Saturday, October 08, 2005


Collateral Damage


When I went to see Eyes Wide Open, I ended up spending much of the rest of the day with my Aunt, who lives in Lancaster.

I told her about the exhibit and showed her my pics (it's fun to have someone who can critique the pics and give suggestions on how best to edit them). I also suggested that this may be worth her taking a look.

Well, I should've know that she would, and she brought her digital camera and with her extensive, and self-taught, photographic skills, took some excellent pics.

While she did take some great pictures of the boots. I think she did a better job capturing the "forgotten fallen". The civilians:



Posted with permission









Of course, I wonder if these shoes count those civilians who have found themselves victims of the insurgency that the invasion and occupation have unleashed, or those who have died from diseases, etc.

But I wonder if this is a consequence of the "War Media", that we see these people not as people, but as "damage". That these people are somehow weakening our enemies, when the reality may be that these deaths only add fuel to the fires.



Another Lie Dies?


As many of you know--I'm a big sports fan. I've had to on more than one occasion reconcile my convictions with my interests (though when I was in DC I remarked to someone, "You may be a good person to follow. Anyone with a Pittsburgh Steelers hat on can't be all bad").

I also realize how we can create myths about athletes, and what happens when these myths fall.

Pat Tillman, the NFL player who gave up his career to serve in the Army, and was later killed in action my be slowly becoming an example of how Bush and the rest of the "War Party" created a myth and have slowly watched it crumble.

This all began when I was revealed that he was killed not be enemy fire, but by "friendly fire". But now The Nation may have managed to strip the myth of Mr. Tillman as a kind of real live "G.I Joe". Instead revealing a person who was an independent thinker who also could distinguish between fighting those who attacked us on 9-11 and fighting for an empire.

Now it will be fun to see how the "Sheepdogs" on AM-Radio and it's cable news affiliate try and spin this, but this could also only show once again how this regime relies on lies and fear to keep it's "sheep" in line.

And this new information only increases my admiration for Mr. Tillman. I still say that he did what he, in his mind thought was right. Just as I did four years ago when I went and turned a site that was to be for my Alma Mater's starting Quarterback into the beginnings of this site.

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