Angry World War II Vet Bashes Obama, Makes No Sense

Wow, first article back and already I have hate mail. Some genius named "Mark" left a comment that I was too angry, based on my Segelstein article and something I wrote for Snopes.com. What he's referencing is a hackjob allegedly by a World War II vet named Harold Estes.

Now, Mark never said anything I had written was wrong, just that I was angry, and "pathetic" for being so angry. He didn't (or couldn't) refute anything I said, so I guess we can assume he doesn't disagree with any of it, and is only pissed that I'm "angry." Oh well.

So I decided to repost what I wrote on Snopes here. It's supposedly a letter written by Mr. Estes to President Obama, which I did, indeed, tear to pieces. I'll reproduce my comments below , with the original text being available here.

This venerable and much honored WW II vet is well known in Hawaii for his seventy-plus years of service to patriotic organizations and causes all over the country. A humble man without a political bone in his body...

Sounds like a clear indication that it's time for another one-sided, right-wing screed. Kind of like when somebody tells you "I don't want to sound like a racist but..."

My name is Harold Estes, approaching 95 on December 13 of this year. People meeting me for the first time don't believe my age because I remain wrinkle free and pretty much mentally alert.

That's nice. I'm sure how pretty you think you are and the fact that you're "pretty much" with it really adds to your credibility.

One of the benefits of my age, perhaps the only one, is to speak my mind, blunt and direct even to the head man.

"Because I'm an old man, I don't need to be civil."

I can't figure out what country you are the president of. You fly around the world telling our friends and enemies despicable lies like:
· "We're no longer a Christian nation"

That quote is not only taken out of context, it would be true as written. We aren't. And in case you're wondering, this is the United States of America.

"America is arrogant" - (Your wife even announced to the world,"America is mean-spirited." Please tell her to try preaching that nonsense to 23 generations of our war dead buried all over the globe who died for no other reason than to free a whole lot of strangers from tyranny and hopelessness.)

There are 330 million people in this country. Some are good, some are bad, but most are a combination of both. Your quotes (taken out of context again) can describe many things Americans or our government do and have done, and can even do so without diminishing the good we've done. But apologizing for our sins and acknowledging that we're not perfect is a good way to restore the faith of other countries who, unlike Mr. Estes and his ilk, aren't so blinded by a love of America to see that we really can be arrogant at times. Especially when Bush was in charge.

After 9/11 you said, "America hasn't lived up to her ideals." Which ones did you mean?

Whatever is about to follow may be either true, taken out of context, misunderstood, or just plain wrong, and I don't know which it will be just yet. However, I'm sure it will again ignore any facts that support Obama's comments, however stinging and painful (or true) they may be.

1. Was it the notion of personal liberty that 11,000 farmers and shopkeepers died for to win independence from the British ?

2. Or maybe the ideal that no man should be a slave to another man that 500,000 men died for in the Civil War?

3. I hope you didn't mean the ideal 470,000 fathers, brothers, husbands, and a lot of fellahs I knew personally died for in WWII, because we felt real strongly about not letting any nation push us around because we stand for freedom.

Mr. Estes seems to be quoting numbers of dead as if that, by itself, justified what they were fighting for. The wars we fought in served (mostly) commendable goals, but simply announcing how many people died for those goals does nothing to prove any kind of point. And yes, Mr. Estes, I'm sure the president does NOT take for granted that he's a free man.

4. I don't think you mean the ideal that says equality is better than discrimination. You know the one that a whole lot of white people understood when they helped to get you elected.

I don't really have anything constructive to say about that crack. Just that you're a jackass.

Take a little advice from a very old geezer, young man. Shape up and start acting like an American. If you don't, I'll do what I can to see you get shipped out of that fancy rental on Pennsylvania Avenue. You were elected to lead not to bow, apologize and kiss the hands of murderers and corrupt leaders who still treat their people like slaves.

I had no idea that the Japanese were such awful people. Let it go, Mr. Estes. World War II ended almost 65 years ago. (Or at least try and figure out which country you're bashing and what the president actually did there.)

And just who do you think you are telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn that Muslim major who killed 13 of his fellow soldiers and wounded dozens more.

He thinks he's the president, telling the American people not to jump to conclusions and condemn a Muslim as a "terrorist" before all the facts are in. Or are you a racist who thinks that "equality" you touted earlier simply doesn't apply to ragheads?

You mean you don't want us to do what you did when that white cop used force to subdue that black college professor in Massachusetts who was putting up a fight?

Yes, he means he doesn't want you to do what he did. Obama never officially apologized for the remark (he said the officer acted "stupidly"), but distanced himself from it. He then invited both of the parties to the White House to clear the air. What else do you think he should have done?

You don't mind offending the police calling them stupid but you don't want us to offend Muslim fanatics by calling them what they are, terrorists.

The definition of terrorism is not "killing someone while Muslim."

One more thing. I realize you never served in the military and never had to defend your country with your life but you're the Commander-in-Chief now, son. Do your job. When your battle-hardened field General asks you for 40,000 more troops to complete the mission, give them to him.

I sure am glad Mr. Estes has weighed the bureaucratic issues, the finances, and the social costs to reach this conclusion. But you should at least thank the White House for sending you a copy of all the briefing paperwork so that you could properly analyze the situation to arrive at your well-studied decision.

But if you're not in this fight to win, then get out. 

Wait, I thought you just said...

The life of one American soldier is not worth the best political strategy you're thinking of.

Now I just don't know what the hell you're talking about.

You're not going to restore American greatness by bringing back our bloated economy. That's not our greatest threat. 

You're not? With numbers extreme enough, the American economy could conceivably lead the way to worldwide recovery or pull the entire world back down into the worst depression ever. I'd say that alone means that the economy deserves far more attention than your petty demands about how much more we need to beat our chests and waggle our collective schlong at the rest of the world.

Losing the heart and soul of who we are as Americans is our big fight now. And I sure as hell don't want to think my president is the enemy in this final battle.

This is the "final battle?" Is it because 2012 is approaching? Who's the last boss, and have we stockpiled enough herbs and magic spells to beat him?

But more seriously, if you don't want to think your president is the enemy, then stop. And you do that by not (willfully) interpreting everything he does as some kind of affront to you and your precious, fragile patriotism.