Thursday, June 29, 2006

Jenna Bush Leaves the Country

From the Washington Post:

Jenna Bush , the nation's most famous public-school teacher, is skipping the country and bidding a happy adios to the young-Washington social scene she once ruled. Uh-oh, what do we do now?

Friends say that the blond, younger-by-minutes First Twin has been quietly making plans over recent months to leave D.C. for a teaching job in Latin America, most likely around the end of summer.

Instead of Latin America, shouldn't she be headed to -- oh, I don't know -- IRAQ?

19 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll be interested in seeing how this little tidbit is "handled" in the media, if it's even "handled" at all!

So far the "big story" in the papers out my way (the Seattle, WA. area) has been centered around a young recruit who is refusing to be deployed to Iraq because of his moral problems with the "War" over there. (This apparently makes him un-patriotic.) I, for one, never realized that having moral values was something to be ashamed of, especialy since it's been the cry of the GOP for quite some time....

Anyway, if refusing to serve in Iraq for moral reasons is a no-no, I can't imagine what running off to another country will be viewed as! Unless- God forbid- there is just an itsy bitsy tiny bit of what could maybe be called a "Double Standared" lurking around out there...

(The "Operation Yellow Elephant" site should have a field day with this one! )

-ZW

Anonymous said...

Wouldn't it be great if she went to Venezuela...and learned something about democracy?

Anonymous said...

Do you know how I can send messages to you separately without email? Outlook won't work for me and I don't feel like giving my email address away.
Sorry this is off topic, but what if you have a "Send a message" where there are no blogs and they just get to you, then you reply to them separetely on the web?

Darrin Bell said...

You mean like a comment box? I can add a "send a message" box on the site (maybe I can try figuring out how to add it to the blog), and then answer it on my blog. Is that what you meant?

Or you can post a question in the discussion forum, and I can answer it there.

Also, if you'd rather not give away your e-mail address, have you thought of setting up a free, web-based e-mail address? If you go to hotmail.com, aol,com or any similar service, you can create an e-mail address that you can use whenever you'd rather not give away your main one. You don't even have to provide real contact information for those, so it's virtually anonymous.

The Old Man said...

Heh. I don't think Jenna would be comfortable in Iraq. Not because of the war, either. I suspect that she'd no like having to wear a burqa. (Did I spell that right?)

I'm not even sure if women are ALLOWED to teach in Iraq! If not, it certainly would defeat the purpose!

It does seem a bit "out-of-place" if you consider it that way: We fight to help bring democracy (OR so it is stated), but the women-folk still wind up being enslaved by the party in power. Are we fighting for freedom or freedom to enslave? Pardon me, but I'd prefer not to live in a world where slavery is the norm. There was too much injustice then. At least, we can HONESTLY say "It's 'somewhat' better now".

Darrin Bell said...

No, I meant she should be over there in a tank, not in a classroom. Just commenting on how most of our leaders who insist on keeping our troops there indefinitely don't have to worry about their own kids dying in the desert. The President being the prime example.

Anonymous said...

OHHHHHHHHHHHHH,
thanks, Mr. Bell! I'll do that from now on!!!
Go Demos!

Anonymous said...

"Go Demos"?

I smell a rat. Qwerty doesn't sound like any Democrat I've ever heard. None of us see all this as a game. That's a Republican trait.

The Old Man said...

Annonymous says
>"Go Demos"?

>I smell a rat. Qwerty doesn't >sound like any Democrat I've ever >heard. None of us see all this as >a game. That's a Republican >trait.

What is this "GAME" to which you refer? You sound a bit disillusioned, or maybe just a bit whiny.

Let me respond to our esteemed host. "I mean in a tank".
Yes, you are quite accurate that the President has nobody to lose in Iraq. But remember: EVERYONE currently in Iraq (up to age about age 50) Originally VOLUNTEERED for military duty. They did for various reasons. But EVERY ONE OF THEM should have realized that war could happen. The military officials (Officers) seldom make distinction between "Just and Unjust wars". It's not their job.
SOME of them will speak out against certain atrocities. That IS their job.

Before you ask: No, I didn't serve in the military. Although I prefered to avoid the service, that was not the reason I didn't. My HEARING (very poor) would have kept me out.

I am one who believes that women should not serve in combat roles. It's not that I believe them to be to be too fragile. Nor do I believe that they would "cut and run". I'm not exactly sure why I believe the way I do on that. I simply do.

I am curious, however: What is your opinion on the current "Selective Service" system, and draft? When Carter (yes, Jimmy Carter) "revitalized" the system in the system in his term, I wrote a poem called "Our Freedom died today". If you would like, I will share it with you. But only if you request.

Darrin Bell said...

"The military officials (Officers) seldom make distinction between "Just and Unjust wars". It's not their job."

Exactly. The people who do make that distinction don't have anyone to lose if they make a mistake. I believe politicians would be more careful, and ask tougher questions, if their own flesh and blood were on the line.

About your question re: the draft:

I believe the draft should return. If all Americans, including those who reside at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue, had to worry about their kids being shipped off to fight, America might be more selective about the wars it engages in.

Please go ahead and post the poem, I'd like to read it.

The Old Man said...

Before I post the poem, remember: It was written in '78, I believe--or was it '79? Whichever year--it was the year that Carter revitalized selective service. At the time, I was, and have always been, against the draft. My Father served in WWII. And, even though it may come across differently, I abhor the idea and action of war. War isn't inevitable, but it is, sometimes, necessary.

Remember, too: Soviet Union still existed.

One last question, if I may, and the poem will be on the next post.
What about you--did you serve in the military? If so, I owe you thanks, whether or not we agree politically. In fact, whenever I see a Vet (In Minnesota, we are able to purchase special license plates- Indicating the War, Bronze Star, Purple Heart, or the like), I thank him (or her) for their service.

The Old Man said...

A brief summary of why this poem exists: It was inspired by a sign which read "Our Freedom died today", which was carried by a protester of the draft and the likely consequence: War. It was written one day after Carter's declaration that "Selective Service must be revitalized".
In this day, the Soviet Union existed, the VietNam war was over. The world wasn't completely at peace--but it never has been!

OUR FREEDOM DIED TODAY

When the beginning of the end arrives
I wonder how many will be left alive.
How many will be sleeping sound, in their final resting ground?
How many lay dying in the field, because they were forced to yield?
How many had been forced to fight, for a government which may not have been right?

If, in the field, I am dying, and next to me a Soviet's dying,
I'll say "I have no quarrel with you, my friend.
Maybe, we will meet again."
As we touch hands, and feel warm,
overhead the plane drops its bomb.

It's the situation I deplore: Registration leads to draft and war.
So if, my friend, they come to take you
Don't scream, don't yell, don't run away.
Just look 'em squarely in the eye
and say "Our Freedom died Today".

Anonymous said...

I think we need the draft. Without it, too many Americans rationalize any war by saying "Well, they volunteered." The innocent civilians in the country we invaded sure didn't volunteer.

The Old Man said...

Excuse me? Who rationalized the war? I said that they knew the possibility of war existed. Here is my EXACT Statement:
EVERYONE currently in Iraq (up to age about age 50) Originally VOLUNTEERED for military duty. They did for various reasons. But EVERY ONE OF THEM should have realized that war could happen.

How, pray tell, is this "Rationalizing the war"?

Tell me, "Annonymous"-- would you send a "Four-F" over? Let's say, someone like me, who cannot hear well enough to hear a car honking, let alone a footfall? How about the one-armed guy who lost an arm in an accident of some sort?

I DO believe the task to be nearly finished. It is time to allow our folks to begin to withdraw.

BTW, "Anonymous", I understand that there are times when War is necessary. It doesn't mean I have to LIKE it. Do you believe that Al-Qaida was justified in hijacking planes, flying them into the Twin Towers, The Pentagon, and what very well could have been the White House? I am NOT saying that Iraq is home to Al-Qaida.
Does the U.S. have a right to strike back at the group that killed more than 2500 of our citizens?

Anonymous said...

Woah, hold your horses, Chuck, I wasn't attacking you, so don't attack me. BTW, "Chuck" is just as anonymous as "Anonymous," when you think about it. You don't put your last name, and nobody who doesn't already know you can tell who you are from your profile. So let's lay off that, Mr. Anonymous Chuck.

Yeah, we have the right to go after the group that killed our citizens, but we didn't have the right to invade Iraq. That's the war that people had to rationalize with all sorts of reasons that turned out to not be true, like Hussein's ties to AQ (we now know they were talking about Zarqawi, who they could've killed in 2003 but didn't because it would rob them of a reason for war, and besides he was in the Kurdish north, hidden by Hussein's enemies). Not to mention the WMD crap. That was all rationalization. The Iraq War was not inevitable, it was a war of choice.

And if we drafted people Americans wouldn't engage in wars of choice.

No, I wouldn't send 4-F people. The draft board never did that anyway, so what's the point of asking that?

Anonymous said...

Did I actually attack you? Did I go as far as to do name-calling?

You DID say that part of the rationalizing was the "All Volunteer"... or that's the way it seemed to me. Since that was MY post, I believed that it was I to whom you referred. Since you have stated that it is not, I will accept that.

Perhaps you are correct that "Wars of Choice" would disappear. But VietNam was a "Draft" war. VietNam never attacked us. And while it's true that Iraq didn't either (or at least not directly), the "WMD" DID exist--even if the only evidence uncovered was from the FIRST war. Saddam was a ruthless dictator who used chemical weapons on his own people. Granted, it was a while ago, but it happened.

BTW: You call "Chuck" anonymous. Believe it or not, it IS my name...and While I don't give my last name (Mainly because it sounds fake), I can hint at it and everyone could guess. But, whether or not they'd BELIEVE it is another story. :)

I certainly don't mean it is "Smith". If you manage to guess, I shan't grow pale. (You could PROBABLY determine from my Blog. My city only has about 2500 residents, and I AM listed in the phone book! And I believe that there aren't more than a half-dozen "Charles" (or Chuck, as I prefer) in the book for my city!)
:>>

And while my Blog doesn't give my surname, either-- it's for the same reason. Who'd believe it?
[goofy grin]

The Old Man said...

One last little thing: Which horses do you want me to hold? I have 11 of them! :)

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