2015 is the 50th anniversary of the American deployment of ground troops to Vietnam -- oh, sure, there were "advisors" well before that, but March 8, 1965 was when we first sent in 3,500 Marines.
Celebrating the vets without celebrating the war was something we didn't know how to do. The Memorial finally managed to do it (which is why it severely pissed off the wingnuts of the day.) I lucked out (draft number 350 is lodged in my brain), but I know some of the names on that wall. The V.A. has always seemed to be more of an expensive gesture than a real commitment, with dedicated employees working under indifferent management. "Wanted: pasionate bureaucrats" is maybe asking for too much, but some of those slugs really need their asses whipped.
I can remember watching the "Today" show during breakfast. They would broadcast the killed in action number on the screen.
I wonder if GWB would have had the same "success" had the morning news done the same thing during the Iraq "police action"?
I don't mind blaming LBJ for Vietnam. It was his fuckup in a big way.
But the fact that we thought Hubert Humphrey or Clean Gene McCarthy were better alternative candidates than the Master of the Senate was a moment that will haunt the American left forever. I remember we all cheered when LBJ announced that he wouldn't run for reelection. In hindsight, we were a bunch of complete assholes (OK, I wasn't voting age yet, but still.)
Me, I think I'd give the #1 spot to the secret bombing of Cambodia, which led to the complete destabilization of that country, and the rise of Pol Pot.
Or maybe the bombing of Hanoi - a city full of civilians.
Or Cointelpro, or the Phoenix program.
Or ... gosh, so many good options to choose from.
But I'll join you in voting for Fitzgerald and Karnow.
North Vietnamese, yes?
Did you ask about his name?
Celebrating the vets without celebrating the war was something we didn't know how to do. The Memorial finally managed to do it (which is why it severely pissed off the wingnuts of the day.) I lucked out (draft number 350 is lodged in my brain), but I know some of the names on that wall. The V.A. has always seemed to be more of an expensive gesture than a real commitment, with dedicated employees working under indifferent management. "Wanted: pasionate bureaucrats" is maybe asking for too much, but some of those slugs really need their asses whipped.
JFK had one redeeming feature -- he wasn't Richard Nixon.
Prolly the guys that did the first O-care website.
Soundtrack composed and performed by the Doors? Oh wait, that came a few years later, 67ish ... my bad.
I can remember watching the "Today" show during breakfast. They would broadcast the killed in action number on the screen.
I wonder if GWB would have had the same "success" had the morning news done the same thing during the Iraq "police action"?
Nope!
And those quislings in Congress.
That <a href="http:\/\/www.goodreads.com\/book\/show\/3698.The_Quiet_American" target="_blank">quiet fellow in the corner</a>?
BRILLIANT idea, BTW.
American Exceptionalism at its finest.
They were understandably afraid he&#039;d sue them for libel if they posted anything about him beyond his name, rank, and serial number.
Pentagon info search doesn&#039;t work?
Pfft. It&#039;s a feature, not a glitch.
I don&#039;t mind blaming LBJ for Vietnam. It was his fuckup in a big way.
But the fact that we thought Hubert Humphrey or Clean Gene McCarthy were better alternative candidates than the Master of the Senate was a moment that will haunt the American left forever. I remember we all cheered when LBJ announced that he wouldn&#039;t run for reelection. In hindsight, we were a bunch of complete assholes (OK, I wasn&#039;t voting age yet, but still.)
Too late, sadly.
Not the biggest, but certainly terrible.
Me, I think I&#039;d give the #1 spot to the secret bombing of Cambodia, which led to the complete destabilization of that country, and the rise of Pol Pot.
Or maybe the bombing of Hanoi - a city full of civilians.
Or Cointelpro, or the Phoenix program.
Or ... gosh, so many good options to choose from.
But I&#039;ll join you in voting for Fitzgerald and Karnow.