's ear. Indeed, it might be said that they have less claim than the rest of us, since they have voluntarily sworn an oath to obey and carry out orders. Most presidents in time of war have made an exception in the case of the bereaved — Lincoln's letter to the mother of two dead Union soldiers (at the time, it was thought that she had lost five sons) is a famous instance — but the job there is one of comfort and reassurance, and this has already been discharged in the Sheehan case. If that stricken mother had been given an audience and had risen up to say that Lincoln had broken his past election pledges and sought a wider and more violent war with the Confederacy, his aides would have been quite right to show her the door and to tell her that she was out of order.
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood (37 comments total)

This post was deleted for the following reason: single link to an op-ed?



 
Christopher Hick-ups, fer crist sake?
posted by tula at 8:58 PM on August 15, 2005


Who knows. The only thing certain in this thread is that the Tories have never left us: there will always be a segment of the American population that does not like the messy, loud, chaos of democracy, with all its "rights" and "vox populi", preferring instead the lace and silver fineries of a smoothly running oligarchy.

Steve_At_Linwood is one of those people, hence his link to a drunken british sod's ramblings.
posted by hincandenza at 8:59 PM on August 15, 2005


Sheehan has obviously taken a short course in the Michael Moore/Ramsey Clark school of Iraq analysis and has not succeeded in making it one atom more elegant or persuasive.
Inelegant, perhaps, but simply saying an argument is not persuasive doesn't render that argument unpersuasive. Her argument, according to Sheehan?

We were lied to about the reasons for our war with Iraq. Muslim extremists don't simply hate our freedoms, they hate our policies in Israel.

An oversimplification, perhaps, but certainly supportable.
posted by maxsparber at 9:00 PM on August 15, 2005


Very classy.
posted by teece at 9:01 PM on August 15, 2005


My second-favorite thing to do to a woman whose son was just killed in battle is to smear her in the media.

My first is to FPP about it.
posted by wakko at 9:03 PM on August 15, 2005


Geez, thanks. I would never have thought to read Slate myself. Perhaps tomorrow you could do single FPPs of op-eds from nytimes.com. Or maybe just link to Drudge.
posted by ereshkigal45 at 9:04 PM on August 15, 2005


He believes that you can't speak for the dead and anyone who signs up for the military has to do what is ordered. No matter how criminal.

How quaint.
posted by ?! at 9:04 PM on August 15, 2005


My question is, if her son died in 2004, why this effort by Mrs. Sheehan now? Why the comment from left-field about Israel/Palestine?

Muslim extremists don't simply hate our freedoms, they hate our policies in Israel.

Oh. Still, I find the first question curious.
posted by tweak at 9:05 PM on August 15, 2005


Yep, Casey could have lived IF ONLY Israel got the hell out of Palestine.

Who needs arguments when emotional appeals work so much better?
posted by Krrrlson at 9:05 PM on August 15, 2005


I can't decide whether Hitchens or the housing bubble will pop first. Either way, it's going to be messy.
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:06 PM on August 15, 2005


single link.
huge FP quote.
newsfilter.
opinionfilter.
everything you whine about when Amberglow does it-filter.
posted by mosch at 9:07 PM on August 15, 2005


"Indeed, it might be said that they have less claim than the rest of us, since they have voluntarily sworn an oath to obey and carry out orders."

Families swear oaths to the military? When the hell did this happen?

You lose again Hitchens.
posted by raaka at 9:07 PM on August 15, 2005


huge fucking hypocrite-filter.
posted by mosch at 9:08 PM on August 15, 2005


I'm sure you've all heard, but just in case, Sheehan's husband filed for divorce. Not that I'm surprised. He's a military man and she's out there protesting the war.
posted by Moral Animal at 9:08 PM on August 15, 2005


The whole, "We make up our own reality", "We don't pay attention to polls", "We don't care what you think", "we try not to give much creedence to the so-called 'experts'" and the ever-popular, "Go Fuck Yourself!" policies that have been in effect for so long, why should it change now?
posted by Balisong at 9:11 PM on August 15, 2005


"Who needs arguments when emotional appeals work so much better?"

Lets ask Mr Rove what he thinks
posted by Bighappyfunhouse at 9:11 PM on August 15, 2005


Go ahead and set that cross on fire.
posted by The Jesse Helms at 9:11 PM on August 15, 2005


Who needs arguments when emotional appeals work so much better?

"We don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud."
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:12 PM on August 15, 2005


Steve, didn't anyone tell you about the new corollary to the Godwin law? We've all decided we don't like him and instead of discussing what he says we'll mock him and you for mentioning it!!!!

That's how we roll on the blue.
posted by loquax at 9:13 PM on August 15, 2005


I'm sure you've all heard, but just in case, Sheehan's husband filed for divorce. Not that I'm surprised. He's a military man and she's out there protesting the war.
posted by Moral Animal at 9:08 PM PST on August 15


That's true. God knows the stress of losing a child has never led to divorce before, never, never, never.
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:13 PM on August 15, 2005


Can we just shut this one down now?
posted by wakko at 9:13 PM on August 15, 2005


See, now YOU TOO can distinguish an argument from crap. It's easy!
posted by Krrrlson at 9:14 PM on August 15, 2005


(Oh, and confidential to C.H.: the American Civil War is a little different from a preventive attack on a sovereign nation.)
posted by Optimus Chyme at 9:14 PM on August 15, 2005


S@L picks the guy who argued against Mother Teresa's sainthood. Color me less than surprised.
posted by clevershark at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2005


[This thread has been closed to new comments.]
posted by exlotuseater at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2005


See, now YOU TOO can distinguish an argument from crap. It's easy!

That's crap, right?
posted by Armitage Shanks at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2005


Can we just shut this one down now?

Why exactly does this one need to be "shut down" ?
posted by Steve_at_Linnwood at 9:15 PM on August 15, 2005


How it this post any more non-one link to an editorial than this deleted link?
posted by Balisong at 9:16 PM on August 15, 2005


Why exactly does this one need to be "shut down" ?

It's wasting space on the main page.
posted by wakko at 9:18 PM on August 15, 2005


That's crap, right?

You're walking your way right into a paradox there!
posted by Krrrlson at 9:22 PM on August 15, 2005


Why exactly does this one need to be "shut down" ?

You'd be lying if you claimed this was anything other than a troll. But you'll probably claim that anyway.

Unfortunately, Jessamyn and mathowie will probably mistake your troll for content that you truly believe.
posted by mosch at 9:22 PM on August 15, 2005


When I saw that it was yet another post about Sheehan, I groaned. When I saw it was a 1-link post to another drunken n' drawlin' Hitchens op-ed, I raised an eyebrow. When I saw this was posted by Steve_at_Linnwood I bought myself a ticket for the MeFi Choo Choo of Certain Disaster.

All abooooooard!
posted by basicchannel at 9:23 PM on August 15, 2005


(oh, and if you want to pretend you're not a troll... don't boast about it in #mefi)
posted by mosch at 9:23 PM on August 15, 2005


9:00 < @steve_at> three comments in my thread
9:01 < @steve_at> one already attacking me
9:19 < @steve_at> LOL
9:19 < @steve_at> It's wasting space on the main page.
9:19 < @steve_at> posted by wakko at 11:18 PM CST on August 15 [!]
9:19 < @steve_at> Oh, I love "wakko"
posted by mosch at 9:24 PM on August 15, 2005


oooh, and banning me from #mefi PRIOR to that last post! you're a class act, steve_at.
posted by mosch at 9:25 PM on August 15, 2005


in before chatlogs

on preview: fuck
posted by moift at 9:26 PM on August 15, 2005


My only opinion about the contents of the FPP:
The parents of dead soldiers should be allowed to say pretty much whatever they want about the war that killed them, pro or con.
posted by mosch at 9:33 PM on August 15, 2005


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