[Updated frequently throughout the day. Please come back often.]

Ben Stein - Real Stars

A big helmet tip goes out to The Gray Dog for making sure I knew about this:

25th Vietnam Wall Memorial Dedication Anniversary
A Political and Corporate Event, Not A Memorial At All
Harry Riley, COL, USA, Ret

Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) National leadership is acting as the lead organization for the 25th Vietnam Memorial Wall Dedication Anniversary event in Washington, D.C. on November 10, 2007.

Who appointed VVA to lead the program, or how it was done is unknown to me but expected a solemn, consecrated event. If this event is simply a "celebration of a dedication" that is one thing, but if it is intended to honor the more than 58,000 fallen warriors, the program on November 10, 2007 is unacceptable.

It is appropriate to honor and remember our fallen warriors and their family members with a dignified program. Unfortunately, the carnival type approach involving politicians of questionable character and the heavy corporate involvement VVA leadership is pursuing does not reflect the dignified nature of a memorial event.

As has been publicly reported, Senator John Kerry, an individual that publicly slandered, betrayed, and acted as a traitor to Vietnam warriors and the United States has been invited by VVA to help publicize the event. Senator Kerry's involvement in anything related to Vietnam Veterans, even mentioning his name, invites ill will if not rage. Further, Senator Kerry brings his reelection campaign for Senate into the event by using his campaign "John Kerry for Senate" stationary, funds, web site, etc to publicize the November 10, 2007 event which brings into question the VVA non-partisan charter. ...

Do read the whole thing, folks.

Quick hits:

• Observations about the war
  Victor Davis Hanson: I just returned to Kuwait, and have been in Iraq visiting forward operating bases in Anbar and Diyala provinces, as well as suburbs of Baghdad the last week, hence the recent silence on this blog given sporadic internet facilities in Iraq. I hope to post a series of observations. But for now here are a few initials impressions from my second visit to the country. ...

• National Guard Troops Denied Benefits After Longest Deployment Of Iraq War
• U.S. Army secretary works to fix GI Bill for Minnesotans

• NYT: The Erosion of a Murder Case Against Marines in the Killing of 24 Iraqi Civilians
• Bruce Kesler: Haditha Is Final, Except For Justice For Murtha
• Bruce Kesler: NYT’s Excuses Itself From Haditha
• The New York Times Mourns the Loss of It's "Defining Atrocity"

• The Sunni Insurgency Has Become a "Disaster": An Estranged Former Ally Lashes Out, Accusing Al-Qaida of Torture and Murder in Diyala

• US kills 25 Special Groups fighters in Diyala

• The Syria strike: It was nukes
• Stuff we already (mostly) knew: Israeli air raid was delayed by U.S. for months

• The Goose Creek Two: Megahed reportedly researched high-powered rifles;
  brother accused of sending coded messages

• WFB: The War, in the Vernacular

• Unions supplying anti-war demonstrators at Walter Reed?

• Officials: French youths riot, attack police cars

• Don Surber: The week that was

• Jules Crittenden: Flagging Enthusiasm

• NY homeland security chief: Giving licenses to illegals will
  make it easier to ID them after they launch a terror attack

• Rudy knocks Hillary’s foreign policy

• Livening up the Presidential elections
  Bookworm: I complained yesterday about tightly constrained, programmed Presidential candidates. I can stop complaining now. We’re about to have a candidate who says anything that comes into her head, no matter how stupid. FogCity Journal, citing “reliable sources,” says that Cynthia McKinney is planning on throwing her hat into the ring as Green Party candidate for the Presidency: ...

Contributed by Bill Faith on October 6, 2007 at 10:16 AM | Permalink

Comments

Post a comment

Comments accept simple HTML for formatting and linking.

Comments are moderated and may not appear on the site immediately. Comments in violation of our comment policy will never appear on the site.

TrackBacks

TrackBack URL for this entry: http://www.typepad.com/services/trackback/6a00d83451e4ed69e200e5506f34a08833

Trackbacks are moderated and do not appear immediately. Trackbacks from posts that do not link to this post will be deleted and will never be visible here.

Listed below are links to weblogs that reference 2007.10.06 Politics and National Defense Roundup: