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NY Times Surmises Iraq Vet's Level-Headedness Symptom of 'Deep Emotional Delusion'
NewsBusters ^ | Mark Finkelstein

Posted on 04/16/2007 3:10:56 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest

H/t reader BD.

A New York Times TV reviewer thinks the level-headedness of a U.S. Army veteran of Iraq could be symptomatic of a deep emotional disorder.

In In War’s Daily Grind, Death Is Routine, Dinner Is Good in today's Times, Ginia Bellafante reviews “Warriors,” described as "the second of 11 documentaries to be shown this week as part of PBS’s 'America at a Crossroads' series." According to Bellafante:

"Ron Maloney, a National Guard lieutenant, returns from a 22-month tour in Iraq to his neat, welcoming house on Long Island and tends to his garden. There is a robust-looking lawn, and there are pretty flowers on a vine. The peace and comfort of such luxuries are unfamiliar to so many people outside the United States, he suggests.

"But although Lieutenant Maloney has seen bad things happen both to the good and the wrong-minded, he seems immune to any genuine tumbling of the spirit. He had viewed going to war as an opportunity for growth, as another life-affirming experience like taking a new job after too much time spent in another. It is hard to tell whether this extraordinary forbearance is a product of some deep emotional delusion or an admirable quality."

Wading through the dense underbrush that is Bellfante's writing, she apparently considers Lt. Maloney's absence of "genuine tumbling of the spirit" so strange as to be suspect -- a possible sign of "deep delusion."

As a sign of just how out of touch Bellafante is with the reality of military life in Iraq, she is surprised that "another soldier, shown eating in a dining hall, doesn’t even complain about the food. The lasagna is pretty good, he explains, and there is almost always a salad bar." Having eaten in perhaps 10 different chow halls around the country, including ones in far-flung parts of Anbar province, I can testify that the food is uniformly very good, varied and almost always fresh.

If there is any "tumbling of spirit" to be had here, it is from encountering another MSMer so profoundly unfamiliar with the attitudes and realities of the U.S. military.

Mark was in Iraq in November. Contact him at mark@gunhill.net


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Foreign Affairs; News/Current Events; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: iraq; leftists; militaryhaters; nytimes
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1 posted on 04/16/2007 3:10:57 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

if ever there was proof that some people just don’t understand...


2 posted on 04/16/2007 3:12:31 PM PDT by verum ago (The Iranian Space Agency: set phasers to jihad)
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To: verum ago

I would not expect the MSM to understand a single thing about our heroes true nature. It is alien to them.


3 posted on 04/16/2007 3:15:18 PM PDT by Names Ash Housewares
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
The lasagna is pretty good, he explains, and there is almost always a salad bar." Having eaten in perhaps 10 different chow halls around the country, including ones in far-flung parts of Anbar province, I can testify that the food is uniformly very good, varied and almost always fresh.

Works for me. After being at sea for 30 days, our chow always sucked. BTW, it's also probably provide by KBR contractors, something our author neglects to mention.

4 posted on 04/16/2007 3:16:40 PM PDT by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
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To: Behind Liberal Lines; Miss Marple; an amused spectator; netmilsmom; Diogenesis; YaYa123; MEG33; ...

Times-just-doesn’t-get-military ping to Today show list.


5 posted on 04/16/2007 3:18:17 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
If there is any "tumbling of spirit" to be had here, it is from encountering another MSMer so profoundly unfamiliar with the attitudes and realities of the U.S. military.

DING-DING-DING-DING!!!

The WINNAH!!

6 posted on 04/16/2007 3:18:37 PM PDT by Old Sarge (+ /_\)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
The lasagna is pretty good, he explains, and there is almost always a salad bar." Having eaten in perhaps 10 different chow halls around the country, including ones in far-flung parts of Anbar province, I can testify that the food is uniformly very good, varied and almost always fresh.

Works for me. After being at sea for 30 days, our chow always sucked. BTW, it's also probably provide by KBR contractors, something our author neglects to mention.

oops, messed up the italics.

7 posted on 04/16/2007 3:18:46 PM PDT by neodad (USS Vincennes (CG-49) Freedom's Fortress)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

Since liberals are always *whining* about everything, they are totally surprised to find people who don’t whine about things. THIS — to them — is certainly a mental disorder, from the way they view the world...

Regards,
Star Traveler


8 posted on 04/16/2007 3:22:12 PM PDT by Star Traveler
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

WTF?

Are these people whacked out? Am I missing the whole point of this article?

When someone is in an environment away from their loved ones, exposed to danger and death, we should consider their ability to REALLY put things in perspective when they return to be symptomatic of mental illness????

Because they don’t get pissed at a flat tire or a missed bill payment, they are somehow disturbed?

Good God. I have heard it all now. Liberalism IS a mental disorder.


9 posted on 04/16/2007 3:26:43 PM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: If the Truth would help them, they would use it.)
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To: verum ago
"if ever there was proof that some people just don’t understand..."
as if it needed proof
10 posted on 04/16/2007 3:27:17 PM PDT by GSlob
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

Gosh, I would trade my wifes cooking today for the food I had in the chow hall. I guess I knew that going in. The MSM reporters should try the food.


11 posted on 04/16/2007 3:27:39 PM PDT by An Old NCO (Tired of traitors)
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To: verum ago
if ever there was proof that some people just don’t understand...

The more Knowledge they acquire the less they actually Understand.
12 posted on 04/16/2007 3:31:00 PM PDT by divine_moment_of_facts (So, I put on some tangerine lip gloss and answered the door.. I was one lucky woman.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

I was thinking this was satire.....at first.

I agree, Leftist Liberalism really IS a disorder.


13 posted on 04/16/2007 3:31:51 PM PDT by Just sayin (Is is what it is, for if it was anything else, it would be isn't.)
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To: An Old NCO

I wrote in the article that the food was “very good.” In fact it was generally great. Not only that, there was a huge variety of choices, from traditional hot dogs and hamburgers, to many different ethnic foods, ice cream stations with many choices, dessert stations with beautiful pies and cakes, fresh fruit and salads, etc. Chow was a major highlight of the day.


14 posted on 04/16/2007 3:34:30 PM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest (Watching the Today Show since 2002 so you don't have to.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
Picture that GEICO ad with the caveman and the other two people on the same screen. The lady is passing judgment on the caveman, and the anchor asks the caveman if he has any comment on what was said....

My answer to this headline is the same as the caveman, and with his delivery...

Ah...WHAT???

15 posted on 04/16/2007 3:34:32 PM PDT by NordP (I know why Hollywood is concerned about global warming...heat destroys plastic. (Thanks Ann!))
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

Facts will be twisted to fit the liberal media template.


16 posted on 04/16/2007 3:37:19 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest
The NY Times can't stand that Halliburton is better at their job than the NY Times is at reporting.

Incompetents always are jealous of those who succeeed.

17 posted on 04/16/2007 3:39:17 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: Cailleach

ping


18 posted on 04/16/2007 3:40:02 PM PDT by kalee (The offenses we give, we write in the dust; Those we take, we write in marble. JHuett)
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To: governsleastgovernsbest

It’s a subtle stab at our troops. Soldiers don’t feel anything about killing people and they show more interest in what’s for dinner.


19 posted on 04/16/2007 3:42:28 PM PDT by Doctor Raoul (What's the difference between the CIA and the Free Clinic? The Free Clinic knows how to stop leaks.)
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To: Doctor Raoul
"...Incompetents always are jealous of those who succeeed..."

Bears repeating, Dr. Raoul...bears repeating.

20 posted on 04/16/2007 3:42:31 PM PDT by rlmorel (Liberals: If the Truth would help them, they would use it.)
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