Photo of the Day: November 27, 2009
Car Pushed Into Anacostia River By Train
Morning Roundup: Black Friday Edition
Devendra Banhart @ 9:30 Club
Saturday Thanks Don't End At Thanksgiving Photo: November 28, 2009
For those out there who hate Thievery Corporation and Ted Leo but love freedom, the Pentagon is offering an alternative to Operation Ceasefire. None other than country music legend Clint Black will headline a concert in support of the military and Sept. 11 victims on the four-year anniversary of the attacks.
The concert, named "America Supports You," will follow up the Department of Defense’s two-mile Freedom Walk from the Pentagon to Arlington National Cemetery to the Reflecting Pool, where Mr. Black will be on hand to delight the crowd with such tunes as “Nothing's News” and “Put Yourself In My Shoes.”
And because the early bird catches the worm, the first 1,000 Freedom Walk participants who arrive at the Pentagon South parking lot between 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. will receive an official America Supports You campaign lapel pin. What could be better than that?
The walk would not be possible without in-kind support of Stars and Stripes newspaper, Pentagon Federal Credit Union, Lockheed Martin and Subway. Several local news outlets have jumped into the fray: Washington Post, WTOP, ABC/WJLA-TV Channel 7 and News Channel 8. Is it just us or are these media folks teetering toward partisanship?
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I liked it better back when it was the French Walk. Sigh.
does anyone else find the fact that you have to register to participate in this a little creepy? or find the whole thing a little creepy?
It's incredibly creepy. And it's sad that opposition to the Iraq war is cast as opposition to the well-being of our troops, or even as opposition to American strength. You want to support the troops? Elect a president who isn't a war-mongering chowderhead. And keep Rumsfeld miles away from any war planning that might be taking place.
I have an idea...why doesn't the Pentagon use the money they were going to spend on this propoganda to pay for body armor and armor humvees for our troops in Iraq?
Why the hell are my tax dollars being used for this?
I didn't realize it was time to start celebrating the 9-11 attacks, with hoedowns, no less. If you hate country do you hate freedom? If you hate idiocy do you hate freedom? Asses.
even worse, this falls on the day i plan to drive a uhaul truck out of the city, no doubt making the entire episode even more of a pain that it was going to be. curse you, enormous government-sponsored-military-supporting marches. CURSE YOU. why doesn't america support me?
Kudos to DCist for being one of first information outlets to put two & two together....
from today's Washington Post : Antiwar Activists Decry Media's Role in Promoting Pentagon Event
choice clips:
"No common person will see this as not taking sides in this war," said Adam Eidinger, a promoter of the antiwar concert being called Operation Ceasefire. "This is clearly support for the war because it's being organized by the U.S. military."
...
But the peace activists said the Pentagon event can't help but be political. "For the Pentagon to be instigating what is essentially a support-the-troops rally off of September 11 is offensive," Eidinger said. "Because they're promoting a lie, that the war in Iraq had anything to do with September 11."
9/11, for those of us who were there, and many others who were affected - is a day of mourning. Maybe, to you, it was the day our country lost its innocence. Maybe, to you, it was the day your mother/father/brother/sister/friend was killed in a terrorist attack. I don't think it is a day to celebrate unless you were someone desperately looking for a reason to invade Iraq. I see nothing to celebrate here. And somehow I doubt that the majority of those killed or injured were/are Clint Black fans, esp. those effected by the Towers.
Why do I get the feeling that two groups of info-war planners in the Pentagon found themselves sitting next to each other in the cafeteria? "We have a massive propaganda rally planned to energize the president's base, but no 'reason' to have it. Sigh." "We have to plan something for 9/11 and are completely stumped!" "Hey buddy, you got your peanut butter in my chocolate... Wait, I have an idea!"
I love the last line in this post--oh no the media might be turning into pro-war partisans because they help sponsor a walk that celebrates and honors our military forces stationed overseas and the innocents who died on 9/11.
God forbid they stand behind their country and the people who protect it.
Also, Adam Eidinger is a professional attention-whore that I am real tired of. That guy never saw an issue or event that he couldn't use to generate publicity for himself and get his name in the papers or on tv.
it's pretty clear that this march is a form of propoganda, and it's really not the media's job to join up with the government to disseminate that kind of stuff. i say this as a person with several family members who served/are serving in the military, including my little brother. it's not the idea of honoring victims of terrorism/supporting the military that is repulsive - not at all - but mixing the two together in what seems to be a thinly-veiled pro-war rally just seems wrong to me.
Perhaps you could clarify how the Freedom Walk is propaganda? According to their website, it is "an event on September 11 that allows citizens the opportunity to remember the victims of September 11, honor our veterans past and present, and celebrate our freedom."
How do you propose we honor our veterans and those murdered on 9/11? Time and again servicemembers stationed overseas have expressed their appreciation for the displays of support put on here in the U.S. You would deny them that?
How should we honor 9/11 victims and our brave G.I.s?
Oh, young lad, there are so many ways that would be better than the faux-country of Clint Black and a Pentagon orchestrated march with sunshine patriots like Sean Hannity and Ollie North.
The terrorist attacks on 9/11/01 were a direct attack on the United States by an extremist movement that opposes things that the U.S. does in the real world, not an attack on "freedom." They hate the fact that we support the Saudi regime and the fact that we station our troops there, they hate our support of Israel, and now, due to the current President's brilliance, they hate us because of our involvement in Iraq. Their hatred of these policies doesn't mean we should change them, but we should at least have the sense to recognize that empty rhetoric about how "they hate our freedom" is just that, empty rhetoric.
Troops in Iraq aren't protecting America's freedom, they're (arguably) protecting Iraq's. There is already a day to honor "veterans, past and present," it's called Veterans Day and it's a Federal holiday. The only way to justify the joint focus of this event is by linking 9/11 and "supporting the troops" (which is automatically defined as "saying nothing bad about the war") together with all this talk about freedom, and it all adds up to fairly blatant pro-Administration propaganda in my eyes.
Mourning and honoring the victims of 9/11, and celebrating the real heroes who saved lives that day, are entirely legitimate exercises. A government sponsored event or vigil would be totally appropriate. Turning that acknowledgement into a pro-military rally and country music concert is the part that's suspect, and
The best display of support for our troops, and I think the most appreciated, would be to have them, you know, NOT THERE. The pentagon supports our troops like the owner of a bird in a cock fight. Sure, you want him to live and win, but christ, you're the reason he's in danger to begin with.
That said, this operation ceasefire things seems a little late in the game. If Bush had an exit strategy, he'd be using it right now. Iraq is a mess and it would be lunacy to just pack up and ship out until the situation is at least partially under control.
In other news, I took a freedom poop this morning, so rest easy. The terrorists haven't won yet.
Also, Adam Eidinger is a professional attention-whore that I am real tired of. That guy never saw an issue or event that he couldn't use to generate publicity for himself and get his name in the papers or on tv.
Being the owner of a successful progressive public relations firm means that it's his job to be an "attention whore," and to generate publicity surrounding an event or issue that would otherwise go unnoticed. You might think its self-aggrandizing but its his job.
Well it appears to be both.
I called my father, a Vietnam vet, and told him about this little march doohickey. He said he'd rather have Bush and Congress stop cutting VA benefits as an honor to America's vets past and present then have a march.
The American Friends Service Committee has launched a campaign criticizing the Washington Post's decision to co-sponsor the Department of Defense's 9-11 Freedom Walk in DC.
More info at http://afsc.org/iraq/washpost.htm