Killing in the name of Dr. Seuss (w/poll)

Wearing Santa Claus hats and codenaming the target "Whoville", U.S. troops raided "an upscale neighborhood" because "they did not know the identities of the neighborhood's residents".

It's bad enough that this crap is being done in our names, but doing it in Dr. Seuss's name seems on beyond zebra. He always hated war (cf I Had Troubles in Getting to Solla Sollew   and The Butter Battle Book).

Go vote it down on Yahoo, wouldja?

Thanks and Happy Holidays.

•  I find it disgusting

  Seems some troops actually do enjoy this. How very sad.

  by Patriot for Al Gore on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:16:46 AM PDT

  •  Oh,

    and as far as Dr. Seuss, books go, you forgot Fox in Socks... I used to read that to my son when he was small. Loved that book, and still have it. But THIS is still disgusting.

    by Patriot for Al Gore on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:22:27 AM PDT

•  SShoes, I thought this diary was snark,

  till I clicked on the link.  Good grief.

  I do not like this, Sam I am.

  by katchen on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:16:51 AM PDT

  •  I did, too

    Truth is stranger than fiction... and sadder.

    by Bad Santa on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 10:12:44 AM PDT

•  Yertle the Turtle was prophetic...

  of this bungling, greedy doofus-in-cheeze Bushiter.

  The sooner we all stop struggling to prop him up higher and he plops back in the mud where he belongs the better.

  LL

  by LeftyLimblog on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:17:06 AM PDT

•  I'm having trouble

  keeping my breakfast down after reading that story.

  In their defense, though, the soldiers themselves saw the irony of the situation:

  Soldiers from the 101st Airborne Division's 3rd Brigade knew they weren't going to be welcome when they arrived in the dead of night. It just made sense to nickname the target after the village raided by Seuss' Grinch on Christmas morning, they said.... "It was appropriate. I did feel like the Grinch," said Pfc. John Parkes, 31, of Cortland, N.Y., a medic in one of several groups called "quick reaction teams" that respond to roadside explosions.

  by litho on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:30:23 AM PDT

•  Mulberry Street <n/t>

  by Derelict Dog on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:36:08 AM PDT

•  how sad

  and for me how timely, as the musical we will present the first four days in February is "Seussical"

  by teacherken on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:43:40 AM PDT

•  The Seven Lady Godivas

  A beautiful story of love, honor and scientific achievement" is how Dr. Seuss, with tongue in cheek, describes this book. Touted as Dr. Seuss's first book for adults, The Seven Lady Godivas was originally published in 1939 and reissued in 1987. It tells the story of not one, but seven 11th Century Lady Godivas. They are sisters sworn not to marry their beaus, the seven Peeping brothers (yes, Tom is one of them) until each of them discover a scientific truth about horses. They were driven to this oath by the death of their father during an experiment using a horse as a means of transportation.
  The history is confused, but the fun never stops. Dr. Seuss's full page drawings (in red, black and white) illustrate every other page. The end papers are a fanciful illustration of the Godiva family tree. The text, though wordier than his childrens books and not in rhyme, is thoroughly Dr. Seuss. He explains the seven sisters preference for nudity by saying they had brains and were not given to vanity. He goes on to say "they were simply themselves and chose not to disguise it." Although this is a great summation of nudist philosophy, it doesn't say much about his regard for women who choose to wear clothes. Instead of scientific truths we are treated by the author to fanciful origins for seven proverbs about horses as each sister discovers her "horse truth" and goes on to marry her boyfriend.
  

  by Jesterfox on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 09:49:19 AM PDT

•  Seuss did not 'always hate war'

  See Dr. Seuss Goes to War.

  He was very strongly for US entry into World War II against Hitler.

  by Elwood Dowd on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 10:40:39 AM PDT

  •  Yeah, I read that.

    He lived a long life and learned much.

    by SensibleShoes on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 10:50:35 AM PDT

•  Who Speaks For The Free?

  Good thing that safe, stable, supportive Iraqi neighborhood loved America, else something really bad might have happened.

  Like a white phosphorus Christmas, for example.

  by cskendrick on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 11:42:24 AM PDT

•  Check out the reason for the name

  I love this diary and SensibleShoes' take on it.  But ya gotta appreciate why they used Whoville:

  It just made sense to nickname the target after the village raided by Seuss' Grinch on Christmas morning, they said.

  "It was appropriate. I did feel like the Grinch," said Pfc. John Parkes, 31, of Cortland, N.Y., a medic in one of several groups called "quick reaction teams" that respond to roadside explosions.

  by salvia on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 12:02:52 PM PDT

•  good diary and thanks for the link.

  To me the most atrocious quote in that article was

  "Believe it or not, I didn't realize it was Christmas until last night," said 1st Sgt. Andre Johnson, 38, of Baton Rouge, La. "It's just another day, man."

  for some reason that bothers me, especially in light of the foxnews war on christmas thing. We're all grinches in the eyes of the world.
  

  by dougymi on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 01:49:54 PM PDT

  •  that was a quote that caught me, too

    That quote made me really imagine being there.  How far the front-lines are from all the Christmas spirit back here.

    by salvia on Mon Dec 26, 2005 at 04:52:36 PM PDT