It is really a sort of antimemorial, devoted primarily to besmirching the reputation of Harry Truman. Ostensibly, however, it is supposed to honor "Dugout Doug" MacArthur, the most incompetent professional officer this country has produced.
No other general ever maneuvered the men under his command into a Death March. MacArthur did it twice.
He also unleashed tanks on hungry, hopeless men formerly under his command. He took a huge bribe from the government of the Philippines. He ignored the attack on Pearl Harbor so that his own air force was surprised and destroyed. He failed to move supplies into Bataan, which was designted in prewar plans as a redoubt, leading to mass starvation and death for American and Filipino troops under his command.
He ignored solid intelligence that China would come into the war in Korea, leading to the biggest defeat in the history of American arms. He refused direct presidential orders.
You might wonder why a man with a record like that would have a memorial. Rightwngers love him. He talked big and acted small and he was a liar. Their kind of guy.
Rightwngers love him.
ReplyDeleteName one.
At some point, Harry, you will need to answer Skipper back. He wrote a post in ode to you back there at GG.
ReplyDeleteClovis, 1) I am not having anything to do with Skipper; and 2) even if I were, his post is too silly to bother with.
ReplyDeleteFor over 45 years, because I was a reporter, I had to be polite to people who, if it had been up to me personally, I would not have stayed in the same room with; and to keep my opinions to myself.
Old habits die hard. I stopped reporting 5 years ago, but until recently I have still not shared my opinions of local issues with any but close friends.
About the time erp and Skipper made the racist comments at GG that finally pushed me over the edge,I also decided to open up on Maui and tell some people what I thought of their behavior.
It feels good.
One thing that hasn't changed: reporters necessarily develop a thick skin. I don't care what Skipper says.
It's sad. He wasn't always the way he is now.
About the time erp and Skipper made the racist comments at GG that finally pushed me over the edge ...
ReplyDeleteWhat racist comments, Harry?
Provide direct quotes, please. Otherwise, people might think you are lying.
I'll bet you can't, just like you can't name any "rightwingers" who love MacArthur.
Harry,
ReplyDeleteSince you were always open about your opinions in most of your comments at GG, and your own posts here, it is really strange to imagine you kept to yourself in public your whole life.
Online was a place where I could express myself about non-local subjects. I was careful to avoid topics that might intersect with any story I would be reporting.
ReplyDeleteAbout the time erp and Skipper made the racist comments at GG that finally pushed me over the edge ...
ReplyDeleteYou mean racist comments like this?
I believe, wrt African Americans, the contemporary zeitgeist is almost infinitely preferable to that prevailing 50 years ago.
The fallacy is in linking things that have no inherent relationship. The rapid revelation that African Americans are fully fledged humans yields no conclusions with respect to social policies.
That is a progressive fallacy, not yours, btw.
To put it another way, we collectively took off our blinders. Then comes the obvious question: Now what?
It should be obvious from the broad spectrum of possible Now Whats that what we did was triggered, but not determined, by shedding our blinders.
Intellectual honesty demands taking into account the consequences of the chosen Now What. Progressives chose the path that led first to dependency, then disfunction, then full throated disaster.
But since progressives, by definition, are never wrong, then pointing that out = racist!
For someone who yammers on so often about having been a reporter, you don't seem to give a tinker's damn for the facts.
I make many comments regarding a racial controversy here.
ReplyDeleteI am sure you can find plenty of grist for your "rascist" mill.
Right?