Yeah, Because Nobody Saw This Coming

I read press releases like this from the Disabled American Veterans: (emph mine)

Chairman Buyer recently announced that veterans service organizations will no longer have the opportunity to present testimony before a joint hearing of the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees.

"The tradition of legislative presentations by veterans service organizations dates back to at least the 1950s. And the timing of this announcement -- just before Veterans Day -- could not have been worse," said DAV National Commander Paul W. Jackson.

Just a note on the timing.  This isn't even close to the first time BushCo has pulled such a distasteful trick:

The timing of President Bush's placement of Charles     Pickering on the federal bench coincided with the beginning of the Dr.     Martin Luther King holiday weekend. Because Pickering's opponents maintain     that he has a troubling record on civil rights, many advocates saw his     appointment as an affront to the civil rights movement.

But back to the Disabled American Veterans:

For several decades now, these joint hearings have been held each year to allow the elected leaders of veterans groups to discuss their organization's legislative agenda and foremost concerns with the lawmakers who have jurisdiction over federal veterans programs. Senators and Representatives who serve on those committees also get the rare opportunity to address the hundreds of constituent members from these organizations' who make the annual pilgrimage to Capitol Hill.

It's horrible, sure.  But then I remember stuff like this from Kerry's campaign speech to the VFW convention in Cincinnati:

While some of the graying men whose hats are covered with pins commemorating their combat tours slapped "Veterans for Kerry" stickers on their shirts, others bitterly recalled Mr. Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony, in which he described atrocities by American soldiers.  About half the veterans in the front part of the auditorium remained seated during ovations after Mr. Kerry's introduction and conclusion, a contrast to the warm reception Mr. Bush received in the same hall two days before.

A heckler shouted "Liar!" several times, and some of Mr. Kerry's lines received only polite applause.

And I'm overwhelmed with an urge to blame the victim.  The stupid, gullible, short-sighted victim.

 

Comments

[Chris Clarke]

See, now, it's posts like this that are the reason I love reading your stuff. You don't run from the complexities. Kudos.