Tuesday, August 31, 2004

Chickenhawks


Chickenhawk n. A person enthusiastic about war, provided someone else fights it; particularly when that enthusiasm is undimmed by personal experience with war; most emphatically when that lack of experience came in spite of ample opportunity in that person's youth.

How do you feel about rich white guys who prance about the world promoting war, even though they themselves used their personal privilege to avoid participation in any of the military conflicts of their day?

I don't like them very much, and I think it is a fitting monicker: they are hawks because they encourage war, and they are chickens because they are cowards.

The New Hampshire Gazette publishes a Chickenhawk Database!

These men cloak themselves in the mantle of patriotism and militarism, but have never bothered to participate themselves. They are generally, though not exclusively, Republicans who preach the bible of corporate takeover. They are men who insist our Constitution has something to do with financing the post-war military-industrial complex. They are men who use religion to scare people into line. They are evil men and two of them are the current president and vice-president of the United States. They are having a big party in New York right now, and it is reported that they have a softer side. They don't have a softer side! They are lying hypocrites out only to get as much for themselves as they can.

Don't be fooled by the GOP! And spread the word about the chickenhawks.

The New Hampshire Gazette Chickenhawk Database




Here is the Yahoo article about the Republican's softer side (reprinted without permission):

"Republicans to Show Softer Side at NY Convention

"Tue Aug 31, 4:05 AM ET Reuters

"By John Whitesides, Political Correspondent

"NEW YORK (Reuters) - Republicans hope to show voters a softer side on the second Day of their convention on Tuesday, with first lady Laura Bush and movie star turned California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger taking center stage.

"Laura Bush will share personal insights about President Bush and stories of his leadership, while Schwarzenegger steps into his biggest national spotlight since Taking on his new role as a substantive political leader last year.

"Both speeches, and most of the night's "People of Compassion" theme, are part of a Republican push to appeal to swing voters by featuring their most moderate voices at the convention.

"Tuesday's session will feature the two most prominent black speakers at the convention, Transportation Secretary Rod Paige and Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. It will focus on some of Bush's domestic education, health care and economic policies.

"The opening night featured former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Arizona Sen. John McCain, who both have strong appeal for moderates and swing voters, leading an impassioned salute to Bush's leadership after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks and his aggressive response in Afghanistan and Iraq.

"He has not wavered, he has not flinched from the hard choices. He will not yield, and neither will we," McCain said of Bush, his bitter rival in the 2000 Republican presidential primary. He will join Bush on the campaign trail on Tuesday.

"Bush will visit Iowa and Pennsylvania after a morning stop in Nashville, Tennessee, where he will speak to the annual convention of the American Legion veterans' group.

"His Democratic challenger, Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry, will speak to the veterans' group on Wednesday. Kerry, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, has been embroiled for weeks in a battle with a pro-Bush group of Vietnam veterans who have questioned his war record and medals.

"Recent polls show Bush, who will accept the nomination for another White House term in a televised speech on Thursday, gaining ground and in some cases moving ahead of Kerry nationally and in key states.

"Republican state delegations, adopting the session's "compassion" theme, planned a series of local community activities ranging from scraping and painting day care centers to serving meals at a mission.

"Democrats have accused Bush of abandoning the "compassionate conservative" principles he espoused during the 2000 presidential campaign with his push for huge tax cuts and his record of about 1.8 million lost jobs.

"Kerry's vice presidential running mate, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, planned to argue on a campaign trip to West Virginia that one night of compassion at the convention could not overcome four years of Republican miscalculations, aides said.

""George Bush once said that results matter when choosing a president -- he couldn't be more right," Edwards said in remarks prepared for delivery in Beckley, West Virginia on Tuesday.

""The past three and a half years may have yielded results for his corporate friends, but everyday Americans have seen nothing but empty promises, fewer jobs and higher costs."

"His speech on Tuesday will be a switch of sorts for Schwarzenegger, a political newcomer and leader of heavily Democratic California who has kept his distance from Bush and some of the president's more conservative policies.

"He visited the convention hall late Monday to familiarize himself with the podium, practicing a passage from his speech that talked about his memories of Communism and the specter of Soviet tanks in his native Austria.

"Anarchists threatened to disrupt the city on Tuesday in the latest anti-Bush protests during the convention."

-- END OF REPRINTED ARTICLE --

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