Tuesday, September 11, 2007

The Petraeuyal



I was recently in a motel room in Minnesota - miles from my computer, and enjoying it - when I turned on HBO to see James Gandolfini's post-Soprano effort, Alive Day Memories; Home From Iraq. As I quickly found out, ALIVE DAY is what modern soldiers call the day they are out of the Army & Iraq; free, and still alive.

As moving as Art can be, Tony Soprano interviewing some of the over 27,000 injured & maimed soldiers that have lost limbs in the conflict planned from DAY ONE of the Bush Administration, intercut with actual insurgent released video of the very moment their sacrifice for George W. Bush was caught on film, made me proud to be an American.

At one point, the images were so horrendous that I thought: "If Bush were to see this, he'd kill himself."

The first President to die by his own hand in the White House.

The night before, I'd watched "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee" with Fred Thompson as Ulysses S. Grant; the second worst President in history (a role Fred appears hell-bent on reprising), nodding his tacit approval of the destruction of the American Indian. Ward Churchill has been right about the manifest destiny of the little Eichmanns all along.

I couldn't find any Minnesotans that were proud of their President.

His suicide; not such a leap when the only place he can go is a secure military base with a captive audience, might just be triggered by a lethal comment from his Wife at the wrong time, in the wrong place, for the right reason.

In defending George's baby-boomer tears, I told my Minnesotan hosts that his "crying" admission spoke well of the kid that grew up under his Father's thumb, and is still in there somewhere, but had to close with: "there's two kinds of people that are moved to tears. Those that are thankful and overwhelmed by the life that they have lived, and those that are guilty and ashamed of their actions and are ever more afraid of the impending punishment they know they deserve.

Six years after 9-11, it seems pretty obvious to America which their President is.

I had found it suspicious that the Petraeus Report would bookend 9-11, but with the arrest of Cindy Sheehan (again) speaking out in the most logical place for the Mother of a dead son killed by United States foreign policy, it's now obvious why.

With the newest Executive Orders that define dissent against the Bush Administration as a threat to National Security, one can only wonder if hoping to goad us into revolutionary action so we can be thrown into jail as enemy combatants to the cheers of Bill O'Reilly, Michell Malkin, and Geraldo, isn't the real reason they've "waited until September" in the first place.

I coined "The Petraeuyal" before Independence Day. It spoke to independence, not Gen. Petraeus himself, but today, the anniversary of 9-11 is giving FOX NEWS the perfect platform to set up their guillotine for the heads of moveon.org for the obvious rhyme: "betray us".

This is still America.



My Name is Michael Sterling, and I'm responsible for these images.

9 Comments:

Blogger Pub Master said...

On all fronts we have been betrayed...

I recently wrote this to Michael Moore:

"Wow, you don't look disabled...."

I get that a lot. And it always makes me think. What does it mean? What the hell does "disabled" have to do with "looks"? I mean.... ok, sure... if my leg had been ripped off in some some horrible accident, it would show. If my ears had been burned off in the act of listening to a Paris Hilton tune, that would show, too. Perhaps if my hands had been incinerated by how hot my wife's iPod was (before it died last week)....

But none of those things happened. Instead, something happened inside my head. A small hole in the inner ear... maybe viral meningitis from a bad fever... or even epilepsy. So far the doctors have no clue why for over two years I have been constantly dizzy and going through a myriad of symptoms that make an acid trip look like good, clean fun. Every day is damn near the same. Wake up spinning, puke a few times, sit and watch the news... and keep spinning, ready to hurl at a moments notice till bedtime. Sometimes I feel "OK" enough to get some work done. Maybe a website, maybe a t-shirt design, who knows?

In the end, I'm a 235 pound, six foot-two inch former model with a body that reflects the years I spent in the military and the martial arts I spent most of my life loving. My face is without any disfiguring marks (except for a small scar on my nose), and if you catch me on a good day I might even smile. My legs are still connected, and so are my ears (though God knows sometimes I wish...).

When I go out with my wife and meet people, I inevitably have to face the question, "So, what do you do for a living?" It's a tough question. The kind that instantly puts me on guard. What do I say? I sit at home, make no real money anymore, and rely on my wife's income? While true, it would never quite sound right in the three seconds you have to say something. So, in the interest of being honest, I usually say something like "I used to be an Art Director. I'm handicapped now". But I've noticed this always sparks an instant knee-jerk reaction that comes in two parts.

Part One - "What's an Art Director?" I never quite believe I'm hearing this... What with the near constant stream of ads going out to the nation in the form of magazines, TV, the internet, freeway billboards, etc... it amazes me that nobody ever thought there might be somebody that planned it. When I explain what I did, it's always "Oh... I didn't know anybody really does that". Whatever...

Part Two - "Wow, you don't look disabled...." Followed by sympathetic glances at my wife that imply "He's a free loader" and "Oh that poor girl"

What the f***? What does that mean, exactly? I think it means that in order to be accepted as handicapped I should drool, or act retarded. I don't know. Is it stereotyping? You bet. Is it profiling and a form of prejudice? Yep... I've been turned down for disability twice because I don't appear "disabled enough". By doctors who should know handicaps don't discriminate. I'd like to see one of them go through this for a single day, let alone the years I have had to deal with it. So, be warned Americans... if you aren't ugly or didn't lose a limb, you have almost no chance of ever getting help. Because you don't "look disabled".

Hank Akins

September 11, 2007 at 12:30:00 PM PDT  
Blogger layne said...

suicide? HA!
mr. sterling, you underestimate the hubris and 'surge' of pleasure this 'president' is experiencing.

what if there is to be NO ELECTION in 2008. due to 'terrible acts of terror', the elections might have to be postponed...

September 12, 2007 at 2:34:00 PM PDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

BRILLIANT!

We should all be so lucky. However, Bush has neither the balls or honor to do the right thing. Why start now?

You Sir, are another story. If all the Presidential Candidates had your integrity and courage...

:(

September 13, 2007 at 1:08:00 PM PDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

SO WHICH COMES FIRST... CHENEY'S HEART ATTACK OR BUSH'S SUICIDE?

After tomorrow, will it matter?

September 13, 2007 at 1:12:00 PM PDT  
Blogger CANDIDATE said...

Thank you all for your insight and support.

It's gratifying to hear here on the Day Before Tomorrow.

PEACE BE UPON YOU.

:)
.ms

September 13, 2007 at 2:22:00 PM PDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

What part of moveon do these bastards not understand. Where's Lee Harvey Oswald when you need him?

:(

September 18, 2007 at 8:58:00 PM PDT  
Blogger CANDIDATE said...

You must mean Harvey. We could all use a little more White rabbit.

Since the "suicide" cover, general opinion is that Bush doesn't have the honor or balls to end it all.

He took office promising to "change the tone' in Washington. Don't know about DC but everywhere else is certainly far more contentious than it was. O'Reilly has actually suggested that making movies about possible atrocities in Iraq harms the troops... one step away from calling Artists un-patriotic.

Americans do NOT respect sore losers.

Personally, I don't know why anyone still listens to either. America would certainly be a better place without them.

The Vietnam War was over when the White House admitted it had "lost Walter Cronkite". How much worse to lose Gidget, the Flying Nun, Norma Rae, Forrest Gump's Mother, AND Alan Greenspan?

Pooka g'joob...

.ms

September 20, 2007 at 9:05:00 AM PDT  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Petraeuyal. contentia nervosa.

You make those up?

September 20, 2007 at 7:11:00 PM PDT  
Blogger CANDIDATE said...

Artist...

Both are now googleable.

;>
.ms

September 20, 2007 at 7:55:00 PM PDT  

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