BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Is John McCain Really A Hero?

One of the primary reason that this nation finds itself in the dire condition that we currently face, is that we’re extremely sloppy and less than precise in our political rhetoric. One example of that is how we fall all over ourselves in an attempt to honor John McCain as a military hero.

The fact is, while there is no doubt that Sen. McCain paid a heavy price during his service in the military, that doesn’t make him a hero, it simply makes him one among millions of military personnel over the years that have placed themselves in harms way in defense of this country. The only difference between McCain and any other person that’s ever raised his hand in defense of this country is that he was unlucky enough to be captured–and that in itself does not make you a hero-- it simply makes you a victim of war.

A hero is one who acts with nobility of purpose, and selflessly sacrifices his life, or places his life in imminent danger to promote the interests of the nation or his comrades. That doesn’t define McCain, and by that honor being hoisted upon him by his political supporters, it diminishes the sacrifice of the true hero, who with little forethought, threw his body on a live grenade to protect the lives of those he’d grown to love.

The essence of such a man, a true hero, involves character--selflessness, courage, a love of country and his fellow man. I’m sorry, but I don’t see those qualities in McCain. When I look at McCain I see a man immersed in his own self-interest--a man who lacked the character to stand by his first wife when she needed him most, even though she stood by him during his five years of imprisonment; a man who publically disrespected his current wife; a man who has been willing to exploit the sacrifices of true heroes for personal gain; and a man who’s willing to do or say whatever has to be done or said to promote his own interests. That’s not a hero, that’s an opportunist.

Take, for example, his lack of loyalty to fellow veterans. The Wall Street Journal reported that "Sen. John McCain used Memorial day to defend his opposition to a Senate bill that vastly expands education benefits for veterans. The bill passed the Senate last week 75-22 over the objections of Sen. McCain, and President Bush, both of whom argued the benefits were too generous and likely to discourage reenlistment."

In response to his opposition to the bill, McCain said, "At a time when the United States military is fighting in two wars, and as we’re finally, finally are beginning the long overdue and very urgent necessity of increasing the size of the Army and Marine Corps, one study estimates that Senator Webb’s bill will reduce retention rates by 16 percent." The Washington Wire reports that he went on to say that "he was particularly concerned that educational benefits would reduce the number of noncommissioned officers, which he called the "backbone of the all the services."

Thus, McCain is essentially saying that it’s imprudent to enhance the educational benefits of our troops because if we provide our poor and middle class troops with the opportunity for better lives, we wouldn’t have anyone to fight our wars. So the obvious question is this–why not ask the upper class relatives of Bush, Cheney, and yourself to pitch in and give the nation a hand? You say this is a national emergency. Aren’t the children of upper class and privileged individuals a part of this nation as well? Due to the risk of creeping senility, I won’t wait for an answer.

Then there’s the issue of protecting our troops from the excesses of grievous war profiteering.

According to an article by HalliburtonWatch.org, a website dedicated to monitoring the performance of the Halliburton Corp., a corporation headed by Dick Cheney prior to becoming Vice President, and the largest recipient of no-bid government contracts in Iraq, during a hearing, held on June 27, 2005 by the Democratic Policy Committee, "Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) released a previously-secret military audit criticizing an extra $1.4 billion in ‘questioned’ and ‘unsupported’ expenditures by Halliburton's KBR subsidiary in Iraq. The audit was conducted by the Pentagon's Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA). It determined that KBR had $1 billion in ‘questioned’ expenses in Iraq (i.e. expenses which military auditors consider "unreasonable") and $442 million in ‘unsupported’ expenses (i.e. expenses which military auditors have determined contain no receipt or any explanation on how the expenses were disbursed)."

Then in a September 20, 2005 article, the group reported that "Outrage overflowed on Capitol Hill this summer when members of Congress learned that Halliburton's dining halls in Iraq had repeatedly served spoiled food to unsuspecting troops. ‘This happened quite a bit,’ testified Rory Mayberry, a former food manager with Halliburton's KBR subsidiary."

In addition, Former KBR employees and water quality specialists, Ben Carter and Ken May, told HalliburtonWatch that "KBR knowingly exposes troops and civilians to contaminated water from Iraq's Euphrates River. One internal KBR email provided to HalliburtonWatch says that, for ‘possibly a year,’ the level of contamination at one camp was two times the normal level for untreated water."

One would think that a war hero and comrade in arms would go ballistic in response to such allegations, but Senate Republicans killed an amendment that would have established a special investigation into war profiteering by Halliburton and other companies by a vote of 53 to 44, while Sen. John McCain sat second in seniority, and silently, on the Armed Services committee.

So John McCain, a hero? I think not. Just as I don’t want to diminish Sen. McCain’s suffering on behalf of this country, neither do I want to diminish the sacrifices of this nation’s true heroes in the furtherance of a cheap political gimmick that will only serve to send more of their number to an early grave.

I realize I’m going to get a lot of flack for this–for actually saying out loud what many fellow vets are whispering in their hearts–but bring it on. It’s bad enough that we’ve allowed a bunch of draft dodgers to destroy our families and send loyal Americans to early, and undeserved graves, but now, to allow one of their accomplices to stand among these national heroes for profit while their families suffer, and they lie in eternal repose, that’s a little to much for this former Marine to take.

An old grunt once told me there was no such thing as a former Marine. I see now that he was right, because I feel a churning in my gut that says I’m honor bound to prepare for one last battle-- shaky joints and all.

Semper Fi!

Eric L. Wattree

wattree.blogspot.com

The Crabs Are On The Move

Well, they’re at it again, y’all. A small minority of Black people are hard at work doing everything they can to undermine the Black community. This time it’s in the guise of trying to drag down Barack Obama by promoting Cynthia McKinney’s dead-on-arrival candidacy with the Green Party.

They’re touting Ms. McKinney’s candidacy like it’s some kind of intellectual fashion statement on Black independence, or Black people’s right to speak, when all it actually represents is the same old "crabs in a barrel" mentality that we’ve been dealing with for the past four hundred years.

But of course, they’d say, "You people are treating Barack Obama like he’s some kind of Messiah. He has flaws too, so why shouldn’t Black people have the right to disagree?" In response, let me be the first to concede that they’re absolutely right on both counts–Obama’s definitely not the Messiah, and Black people have every right in the world to disagree–but what sense does it make to cut our own throat in the process?

In an interview with Ms. McKinney in "Your Black Politics," staff writer, Tolu Olorunda, indicates, "For many, the name "Cynthia McKinney" is synonymous with loaded-descriptions such as "progressive," "activist," "relentless," "fighter," "frank," and "courageous."Cynthia McKinney has been described by political-prisoner and internationally-renowned journalist, Mumia Abu Jamal, as "bold," "outspoken," and a "woman of substance." I’d add two other descriptors to that–questionable judgement, and voted out of office. In fact, she gained nationwide fame for her poor judgement.

Ms. McKinney represented Georgia’s 4th District in the House of Representatives. On the morning of March 29, 2006, she entered the Longworth House Office Building by going around the security detectors. Members of congress are given a special lapel pin that allows them to do so, but on this morning Ms. McKinney wasn’t wearing her pin. Thereafter, Ms. McKinney allegedly proceeded westward down the ground floor hallway and about halfway down the hallway was grabbed by United States Capitol Police officer Paul McKenna, who states that he had been calling after her-- "Ma'am, Ma'am!" Reportedly, McKinney then struck the officer. Two days later, Officer McKenna filed a police report claiming that McKinney had struck "his chest with a closed fist."

On April 6, 2006, Ms. McKinney rendered a Public apology on the floor of the House of Representatives, indicating that "There should not have been any physical contact in this incident." Then on April 23, 2006 during an interview, she became frustrated with the questions she was being asked, and in a Jackson-like ‘hot mike’ moment she called her aide, Coz Carson, "a fool." After realizing what she’d done, she said, "Anything that is captured by your audio ... That is captured while I'm not seated in this chair is off the record and is not permissible to be used ... Is that understood?" But of course, her warning was ignored and the segment was aired by CBS.

While both of these incidents are indicative of a woman who lacks a firm grasp on her emotions, they are the exact qualities that one would seek out if the motive was to undermine the presidential campaign of a Barack Obama. Her behavior tends to say, "I don’t give a damn–I’ll go for broke against these suckers!" Her attitude is both, in complete contrast to the reasoned and measured approach of Barack Obama, and at the same time, reflects the anger and frustration of many who feel disenfranchised by the system. So she’s the perfect candidate if you want to appeal to the fist shakers.

But there’s only one problem with Ms. McKinney’s approach–it appeals to the emotions rather than common sense. While it may very well be cathartic to throw one’s fist in the AI,r that kind of behavior doesn’t win elections. So for those who would waste their vote on Cynthia McKinney--the very vote that many have died to secure–the question should be the following: When all the smoke has cleared, and this election has been relegated to history, what do you want to be left with, a tired arm from shaking your fist in the air, or a president, who could possibly change the course of the world, and provide a better way of life for you and your children? Thus, it simply does not make sense to take the position that "If Obama doesn’t give me everything I want, I’m going to help McCain to win--who will certainly give me nothing.

McKinney indicated in Bro. Olorunda’s interview that she supports reparations and the freeing of all "political prisoners." That may sound good to many, but what chance do you think she has of winning an election based on such an agenda? After the way the Bush regime has ravished the U.S. Treasury, we’ll be lucky to get social security, much less reparations. And how are we to determine what constitutes a "political prisoner." According to some, every Black man in the joint is a political prisoner. So how many White folks do you think are going to vote to swing the prison gates open? In fact, never mind that–how many Black folks would vote for such a measure?

If we’re dumb enough to let John McCain win this election, he’ll be able to complete the process of creating an entirely conservative Supreme Court. That could send Black people back to the days of Jim Crow and beyond. They could overturn Brown v The Board of Education, Roe v Wade, The 1964 Civil Rights Act, and even The Voter’s Rights Act. And according to the ACLU in a statement entitle "No Laughing Matter," they say, "Attorney General Michael Mukasey is demanding that Congress issue a new declaration of war so that anyone that this president or the next one declares to be an "enemy combatant" can be held indefinitely without a trial. The new declaration of war would make the entire globe — including the United States itself — a "battlefield" where the president decides who will be locked up forever."

So take the time to lookup the term "Cointelpro," then ask yourself, why is a handful of Black activists fighting so hard against Obama, in spite of the horror that John McCain represents? Allowing McCain to win this election as an act of protest against Obama would be the logical equivalent of blowing your brains out to prevent the sniffles. Think about that before you decide to throw away your vote.

There are many people–both in, and outside the Republican Party–who have a vested interest in Obama losing this election. But while I want to clearly go on record that I’m not implying that either Ms. McKinney or any of the vast majority of people who support Ms.McKinney are Judas--I’m sure that most of her supporters are very honorable people who have simply been misguided--let the record also reflect my position that Judas definitely has his hand in this situation somewhere, and you can bet the ranch on that.

Eric L. Wattree

Wattree.blogspot.com