Disposable Heroes

From time to time I see bumper stickers on cars that boldly declare, "Military families for Bush!" to which I just shake my head and wonder if these people will ever see the cartoon arrow with the flashing word SUCKER superimposed above, following their car in video game-like fashion.

From pinning the blame of Abu Garib on low-level Army Reserves such as Lynndie England, to closing Veterans Hospitals and cutting VA benefits, to never attending the funeral of a fallen soldier, to not providing adequate armor to our troops and responding to it only when it became national news, to allowing no-bid contractors like Halliburton serve dirty food to the troops, to using them as props in press conferences, this administration has been nothing but shameless when it comes to it's use of the military as pawns for their wars in Iraq.

While the administration may have their reasons and Karl Rove-molded responses to those allegations above, they really don't have much to say to the families of two of the most famous American soldiers in the middle East: Pat Tillman, and Jessica Lynch.

The Jessica Lynch Story

What the Pentagon told us:
A pretty, blonde soldier ambushed by the Iraqis, courageously firing until her ammo runs out, shot and stabbed and carried off by the enemy who, after taking time out to rape her, deposit her unconscious body in a hospital, where she is slapped around by evil medical staff, then, nine days later, is rescued in a daring, nighttime raid that is videotaped and can be shown repeatedly around the world and who, as soon as she recovers, will tell what it's like to be an all-American hero.

What really happened according to Lynch:
Jessica Lynch unfortunately never fired a shot. Her gun jammed. She was never sexually assaulted by anyone and was in fact knocked out cold after her Hummer crashed. The Iraqi staff at the hospital couldn't have been nicer. There was no resistance and no dramatic rescue. The hospital staff even gave Jessica's "rescuers" a key to get in the building.

What does Lynch have to say about this?
The Pentagon "used me to symbolize all this stuff," Lynch told a fawning Diane Sawyer on ABC's Primetime Live. "It's wrong."

The Pat Tillman Story

What the Pentagon told us:
Tillman encountered enemy fire, ordered his team to dismount and then maneuvered the Army Rangers up a hill near the enemy's location. As they crested the hill, Tillman directed his team into firing positions and personally provided suppressive fire. Tillman's voice was heard issuing commands to take the fight to the enemy forces.

What really happened according official reports:
Tillman's platoon had to split up because of a broken Humvee. Tillman's half went ahead toward the town. When the second half of the platoon followed through the canyon, it reportedly came under enemy fire. Tillman grabbed another Ranger and the Afghan soldier and got into position to lend fire support. When the second half of the platoon rounded a corner, they mistook the trio as foes.

Pat Tillman was killed by friendly fire. His last words, according to official pentagon documents quoting the Ranger nearest to him were, quoted him as saying, "Cease Fire! Cease Fire!Friendlies!" The documents also show that officers made erroneous initial reports that Tillman was killed by enemy fire, destroyed critical evidence and initially concealed the truth from Tillman's brother, also an Army Ranger, who was near the attack on April 22, 2004, but did not witness it.

What does Tilman's Family have to say about this?

Patrick Tillman Sr., a San Jose lawyer, said he is furious about what he found in the volumes of witness statements and investigative documents the Army has given to the family. He decried what he calls a "botched homicide investigation" and blames high-ranking Army officers for presenting "outright lies" to the family and to the public. "After it happened, all the people in positions of authority went out of their way to script this," Patrick Tillman said. "They purposely interfered with the investigation, they covered it up. I think they thought they could control it, and they realized that their recruiting efforts were going to go to hell in a handbasket if the truth about his death got out. They blew up their poster boy."

Just to be clear right from the get go, considering conservatives take it upon themselves to be the Patriot Police and accuse anyone who debates, questions, or thinks about government policy during a time of war to be traitorous - because god forbid we raise our voice when a family member dies - I'd like to make the following statement: I think all voluntary and professionally enlisted service men and women, in the military, in law enforcement, in the capacities of medical and fire should be appreciated by all of us, given that they serve with honor and integrity - and I feel the same way about the families going through it with them. Sometimes their jobs are thankless and just slapping a magnet on your car to say you support them is literally the least you can do.

Which is why I feel when that support is truly abused - ESPECIALLY by those who cower behind these servicepeople and use them as patriotic shields and invoke their names purely for political gain - it really pisses me off.

So while the Right-wing of the Republican party is outraged - absolutely beside themselves - over artists exercising free speech, you really aren't going to hear much from their side about the Pentagon lying to the press and the public about how Pat Tilman died.

And that's precisely the point, and what makes liberals want to lash out at conservatives. The Right focuses on acts against the symbols of America and the exercises of free speech; flag-burning and Bill Maher's show are perfect examples. What makes the left react, on the other hand, is the abuse or denial of the freedoms those very symbols represent. We say, "Go ahead, burn that cloth. We won't lose one single Constitutionally protected freedom because of it...but don't you dare censor free thought."

I happen to agree with that philosophy. One of my coworkers doesn't have a single American flag on his car - but he volunteered at his local polling center this past election, and for that he showed his patriotism by participating in democracy, rather than through a $1.39 donation to Wal-Mart.

Of course, both can be done at the same time. It's just that the Right is so quick to call someone unpatriotic just because they disagree with them, or voted against a sitting president which is not only completely misguided, it dismisses the sacrifices that individual does make for their country - and places a higher value on the actions that are much more shallow by comparison.

Look at what the swift boat liars did to John Kerry.

Look at what Karl Rove did to Max Cleland, who lost 3 of his limbs in Vietnam being compared by to Osama bin Laden by those on the right simply because he's a Democrat.

Look at how Rove and Bush treated John McCain during the 2000 primaries.

Yet somehow Karl Rove outing a CIA gets a free pass.

Oh, and here's a quiz for all of you out there who, like sheep to the angry white God of the Republican party, still get brainwashed into thinking there is actually a liberal media bias.

Please identify which of the storylines below got 1,500% more media coverage than the other choice.

1). The false stories intentionally painting Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch as war heroes
2). The stories exposing that media coverage of choice #1 was inaccurate

I'll let you think about this one for a while. See if you can come up with the answer before Jessica Lynch gets her apology letter from Don Rumsfeld.