To MSNBC anchor Keith Olbermann, an American gas station employing the publicity gimmick of giving away some free gas to those with cars displaying a U.S. flag is "purchased patriotism" just as despicable as the Iraqi regime using civilians as human shields and "forced suicide bombers" because, amongst those "waiting for their five free gallons, were a few who weren't really that gung ho about the war but just stuck a flag in their windshield wiper to get the gasoline gratis." Olbermann mightily lambasted: "Purchased patriotism is one of the things we're fighting against."

Here is the actual text of the MSNBC report as taken down by MRC analyst Brad Wilmouth:

"And we leave you tonight with one final Countdown item. There is supporting the troops, and there is waving the flag, and then for about an hour-and-a-half earlier this week, there was free gasoline in exchange for patriotism. The fine folks of Sunoco A Plus in Lake Ronkonkoma, New York, decided to give $10 of free gas to quote unquote, 'patriotic vehicles.' Now, obviously this is silly. It's silly in that sweet way just like when the body shop in Southern California in the late 1970s posted a sign reading, 'Lube Jobs for POWs.'

"But beyond that, there are two unfortunate aspects here. One, insightfully or naively, some anti-war protesters are claiming an unfortunate link between this conflict and big oil, meantime somebody else is giving away gas to anybody who will paint their mud flaps red, white and blue, and how bad does that look?

"And secondly, and more seriously, I don't think I'm going way out on a limb here to assume that somewhere in that block's long line of drivers near Lake Ronkonkoma waiting for their five free gallons, were a few who weren't really that gung ho about the war but just stuck a flag in their windshield wiper to get the gasoline gratis. Unintentional or not, that's purchased patriotism. And as we are reminded every time we hear about Iraqi human shields and forced suicide bombers, purchased patriotism is one of the things we're fighting against."

Isn't "purchased patriotism"--the giving away of free gas for flying the American flag--protected by the right to free speech, property, and liberty, just as the evil nonsense espoused by the "anti-war protestors," that Olberman takes so much effort to quote, is protected? So who are the "we" that are "fighting against" it?  Perhaps Olbermann is angry because there is no free gas for those Peacemongers who burn the American flag ad opposed to flying it. Ah, the "corruption" and "discrimination" of American capitalism. MSNC has some nerve calling itself "America's News Channel."

Kuwaitis watch Arab satellite TV channels beamed in from across the Middle East. In recent weeks, most of the output has made for uncomfortable viewing in a nation which stands almost alone in the region in its active support for the US-led war in Iraq. One Arab channel recently aired a film montage of air strikes on Baghdad, dead civilians, distraught survivors, and British soldiers storming Iraqi homes. Particularly gruesome sequences were run in slow motion and repeated. The film was accompanied by a doleful 'cello solo. Such coverage of the war a few miles to the north has enraged many Kuwaitis. Al-Arabiya, based in Dubai, has reportedly been told its operation in the emirate might be closed down by the authorities if it does not remedy alleged "bias" in its war reports. "Some Arab channels are not showing the good, they do not show when the Americans bring help to the Iraqi people. They show just one side," says Balqis Aziz, who joined up to 2,000 other Kuwaitis at an open air meeting to reaffirm their support for the efforts to unseat Saddam Hussein. [...] Many Kuwaitis admit to being annoyed that little attention was given to the missiles lobbed at civilian targets in this country, further confirmation in their eyes that the war against Saddam Hussein is just.

However, not is all well in Kuwait:

[...] not all Kuwaitis are so happy to be a closely allied with the US. Local newspapers have quoted one Islamic charity worker who fears the real aim of the war is to "flood" the region with western values and culture. Already, affluent Kuwaiti teens appear to be drawn more to McDonald's than to Mecca. However, leading Muslim cleric Mohammed Hagif Al-Mutairi - a fierce opponent of innovations such as female suffrage - says he is confident the American influence is "limited" and that Kuwait's social and religious traditions can be maintained.

Not when the two--"American influence" (freedom and its results) and "religious traditions" (theocratic totalitarianism) explicitly contradict each other.

[...] "America's support for Israel is disturbing. How can America liberate Iraqi people on one side and support the denying Palestinians of freedom on the other? This contradiction needs to be resolved. But oppression in Palestine is no excuse for oppression in Iraq." [BBC News, "Kuwaitis in no mood to be labelled poodles", 2003/04/04]

Perhaps this is because Palestine is the oppressor--after all are they not in bed with Saddam? After all who funds there suicide missions?

Question: What should happen to an untenured professor, who calls for the defeat and death of the American military, at a university that receives very significant amounts of government funding ["Professor Is Condemned for Speech, But Likely Will Keep Post at Columbia," Julie Satow, page 2, 2003]? Answer: He should be relieved of his duties immediately. It's as simple as that. [...] On April 9, Columbia University is organizing "Lobby Day" in our nation's capital. Students are set to meet with Congress and staff members on Capitol Hill to express their support for federal student aid and urge funding for projects that will enhance their educational opportunities. I urge members of Congress to keep in mind Mr. De Genova's remarks as they are asked by Columbia students for assistance. In the past, the federal and state governments have been extremely generous in funding school projects and assistance programs. While I do not challenge--and actually support--our government's funding of educational institutions such as Columbia, I must say that if Columbia is unappreciative of our troops, maybe we should consider spending the money elsewhere. Maybe we can use this money to increase the pay for our military servicemen and women who have for so long sought an increase in salary.

South Korea's National Assembly on Wednesday authorized the dispatch of non-combat troops to support the U.S.-led war on Iraq....For days, [President Roh Moo-hyun] has struggled to muster support for the deployment of 600 South Korean military engineers and 100 medics in the Gulf, as the parliament wavered amid anti-war sentiment and delayed voting on the bill twice last week...."I came to the conclusion that helping the United States in difficult times and maintaining friendly U.S.-South Korean relations will help a lot in peacefully resolving the North Korean nuclear issue," he [told Parliament]. [Associated Press, 4/3/03]

Remember, the new South Korean president got elected on an somewhat anti-American, peacenik platform.

Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer ... who met Tuesday with Secretary of State Colin Powell and other senior US officials, said those within the administration of President George W. Bush who opposed any UN role in Iraq had lost the argument. Key US officials remain angered... and had fought to prevent the world body gaining a role in Iraq's reconstruction, he said. "But I think that view, if it hasn't changed, that argument has been won by those who believe there should be a role for the UN," Downer told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation radio. "I think the idea of a United Nations special representative or special coordinator is one they feel comfortable with as well," he said, acknowledging though that the United States would "inevitably" control Iraq for an interim period after the war before handing authority back to Iraqis. [Agence France Presse, 4/2/03]

Incensed fans walked out of Pearl Jam's concert Tuesday after lead singer Eddie Vedder impaled a mask of President Bush on a microphone stand, then slammed it to the stage...Most of Vedder's antiwar remarks earlier in the Pepsi Center show were greeted with mixed cheers and scattered boos. But dozens of angry fans walked out during the encore because of the macabre display with the Bush mask, which he wore for the song Bushleaguer, a Bush-taunting song from the band's latest album, Riot Act.

 

So yesterday's "Books Not Bombs" march for Saddam in Sydney was a lot more peaceful than last week's, which degenerated into an orgy of screaming and chair-flinging that had to be busted up by the cops. (Sounds a lot like the last family reunion I went to...) However, all was not quiet; the Stars-and-Stripes got torched, and even the Herald, which is normally highly circumspect about reporting the misdeeds of those who, shall we say, need a compass to say their bedtime prayers, notes:

Police made 10 arrests by late afternoon, although none related to crowd behaviour at the gathering. One naked woman who was not a protester was charged with obscene exposure, and a 15-year-old youth who was identified from police video footage faces charges related to burning papers at last week's march.

A further eight youths were charged after a breakaway group of about 50, chanting in Arabic, ran amok in Darling Harbour and then doubled back to the city.

This is being generous. The TV footage I saw on Channel Ten showed large numbers of Arab-looking high school kids in the crowd, mostly young toughs, and reportedly, they got into a scuffle with at least one media crew. (The ironies of a naked woman protesting against modernizing a culture with a hatred of naked women, and of protesters beating up the people who would help get their message, are too delicious and/or invigorating to contemplate). Even more, when confronted with a camera. one group of these kids started yelling sentiments along the lines of "We're all Arab mates!" and "Saddam's our mate, and we Arabs stick together!"

Stupidity like this just underlines the destructive nature of ethnic separatism in free socities. And the blowback from this explicit endorsement of the enemy is going to be tremendous, especially after last year's epidemic of gang rapes in western Sydney by Lebanese teens. For all the worries that Muslim "leaders" here have about anti-Islamic and anti-Arab prejudice, they sure don't seem to be doing a lot to stop their fellow hyphenated Australians (hyphenated by choice, it should be noted) from giving the so-called "majority culture" reason to be suspicious, to say the least.

The 507th was attacked March 23 during some of the earliest fighting in Nasiriyah, where Saddam's Fedayeen loyalists and other Iraqi fighters are said to have dressed as civilians and ambushed Americans. Lynch fought fiercely and shot several enemy soldiers during the ambush. She fired her weapon after she had several gunshot wounds and kept firing until she ran out of ammunition, The Washington Post reported in Thursday's editions. She watched several soldiers in her unit die and was stabbed when Iraqi forces closed in on her position, The Post quoted U.S. officials as saying. [...] In Tuesday's raid, U.S. forces engaged in a firefight on the way into and out of the hospital but there were no coalition casualties, Brooks said. [...] "Some brave souls put their lives on the line to carry this out," Brooks said.

To which Allen Forkum adds: "Fox News reports that controversial Columbia professor has gone into hiding. Coincidentally, as the professor had disgustingly wished, a U.S. Black Hawk Helicopter Shot Down Near Karbala; 7 Killed." For further reading: American Academics Who Hate America and this news item by Paul Blair.

The U.S. war against the terrorist regime in Iraq is a proper and welcome action. In our view it should have occurred long ago. But on the bright side, this war could mark the beginning of a new, pro-capitalist (and bullish) U.S. foreign policy. For this war marks the first time the U.S. government has ever undertaken pre-emptive military action against a regime that threatens America's national security. All other U.S. military actions have been taken in response to (or in 'containment' of) threats that already had developed or nations that already had attacked America directly. Defensive, appeasing policies have caused, in the past century, the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans soldiers and --on September 11th-- thousands of innocent American civilians....

America's (and any nation's) national security is a necessary pre-condition for its economic security. In turn, economic security is the necessary pre-condition for long-term and robust equity gains. It is precisely to the extent that a nation's producers, savers and investors enjoy security of life, limb and property that they'll produce, save and invest. Nations that fail to protect such basic rights suffer brain drains, capital flight and poverty. The U.S. foreign policy of pre-emption -- which must be extended beyond Iraq -- could usher in a new wave of wealth-building. [The Capitalist Advisor, March 31, 2003]

• On President Bush: "Steadfast, but his war cluelessly flings open the gates of hell, making any sort of victory Pyrrhic."

• On Vice President Cheney: "Tells Meet the Press just before war, 'We will be greeted as liberators.' An arrogant blunder for the ages."

• Rumsfeld, down arrow: "Taking fire from TV retired generals for flawed war plan. And how did you miss the fedayeen?"

Meanwhile in reality...

[W]aving Iraqis lined the streets when the advance northwards to Baghdad was resumed...."Maybe this is the parade they had promised us," said Sgt Gary Harrison, as he returned a greeting with a wave. "They sure seem happy to see us. Let's hope they aren't the only ones." As they passed, hundreds, possibly thousands, of people emerged from their houses to signal their welcome.Whole families stood together outside their homes, the children smiling and their parents urging the Americans forward....Capt David Waldron, 31, commander of the Black Knights tank company, said: "When we drove into this town and I saw the crowds I told everyone to keep their head down. But they were so obviously friendly that I ended up waving back, too. "I even tied a Stars and Stripes to the end of my machinegun as they need to know who it is who is liberating them. "We've been hearing this from a number of areas now. It seems the message is getting through what we are doing here." ...Yesterday's demonstration was the first large-scale welcome the Americans had received. [Daily Telegraph, 4/1/03]

Hundreds of Iraqis shouting "Welcome to Iraq" greeted Marines who entered the town of Shatra Monday after storming it with planes, tanks and helicopter gunships. A foot patrol picked its way through the small southern town, 20 miles north of the city of Nassiriya, after being beckoned in by a crowd of people. "There's no problem here. We are happy to see Americans," one young man shouted. [Reuters, 3/31/03]

Triumphant Royal Marine commandos yesterday mopped up the final traces of resistance in the south of Basra...They received a warm welcome from the members of the 30,000-strong population, with children and adults giving the thumbs-up, smiling and shouting "Mister, mister, England good". One surprised Royal Marine said: "We were meant to be giving them food but they keep coming up to us and giving us stuff." [Daily Telegraph, 4/1/03]

Brig. Gen. Vincent Brooks described several instances in which local residents had helped U.S. forces throughout the country, paving the way for successful attacks against "death squads" loyal to Saddam. In one case north of the south-central Iraqi town of Nasiriyah, 100 local tribesmen joined U.S. soldiers in capturing Iraqi military prisoners and removing explosives from a bridge, he said. In the western desert, Brooks said residents of a town led U.S. troops to a hospital where weapons, munitions and gas masks were found. He said the residents carried the cache into the desert where it was blown up. [Associated Press, 4/1/03]

Alter and his Newsweek clan must be pissed. [Thanks to Paul Blair for the heads up!]

Garofalo appeared on the panel with talk show host Michael Graham and comedian/actor Larry Miller. Garofalo whined about Iraq as the victim of the U.S.: I would say a pre-emptive, unprovoked strike is not fair. This is a pre-emptive strike. It was not provoked. That is not fair."

Supposedly Saddam's attacks on his own people are provoked.

On anger at the Dixie Chicks: "You know what is good about these Dixie Chicks burnings or bashings? It's a wonderful, wonderful way for really stupid people to hook up. They meet, they throw some things on the fire, they talk about Vin Diesel, they tell stories about who their favorite Fox anchor is, they exchange phone numbers and in some cases has led to marriages."

As opposed to what: blocking some ambulance lanes, gushing over Noam Chomsky, telling stories about who their favorite murdering dictator is, and exchanging sexually transmitted diseases?

Graham recalled seeing this sign at an anti-war march: "We Support Our Troops...When They Shoot Their Officers." That set off Garofalo: "That one guy that had that one sign that you'll probably beat into the ground. You're going to use it over and over whether it actually existed or not. That's what all you right-wing radio hosts do. You make s??? up all the time."

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