Okay boys, let him up. ... Durbin on Friday issued the apology (I must have been too busy wondering where Michael Jackson goes from here to see it on the wires):
"I have learned from my statement that historical parallels can be misused and misunderstood," Durbin said in a statement issued by his office late Friday. "I sincerely regret if what I said caused anyone to misunderstand my true feelings: Our soldiers around the world and their families at home deserve our respect, admiration and total support.
...More than 1,700 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq, and our country's standing in the world community has been badly damaged by the prison abuses at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo. My statement in the Senate was critical of the policies of this administration which add to the risk our soldiers face," Durbin said.
Note that politicians always say sorry for the "misunderstanding", not the statement. The wingers of course, have been unforgiving, not that Durbin cares, but when the VFW is pissed off at you, I guess it's time to throw in the towel. Durbin's office issued the mea culpa late Friday, voiding this post, which referenced interviews Durbin gave to the Chicago mediathat very day in which he defended his statements ... Anyway, the FBI memo link is still useful.
Not surprisingly, the Durbin flap is giving the right one of its favorite talking points: that all Democrats think the military are a bunch of Nazi storm troopers. That, of course, is untrue, particularly given the number of Democratic members of Congress have worn the uniform of their country. Of course, there is an element of the Democratic base, the far left Van den Heuvelian end, that unfortunatly, does disdain the military, giving the rest of the party a bad name -- Durbin's biggest blunder was fueling that charge. But I take him at his word that his criticism, however unartfully done, points squarely at the policies from the Pentagon on up, not the Pentagon down. God rest his soul, it's something Col. Hackworth would agree with Durbin on -- that an utter lack of good civilian leadership is causing the United States to fail its armed forces.
Besides, how do you show more disdain for the military than by utterly breaking the Army, National Guard and Reserves through an unnecessary, costly war of choice, by cutting benefits to military families, and by failing to even put in a call to service from the people who voted for you -- and who loudly support the war -- by asking them and their children to sign up and serve? Of course, Bush would be an awkward messenger for voluntary military service, having spent the Vietnam war on a secret mission somewhere other than Texas, Boston or Alabama... but as the Commander in Chief, it is his job.
<%
dim done
done = request.form("done")
if done = "" then
done = "No"
%>
Tell a friend
<%
Else
if request.form("done") = "Yes" then
'sets variables
dim email, sendmail
email = request.form("email")
Set sendmail = Server.CreateObject("CDONTS.NewMail")
'put the webmaster address here
sendmail.From = "webmaster@aspbasics.com"
'The mail is sent to the address entered in the previous page.
sendmail.To = email
'Enter the subject of your mail here
sendmail.Subject = "Check out this website"
'send a specific page or send a site url
dim url
'url = Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
url = "http://www.aspbasics.net"
'This is the content of the message.
sendmail.Body = "Site recommendation from a friend!" & _
vbCrlf & vbCrlf & "A friend has sent you this email and thought you would should check out this site." & _
vbCrlf & url & vbCrlf
'this sets mail priority.... 0=low 1=normal 2=high
sendmail.Importance = 1
sendmail.Send 'Send the email!
response.redirect Request.ServerVariables("HTTP_REFERER")
'Response.write ("Sent to ") & email
End if
End if
%>
"[T]he practice of arbitrary imprisonments, have been, in all ages, the favorite and most formidable instruments of tyranny.' Alexander Hamilton, Federalist No. 84, August, 1788
