The Chickenhawk frame had interested me for a while. I was particularly offended by these wingnuts who passionately argue for and defend the use of force in Iraq and the so called Global War on Terror, yet fail to heed their own call to take up arms. You can enlist up to the age of 42. The Chickenhawks I have chosen to illustrate are all under 42. I now call this group of under 42 year olds "The 43rd Chairborne Chickenhawks, The George W. Bush Brigade". The 43 is meant to honor our 43rd President of the United States. I started with 8ackgr0und N015e's list and expanded it a little.
Some time ago, I wrote an article called "The Young Chickenhawks." In it, I profiled a number of loud-mouthed, well known warmongers—all of whom were still young enough to enlist, but still too afraid to go fight. Today, we’re going to take a look at some other prominent Iraq War-supporters—but this time we’re going to focus on the under-30 crowd. For me, this is the most entertaining type of chickenhawk—because the younger the chickenhawk is, the more hilarious the excuses for not serving become.
You may be familiar with a couple of them, and two of them you may not know. But either way, you should find this fascinating—and you should continue finding ways to heap scorn on these cowards.
I am posting images that can be used by anyone to illustrate blog entries about the people depicted. This is an ongoing project. You can find all the images at my Photobucket collection. It is my hope that people will use them to illustrate blog posts and comments.
I am posting images that can be used by anyone to illustrate blog entries about the people depicted. This is an ongoing project. You can find all the images at my Photobucket collection. It is my hope that people will use them to illustrate blog posts and comments.
It's ironic Bush is recommending his staff read Bill Kristol's latest drivel, "Why Bush Will Be A Winner." Fortunately for Bush, he doesn't read. Otherwise he would know Kristol recently wrote this hate-filled screed:
For President Bush, loyalty is apparently a one-way street; decency is something he's for as long as he doesn't have to take any risks in its behalf; and courage--well, that's nowhere to be seen. Many of us used to respect President Bush.
Unfortunately for Bush, lots of adults do read. That is why old chickenhawks like Kristol lack credibility with the rest of us. It also explains why the purveyors of perpetual war are busy grooming a new crop of spokesmen in a futile effort to continue fooling the masses.
Like old wine in new bottles, these "fresh conservative voices" are being used to con people into swallowing the same War Party swill everyone rejected in 2006. It's an old trick that shows how desperate they are to push a poor product.
Here's the good news: They have exposed their Achilles Heel...
Let us begin with master satirist, Stephen Colbert, and his recent contretemps with John Mellencamp. For those who missed the bout, the play by play is available for your enjoyment. The KO is shown here. Suffice to say, Mellencamp nailed Colbert better than any guest since Cokie Roberts got a clean shot off early in his career.
Shortly after I posted this devastating attack, Viacom yanked the file! Smell the fear!?!?!?!
But this isn't about Colbert. He's just a funhouse mirror mocking the warped virtues of the Chickenhawk Nation. No, this is about hunting real-world chickenhawks who need to be publicly challenged to put up or shut up. Mellencamp's nailing Colbert is noteworthy because he shows how to effectively strike at the very foundation of the neocon chickenhawk propaganda machine. Viacom's rapid response shows this tactic terrifies them.
Truth be told, the Children's Crusade is probably a myth. However, this historic fable is still useful as a cautionary tale about what happens when you send a boy out to do a man's job.
On the flip side, consider Michael Moore's performance the other day. During his beat down of Howitzer Exploderman, Moore made a totally offhand comment that turns out to be particularly relevant:
I just wonder when the American people are going to turn off their TV sets and quit listening to this stuff.
That's an interesting question. Conventional wisdom would argue Americans are too addicted to their TV to go completely cold turkey. But I'm less reluctant to bet against it than I used to be given the latest crop of apologists the Right Wing Propaganda Machine is tossing in front of the cameras these days. Watching these kids get mauled is instructive.
I guess this is what happens when you sell a war with the apologists you have rather than the apologists you would like to have...
It is probably not a coincidence that the best TV commentator today on the state of politics is a former sports reporter -- Keith Olbermann. Sports commentary today -- especially on TV -- is unvarnished and in-your-face.
It's exactly what's needed in progressive political commentary. We have plenty of reasonable, logical, polite radio hosts and TV pundits. What we need is someone who will stand up and yell loud enough to be heard above the cacophony of right-wing bullshit.
Someone like Screamin' Stephen A. Smith of ESPN and The Philadelphia Inquirer, whose recent smackdown of right-wing radio punk Ben Ferguson on a CNN Live Event Forum, was a thing of beauty.
There have been a few diaries on Kos concerning Randi Rhodes' destruction of young Republican Ben Ferguson on Larry King on Friday--you can read diaries by mrblifil here and by A Patriot here.
Each of these three links contains a transcript for reference, so please read one of the three. Much of the conversation concerning this piece of folly concerning Ben Ferguson has centered around his idiotic excuse for not serving in Iraq--namely, that the U.S. Army is like a sports team and you don't have to serve to support them.
While this argument is noticeably pathetic and deserves a lot all the ridicule it has received to this point, I actually found the earlier part of the conversation far more disturbing than the bit about the Yankees.
I don't know who caught the show, but Randi Rhodes kicked the shit out of Chicken Hawk Ben Ferguson of The Ben Ferguson Show. I caught the clip on Crook and Liars and was rolling. She was magnificent. Hell, she was way better than that. She didn't let this little puke talk over her by simple raising her voice a bit and continuing on point. You have to watch it. This little shit is 24 years old and supports the war. Just like Ass Rocket and all the other Right Wing Punks out there, they support the war from the safety of their cushy homes while sitting on their fat, Chicken Hawk asses. Call this punk like I did and let him know what you think. Tell him to join up and help the cause. Put Up or Shut Up Ben Ferguson!
Ben Ferguson 800-807-4703 x230 Cell: Get it from his voice mail
What's a swirlie, you ask? It's pretty much when you take your beaten and submissive opponent's head, stick it firmly down the gaping hole of the nearest toilet seat, and proceed to flush. Repeatedly.
What happens when you're young, conservative, on a national talk show, and complain that liberals are the reason we are "losing" the war on terror? You get your under-exercised ass handed to you, with a dollop of public humiliation thrown in for seasoning. Transcript below.
Truth be told, the Children's Crusade is probably a myth. However, this historic fable is still useful as a cautionary tale about what happens when you send a boy out to do a man's job. 
