Charles Schumer (D-NY) and Vietnam

The humble Senator from NY


There are far too many reasons to deny being a New Yorker these days. From a Victory Caucus stand point, the top two reasons aren't really reasons, but names; Schumer and Clinton. Watching them muddle through their self-made minefield on the Iraq War was entertaining for a while but now it is bordering on shameful. Both this weekend have gotten press, Hillary for stating that redeployment needs to start within 90 days or Congress will start legislating and Schumer stating that even with this defeat of the non-binding resolution in the Senate, the Democrats will be "relentless" proposing resolution after resolution "just like in the days of Vietnam."

Now, if you stop by here often, it is quite clear that I know Vietnam. The simple fact that Schumer would correlate Iraq with Vietnam shows just how little he knows and understands about this quasi fictitious war. Now, I know it was a real war, I use the word fictitious because few know the real Vietnam. Many take their understanding of Vietnam from Hollywood and the likes of Oliver Stone or even worse, the ramblings of John Forbes Kerry as he systematically used these heroes as a springboard to his political career. For more fun on Kerry, I would suggest visiting this site.

The NY Times provides a Reuters piece that conveniently leaves out the Vietnam reference. In fact, I have been hard pressed to find the initial source of this quote. If anyone has it, please forward it to me. The best I could find was this article by McClatchy Newspapers.

So, at this point, we can tentatively come to two conclusions 1) it was a misquote or 2) the MSM has collectively decided to exclude that portion of the quote in the hopes that it will become dormant. Knowing Schumer like I do, I tend to believe the latter rather than the former. He, in typical down-state NY fashion, likes to showboat, give the heated comment to get attention of the crowd and get some press.

Why even make the Vietnam comment? Was it necessary? Do we really need more Vietnam references in this war? And, in case Chuck missed it, Vietnam didn't end very well or maybe in his mind, it did. If that is the case, then I may have more to worry about than I thought.

Plans to Commemorate 1967 March on the Pentagon

A major hat tip to the Capitol Police! Your stupidity and lack of foresight has now fueled the flames of the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) Coalition. They have just announced on their Party for Socialism and Liberation website, complete with Che Guevara icon, that they have had their permits approved to demonstrate on March 17, 2007 and march on the Pentagon,here.

They are organizing, strategizing and getting ready to pump their fits in the air to Rage Against the Machine. They claim to have buses already coming in from 100 major sites across the country to converge on DC on St. Patrick's Day.

You may be curious as to how I would be aware of this so quickly. Since the demonstration is to form in the general vicinity of the WWII, Korean and Vietnam Memorials, POW/MIA Families have been asked to come to DC if possible to protect the Vietnam Memorial Wall from vandalism. I sit here with tears in my eyes and a promise. Let one of them, take one step near The Wall, and moreover, near the name of my family member on that wall and the expression, "Hell hath no fury ..." will take on a whole new meaning. Let one can of spray paint be lifted, I will defend The Wall at any cost. More here.

I place the blame squarely on the shoulder of Capitol Chief, Phillip Morse. If it weren't for his spineless order to not interfere with the protesters a few weeks ago, they would have easily been deterred from attempting this march.

The sheer irony is in their statement they say, "The First Amendment is not a gift that can be given or taken away by politicians or bureaucrats." My question to this group is who gave you that First Amendment right and who defends that First Amendment right still today? The American Soldier that's who. And instead of protesting, these people should be supporting these heroes as they defend all that is good about this great nation, yet they decide to continue on in their Kerry-esque behavior of providing aide and comfort to the enemy ....

***UPDATE*** 3:52 PM
Just found this letter on the Capitol Police website in which the Chief gives a very different summary of events during the most recent demonstration in DC. I would have found this story a bit more credible had he named this so called "splinter group". Additionally, if he were well aware of their tactics, why were they not better monitored and why were no arrests made.