BeggarsCanBeChoosers.com
Monday, February 11, 2008
Right-Wing Blogs Oblivious To Troop Deaths In Iraq
By MARC MCDONALD
Anyone who has ever spent any time in the creepy parallel universe known as the right-wing blogosphere has likely noticed that these sites tend to share one thing in common. Here, you'll find a complete and total absence of any mention of our troops who've fallen on the battlefield in Iraq.
As far as the right-wing blogosphere is concerned, troop deaths in Iraq simply don't exist.
There's a great deal of bluster and jingoism on these sites about "supporting the troops." But when it comes to the slightest mention of any wounded or dead soldiers, you simply won't find it in the right-wing blogosphere.
This is a stark contrast to the progressive blogosphere. Here, you'll routinely find mentions of troop casualties (along with regular calls to get the troops out of harm's way). You'll also find calls to fix the mess at Walter Reed and to improve the paltry benefits that our troops receive.
Five U.S. soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings on Friday. And yet, if you visited much of the right-wing blogosphere, there was zero mention of these fallen heroes. Nor, of course, was there any mention of the ongoing horrific violence over the weekend in Iraq (which included a car bomb that killed at least 33 people).
Why, exactly, do right-wing blogs and sites completely ignore troop deaths? Do they simply figure that it's not important news?
If that's the case, then let's take a look at some examples of the sort of news that the right-wing blogosphere did consider important on Sunday:
It's clear that the right-wing blogosphere has embraced the Dick Cheney view of the war in Iraq. Victory is just around the corner. The insurgents are in their last throes. And as for the ongoing U.S. troop deaths, well, let's distance ourselves from that uncomfortable topic (as much as Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney distanced himself from serving his country during the Vietnam War).
These days, about the only time one ever does encounter a mention of the troops in the right-wing blogosphere, it's usually in the form of a vicious attack on our nation's war heroes (from John Kerry to John Murtha to Wesley Clark to Max Cleland).
Anyone who has ever spent any time in the creepy parallel universe known as the right-wing blogosphere has likely noticed that these sites tend to share one thing in common. Here, you'll find a complete and total absence of any mention of our troops who've fallen on the battlefield in Iraq.
As far as the right-wing blogosphere is concerned, troop deaths in Iraq simply don't exist.
There's a great deal of bluster and jingoism on these sites about "supporting the troops." But when it comes to the slightest mention of any wounded or dead soldiers, you simply won't find it in the right-wing blogosphere.
This is a stark contrast to the progressive blogosphere. Here, you'll routinely find mentions of troop casualties (along with regular calls to get the troops out of harm's way). You'll also find calls to fix the mess at Walter Reed and to improve the paltry benefits that our troops receive.
Five U.S. soldiers were killed in two roadside bombings on Friday. And yet, if you visited much of the right-wing blogosphere, there was zero mention of these fallen heroes. Nor, of course, was there any mention of the ongoing horrific violence over the weekend in Iraq (which included a car bomb that killed at least 33 people).
Why, exactly, do right-wing blogs and sites completely ignore troop deaths? Do they simply figure that it's not important news?
If that's the case, then let's take a look at some examples of the sort of news that the right-wing blogosphere did consider important on Sunday:
- Flopping Aces: A tiresome, predictable attack on Nancy Pelosi for daring to question whether the surge is really working. (Actually, she's right: the surge is a fiasco). Hilariously, the wingnuts at this site call Pelosi "simple-minded"---this, from a blog that is still spinning ridiculous yarns, trying to link Saddam and Al Qaeda.
- The Drudge Report: A glance at this site on Sunday showed that tabloid crap about Britney Spears and Heather Mills is apparently more important than news of our fallen troops.
- RushLimbaugh.com: No mention of troop deaths here, from the Fat One. However, he does find room on his site to peddle his exploitative "Adopt-A-Soldier" scheme to sell paid memberships to his site. (One might think that a fantastically wealthy mega-millionaire like Limbaugh could afford to give away free memberships to the troops that he claims to support).
- Instapundit.com: Like a lot of right-wing propaganda blogs, if you spend much time here, you might be convinced that the War in Iraq is actually a big success after all and the only problem is that the treasonous Liberal Media won't report it. Sadly, though, you won't see even a tiny mention of the on-going horrific violence and troop deaths.
It's clear that the right-wing blogosphere has embraced the Dick Cheney view of the war in Iraq. Victory is just around the corner. The insurgents are in their last throes. And as for the ongoing U.S. troop deaths, well, let's distance ourselves from that uncomfortable topic (as much as Dick "Five Deferments" Cheney distanced himself from serving his country during the Vietnam War).
These days, about the only time one ever does encounter a mention of the troops in the right-wing blogosphere, it's usually in the form of a vicious attack on our nation's war heroes (from John Kerry to John Murtha to Wesley Clark to Max Cleland).
Labels: chickenhawks, Iraq War, right-wing lies
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A lot of these right-wing blogs are written by some scary extremist people. These Kool Aid drinkers give me the chills as they cheer on Bush's war based on lies, as well as his use of torture, his illegal wiretaps and his torching of the Constitution.
And as far as I'm concerned, the "moderate" Republicans are just as contemptible....after all, they are enabling the extremists.
And as far as I'm concerned, the "moderate" Republicans are just as contemptible....after all, they are enabling the extremists.
# posted by 
: 10:06 PM
: 10:06 PM
I prefer to live in reality land. I gave up on the wingers years ago. It's better for my blood pressure that way.
I did have a run-in with some idiots in a local restaurant who complained "Osama" might be president. When I glared and said "his name is Obama", they went into their whole "he's a secret Muslim" crap and rushed out the door still screaming at me. I just shook my head and went back to my lunch, but it really upsets me that these assholes can't even be bothered with facts.
I did have a run-in with some idiots in a local restaurant who complained "Osama" might be president. When I glared and said "his name is Obama", they went into their whole "he's a secret Muslim" crap and rushed out the door still screaming at me. I just shook my head and went back to my lunch, but it really upsets me that these assholes can't even be bothered with facts.
Are there any moderate Republicans left? I thought they went on the endangered species list years ago and finally went extinct during the reign of Der Monkey Fueher.
I have a weekly "Friday by the Numbers" on my blog, One Pissed Off Veteran, where I have a running total of the dead in Iraq, along with how many days it's been since the invasion, since Mission Accomplished, etc.
The wingers drop by occasionally to snark at me, but they can't argue with the numbers -- except to denigrate the number of dead Iraqis as a result of the illegal occupation.
It's as if those dead Americans are invisible, just another pointless statistic.
I am a Vietnam veteran and I am highly pissed at them for devaluing the deaths of my brothers in arms.
I have a weekly "Friday by the Numbers" on my blog, One Pissed Off Veteran, where I have a running total of the dead in Iraq, along with how many days it's been since the invasion, since Mission Accomplished, etc.
The wingers drop by occasionally to snark at me, but they can't argue with the numbers -- except to denigrate the number of dead Iraqis as a result of the illegal occupation.
It's as if those dead Americans are invisible, just another pointless statistic.
I am a Vietnam veteran and I am highly pissed at them for devaluing the deaths of my brothers in arms.
Hi Farnsworth, thanks for stopping by. You do a great job with your blog. I enjoy the "Friday by the Numbers" feature. Speaking of Iraqi casualities, this piece shows how the truth of this matter has been obscured by the right-wing media (with the MSM joining in, as well).
Hi Donna, thanks for your comment. Yes, I'm sure that we've only seen the beginning of the whole "Obama is a Muslim" smears that the right-wing noise machine will endlessly repeat as we get closer to the election. It's going to get ugly.
Casualties in wars opted to participate in by Democrats: 637,479 in four wars
Casualties in wars opted to participate in by Republicans: 7,223 in three wars.
Casualties in wars opted to participate in by Republicans: 7,223 in three wars.
This is one of my biggest pet peeves.
The Surge was also nominally supposed to buy time for political progress which really hasn't happened.
Add in the familiar discounting of Iraqi civilian deaths and the 4.5 million displaced.
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The Surge was also nominally supposed to buy time for political progress which really hasn't happened.
Add in the familiar discounting of Iraqi civilian deaths and the 4.5 million displaced.
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