NYC Mayor Blomberg Doesn't Know What a Real "Insult" to Soldiers Is

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Tag(s): Iraq; Iraq Army Troops; Mercenaries; Michael Bloomberg; Military; Military Conractor Corruption; Military Industrial Complex; New York; Soldiering; Truth
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March 7, 2008 at 07:35:16

NYC Mayor Blomberg Doesn't Know What a Real "Insult" to Soldiers Is

by Sandy Sand Page 1 of 2 page(s)

http://www.opednews.com

Either it was too early in the morning when I read a quote from Mayor Michael Bloomberg in the Washington Post, and I misunderstood it, or it really is nonsequitur.

Referring to the bombing of the Army recruiting station in Times Square, Bloomberg said the blast, "...insults every one of our brave men and women in uniform stationed around the world."

It doesn't insult our brave men and women in uniform.

It's a crime.

Insult isn't intended. Like all crimes, harm is the intention.

No, what's an insult to our military men and women is sending them overseas to be killed and maimed based on lies.

An insult is to send them there for the ego of one man and to make him, his oily friends and the military industrial complex even wealthier.

Bloomberg wants to talk about insults, how about sending them to war with "what they have, not with what they need." Thank you very much, Don Rumsfeld.

If Bloomberg considers bombing an empty building in the middle of the night where no one was hurt and very little damage was done an insult, he ain't heard nuthin' yet about what real insults are.

Insult them by sending them into Iraq under-manned, under-trained and ill-equipped.

An insult to them and their dignity is when they come home severely injured, and house them in filthy, moldy, rat-infested quarters where they stay while getting treatment.

Insult them by changing the rules as the Pentagon and the president play their war games by extending the lengths of tours of duty, cut the time short between tours and extend the number of tours.

Insult them by taking away all or part of their sign-up bonuses if they are injured so severely that they can no longer serve.

Insult them by cutting all their benefits.

Insult them by making them pay for part of their medical treatment.

Insult them by not providing convenient places to be treated once they're home, or having to wait an eternity for treatment.

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8 comments

A writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

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Mark SashineA writer is a rogue goose. All other gees fly in a flock formation; every goose knows his place and time for honking. The rogue goose is undisciplined. He leaves the formation indiscriminately to have a look at it from aside. He roams back and forth, takes a peep at the leader, honks a little bit from behind, distracts everyone and writes on what he sees. Time passes and as he wants to return back to his place he discovers someone else there. Thus he either has to wait until they land for rest...

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Bloomberg does not think

Otherwise he would not be a billionaire and a politician. Bloomberg is what he is, who cares. If the dog kennel is bombed, Bloomberg would say that it was 'an insult to all the brave canines who risk their lives in Iraq'. He is a part of the machine.

by Mark Sashine (44 articles, 19 quicklinks, 228 diaries, 3265 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 8:12:04 AM

Sandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, ten minuted newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspape...

to see more of bio, click on member name
Sandy SandSandy Sand began her writing career while raising three children and doing public relations work for Women's American ORT (Organization for Rehabilitation through Training). That led to a job as a reporter for the San Fernando Valley Chronicle, a weekly publication in Canoga Park, California. In conjunction with the Chronicle, she broadcast a tri-weekly, ten minuted newscast for KGOE AM. Following the closure of the Chronicle, Sand became the editor of the Tolucan Times and Canyon Crier newspape...

to see more of bio, click on member name

I care

I care when politicians -- millionaires or not -- make idiotic statements.

Example: Two days ago our police chief, Wm. Bratton of N.Y.C. fame, denied we have a race war among gangs in L.A. and told a reporter he had a lot of goddamn nerve for even asking. Talk about stupidity and denial!

These asses in power should be called out every time they exhibit symptoms of 'hoof in the mouth' disease.

If Bloomberg made the same stupid, thoughtless statement about the K-9 Corps, I'd write a piece on how he insulted those "brave fighting dogs" and what real insults to them are.

by Sandy Sand (130 articles, 0 quicklinks, 153 diaries, 1174 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 8:38:08 AM

well then

maybe we should use the old Far East criteria:

'If an idiot pretends to be smart -all laugh

But if a smart one pretends to be an idiot- it is a cause for real discontent.'

Bloomberg or Bratton are not' stupid'. They are mean bastards. If they say what they say... maybe that is a cause for discontent. But... it also proves to us that they themselves are... hopeless.

by Mark Sashine (44 articles, 19 quicklinks, 228 diaries, 3265 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 8:55:59 AM

Well, Mark...

...I have to agree with you that they are mean bastards, or just bastards in general.

by Sandy Sand (130 articles, 0 quicklinks, 153 diaries, 1174 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 10:13:54 AM

Just a person that knows he matters and placing more on acceptance than expectation... And while this explanation is viewed apparently by some as limited, here's some more personal information that those same some believe I "need" to testify that I can post here at OpEdNews.com:
I have an undergraduate degree (BA even - not a foppish BS) in biology/environmental science with an emphasis on environmental/ecological systems (they are, like, um, so complex), a master's degree in public he...

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Tom MurphyJust a person that knows he matters and placing more on acceptance than expectation... And while this explanation is viewed apparently by some as limited, here's some more personal information that those same some believe I "need" to testify that I can post here at OpEdNews.com:
I have an undergraduate degree (BA even - not a foppish BS) in biology/environmental science with an emphasis on environmental/ecological systems (they are, like, um, so complex), a master's degree in public he...

to see more of bio, click on member name

You obviously misunderstood - but that's okay

I'm confused. The definition of "insult" is "to treat with insolence, indignity, or contempt" - http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/insult . The bombing of an Armed Forces Recruiting Station was conducted for a reason. I believe that reason is to send a message to the military (and possibly their recruiting tactics).

While the bombing was certainly a crime, as you point out the timing of the bombing wasn't necessarily meant to hurt but it was meant to "mean something" – a message. I don't claim to know precisely what that message was, but I can tell you that the manner of the message's delivery clearly reflects an insolence, indignity, and contempt for the recipient (i.e., the military). Otherwise, a pamphlet or organized protest would have sent a message without the three nouns above.

Therefore, I think you misunderstood the Mayor's statement (as you point out in the first sentence). If, however, you understood it to be a nonsequitur, which your article certainly suggests, then you forgot an insult:

Insult them by listing insults to American military personnel when you use them as a means to demonize your opposition and not as an end in and of themselves.

It's wonderful that you and Mr. Sashine are eager to take the personal inventory of one in a governmental leadership positions. It's not so wonderful when you complain ad infinitum about the plight of the military, yet offer no sympathy or solutions to their plight. Instead, you take the opportunity to bash your opposition:

"Michael Bloomberg should think about what he's saying before the words come tumbling out of his mouth, because he not only insulted our soldiers, but our intelligence as well."

Well, Sandy Sand and Mark Sashine should think about the alleged plight of the military and treat its personnel as an end to a particular set of problems, deserving of sympathy firstly and due care and treatment secondly. These people should not be treated as a means by which yet one more grenade can be lobbed from left to right across the political aisle.

I believe CPT Christopher Whitten states it best, "It makes you wonder, does anybody really appreciate what that guy gave up today?" - click here . While I can't speak for Mayor Bloomberg, I think his statement makes far more sense to me then your listing of insults to the military.

No doubt, Mr. Sashine will once again claim of me a chromium-composed heart, but I'm okay with that because he fails to see the military perspective of most issues. There is a difference between the civilian and military worlds. One talks about commitment while the other lives it.

by Tom Murphy (2 articles, 3 quicklinks, 9 diaries, 1352 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 12:09:14 PM

No hexavalent chromium here...

OK, I was a Russian combat liutenant (anti-aircraft protection of the infantry) /active reserve duty until ... they stripped me off my citizenship. I wrote an article about it. I guess the plight of the military is the same everywhere:proper taking care of, honesty, good command and societal respect. Now, I guess I do not understand why for instance the explosion on the Time Square, a very big place with a potential to hurt a lot of innocent people was mentioned only as an 'insult to the military'. I think it was a cheap shot to say and as such military was used as just a convenience. If, God forbid we will find out that a bicycle man had some Arabic name, Wow, Mayor Bloomberg would have killed two pheasants with one stone. That's how politicos work, Tom.

Now, maybe Bloomberg honestly considered that explosion an insult to the military. Then all the Sandy's arguments surely apply because our military people are being abused by the govt which uses them for private purposes. One thing cannot be mentioned without another. But I still think it was a cheap shot, nothing more.

Honesty is the best policy. Military people do not need ' slimy love'. They need support, good ammo, proper benefits, honest command, strategy to defend a country, not aggression, care for the wounded and traumatized, honest and qualified officers and a very strict civilian oversight. That includes the calling a spade a spade and if the war in which the military people die is a wrong one it is a duty of the civilian oversight to stop it.

So.. I do think that Bloomberg does have a hexavalent chromium ( remember Erin Brockovich) blood, so to speak. But no one here yet.

by Mark Sashine (44 articles, 19 quicklinks, 228 diaries, 3265 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 1:04:40 PM

Thank you, Mark

Well said!

by Sandy Sand (130 articles, 0 quicklinks, 153 diaries, 1174 comments) on Friday, March 7, 2008 at 3:36:21 PM

I am a freelance writer located in New York City. I am also a Certified Lay Speaker in the Metropolitan District, New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church. I am considered a Jewish Christian or Christian Jew, whichever you prefer, having been Bar-Mitzvahed in 1970 into the Tribe of Levi (making me a Levite). Plus, I'm the son of a Holocaust Survivor.
Kenneth BarrI am a freelance writer located in New York City. I am also a Certified Lay Speaker in the Metropolitan District, New York Annual Conference, United Methodist Church. I am considered a Jewish Christian or Christian Jew, whichever you prefer, having been Bar-Mitzvahed in 1970 into the Tribe of Levi (making me a Levite). Plus, I'm the son of a Holocaust Survivor.

Debating syntax? Oh, please...

I'm not sure if "insult" is the word I would have used. Then again, I remember the flak Bill Maher took for suggesting that "cowards" was not the best description of those who perpetrated 9/11. He actually lost his job over that.

If the person who left the "package" at Military Island wanted to send a message, it has been lost since most everyone on all sides of the issue condemned the action.

Yes, the military has suffered plenty of insults at the hands of this administration, starting with the fact that those who sent the troops off to battle have no active duty time whatsoever. The good folks at VoteVets.org and Veterans for Common Sense have listed the rest, so I won't be redundant. Besides, my blood pressure has been high enough over the past eight years. Arguing over syntax is not going to solve anything, nor is violence. Let's take Bloomberg's statement for what it was and not an expression of over-arching policy. Much as they may try, NYC Mayors have little influence over military and foreign policies. If they did, then we might be in even worse shape than we are now, since Giuiliani was all show and no go when it came to protection from a terrorist attacks. After all, he insisted the Emergency Response Center be located at 7 WTC even after the first bombing in 1993, then he thanks God that Bush was president on 9/11. To quote Bill Maher again, I'm sick of being led by people who have been 100% wrong 100% of the time. At least Bloomberg has been right once in a while.

by Kenneth Barr (8 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 75 comments) on Saturday, March 8, 2008 at 12:13:26 PM