Jim just sent along this link to a firsthand account of today’s Freedom Walk in Washington DC. Until I’d read it, I had no idea that pre-registered participants in the Department of Defense-orchestrated propaganda event were issued fake dogtags. Maybe it’s just me, but doesn’t that seem really distasteful? (It does seem right in line with our chickenhawk administration though.)
Just so you get a flavor of the event, here’s a clip from the story that ran in the Washington Post afterward:
One protester, Rik Silverman, 27, of Arlington said he was holding a sign that said, “Shame on You” when a marcher leaned over the railing and punched him in the stomach. A U.S. Park Police officer wrote a report but no arrests were made.
I got that link by way of a blog called Running Scared, where I also found the following transcript of a voicemail forwarded to Department of Commerce employees.
As we commemorate those who perished four years ago on September 11th and fell before those who would try and steal our freedom, I encourage you to march to help keep this nation free, to honor those fighting for freedom in Iraq, those trying to preserve the way of life of our great nation.
A great way to show your love of this great nation and to make your claim that freedom matters, I strongly encourage you to Walk for Freedom on Sunday, September 11th at the Pentagon.
I don’t suppose there’s any way to tell what percentage of those who attended were in fact government employees who had been strongly urged to attend.
12 Comments
I agree, the fake dogtags are disrespectful. Dog tags are not a fashion accessory. Heavens, do these people know the actual use for dog tags? You have them so that if you step on a land mine or are otherwise rendered unrecognizible, the medics can tell who you were.
Reminds me of when conservatives were wearing little band-aids with Purple Hearts drawn on them to illustrate how “minor” Kerry’s war wounds were.
Great video footage shot on the Freedom Walk by a progressive blogger asking war supporters to sign up for the military.
http://www.mykeru.com/weekly/2005_0911_0917.html#freedomwalk_video
I think it would be better if they issued older dogtags, the ones with the little notches in the bottom.
When I was in military school our science teacher, a vietnam vet, showed us his dogtags with the little notches. He explained that they were there to make it easier for a medics to kick the tag between your teeth before zipping up your body bag.
More from the French Freedom Walk – You’ll just love this
The Mark Maynard blog (your one stop shopping center for all things Mark Maynard) linked here and followed up with some really excellent material on the b…
I think they should have had a remote camera in Iraq that was wired to a gun somehow so that people could actually try to shoot insurgents from the Clint Black show… EXTREME CHICKENHAWKING!
Remote control robot warriors.
I’m pretty sure my dogtags had notches. I’ll have to find what drawer I buried them in. Fortunately they were never put to use. The idea of walking to support Freedom amuses me though. Especially with all of the death marches in history.
Yeah, why are they walking? I thought they supported the troops! Shouldn’t they have an SUV and Dualie-Quadcab parade instead?
My friend just sent me this:
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0909-36.htm
Its really long but it’s Bill Moyers so it’s really cohesive and plain spoken and good
I don’t know if it’s the same piece, but I was planning to link to a Moyer’s speech tonight, something he delivered on the 10th in New York.
I happened to be in DC when this was happening, and, for some reason, I decided to wake up this morning and search the internet for an explanation of what I’d seen. Thank you for being there for me.