Freedom isn't Free.

President Bush addressed the nation last night regarding his, I mean Petraeus', assessment of the Clustefuck in Iraq. The address was filled with the usual rhetoric, lies, and "if we leave Iraq your children will die" terrorism. But there was one section that made me fall off the couch laughing, and then frightened me. Here is the quote:

Earlier this year, I received an e-mail from the family of Army Specialist Brandon Stout of Michigan. Brandon volunteered for the National Guard and was killed while serving in Baghdad. His family has suffered greatly. Yet in their sorrow, they see larger purpose. His wife, Audrey, says that Brandon felt called to serve and knew what he was fighting for. And his parents, Tracy and Jeff, wrote me this: We believe this is a war of good and evil and we must win even if it cost the life of our own son. Freedom is not free.

President George W. Bush actually said, "Freedom is not free." while addressing the nation. That made me LOL. But what frightened me is the content of the letter he read: "We believe this is a war of good and evil and we must win even if it cost the life of our own son. Freedom is not free."

Think about that. George W. Bush: cocain addict, idiot, linguist, President has actually convinced people that
1) They ought to sacrifice their children to his war.
2) The Clusterfuck in Iraq is a "war of good and evil".
3) We must win. And that he, or anyone, has an idea of what "win" means.

Fuck "terrorists with a dirty bomb". This is terrifying. The fact that rhetoric is more convincing to people than facts, statistics, and historical precedent. The fact that someone who thinks "misunderestimate" is a word can also rhetorically convince a family to sacrifice their son to his war. And the fact that six years after 9/11 people are still head-up-their-ass terrified that the people who didn't attack us will attack us.