DU salute: To the silent protester at Rummy's speech today.

He stood stoically, in the middle of a mostly hostile audience, with an M-Peach button on. We have heard little of him. Thank you sir. And thanks to the other courageous protesters who took on the SecDef. We salute you all!

Today was Rumsfeld's November, 1965. The ghost of Norman Morrison and the ghosts of the Ia Drang paid Mr. Rumsfeld a surprise visit today. Rummy was shaken. Rummy was ashen. The security thugs, the smug banner-swipers, and the boo-birds were eclipsed by the ghosts of wars past. November 1965 was the beginning of the end for Robert Strange McNamara. Today Morrison's ghost re-appeared in a ball of fire in Rummy's mind and the screams of thousands of US and NVA from the first set-piece battle of Viet Nam rang in his ears. Today, doubt was etched in the brow of Mr. Rumsfeld.

:kick:

What happened to McNamara in November 1965?

First, on 11/2/65 a Quaker named Norman Morrison doused himself with gasoline and burned himself to death on the Pentagon steps outside McNamara's second floor window. McNamara was said to have seen it.

http://www.angelfire.com/nb/protest/morr.html

A couple of weeks later, the US Army's 1st Cav met crack NVA units near the Cambodian border (southwest of Pleiku) in the first really big set-piece battle of Viet Nam. The professionalism and ferocity (and levels of equipage) of the NVA at the Ia Drang's LZ X-RAY shook McNamara to the core. This battle was the meat of We Were Soldiers Once .. and Young by Gen. Hal Moore and Joe Galloway (movie with Mel Gibson).

http://www.lzxray.com/

Seems that those who deny reality are doomed to experience it.

I would like to think so, but somehow I doubt it.

And thanks for the post.

Remember TWTWTW? It was a popular TV show in 1962. That Was the Week That Was. That was this week!

Ironically, TWTWTW was a satirical sketch show (from the UK, of course!). It ran for two seasons before being pulled just before the 1964 general election (Johnson-Goldwater).

My sentiments exactly!

:toast:

holding the banners, the man standing in the middle of the auditorium and Mr. McGovern.

all the help it can get to expose and oust those that don't deserve our nation's highest offices.

The asshole fraternity-types in the row in front of her ripped the small banner from her hands. Freeze-frame that! Then they looked sheepish and guilty. IMHO they realized that they had just impeded free speech and it was sinking in. I love moments like that. God damn I love them. Money can't buy that shit for our side.

The other woman, older I would say, was man-handled by the thugs. I have watched that video several times and I am convinced that the big thug has her right arm in a leveraged position behind her back.

Bless them all.

they manhandled Cindy Sheehan also a few times, there is no reason for this. It was great to see those protestors, the day we keep silent democracy dies.

Thanks for speaking the truth to their lies.

I was sitting in special missions school at North Island (P2V) with orders to Viet Nam for September. Kent State kicked us in the gut. It was the turning point for most of the junior officer corps in the US Army/Navy in 1970. We were reeling from My Lai-4. The field-grades were getting "it" by the time I got to Nha Trang in September 1970.

the most news:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x1102973

CIA guy with guts! Thank you sir! Now, CHECK SIX!

....somebody needs to invoke the immortal words of Edmunde Burke!