A matter of life and death

Washington Post via The Standard ^ | April 22, 2006 | Ann Hull

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Patriotism and bleak demographics make the young men of Mississippi ideal cannon fodder for the war in Iraq.

[snip]

Blake Johnson is almost 18. Tan and muscular, he plays third base for the Clarkdale High School Bulldogs. He is a B student who says "Yes, sir" when his coach corrects his batting stance. Wisps of brown hair fall above his green eyes, and a rope choker is clasped around his neck. He lives in a mobile home with his mother and younger brother on Old Highway 80 on a piece of land that never quite dries.

[snip]

Military recruiters talk of Mississippi as a special place, a patriotic place and the envy of other states. The recruiting battalion commander for the Mississippi Army National Guard says his force is as large as the one in Georgia, which has triple the population. Patriotism aside, bleak demographics make the state a ready labor pool. More than 30 percent of high school students fail to graduate. The median household income - US$32,397 (HK$252,696) - ranks lowest in the nation. When the Cooper tire plant in Tupelo cuts employee hours, the Mississippi Army National Guard experiences a bump in enlistees.

[snip]

The men in his family operate cranes, install cable and lay telephone lines. His father was mostly absent from his childhood. His mother held the family together, going back to college for her degree. She now works as an IT specialist at Peavey Electronics. They live in a mobile home on about a hectare of cleared land that cost US$3,000. A house would be nice, but Diane Johnson is afraid more manufacturing work will shift to China, leaving her with a mortgage payment and no job.

[snip]

[Cannoneer No. 4]

The contempt for Red State America just drips in this article. This is an example of enemy psychological warfare, designed to impede recruiting. I'll be blogging this later, after I've cooled down.

[onyx]

I am pinging the Mississippi list.

Now, I'll go read the article.

[hoagy62]

Note what wet rag printed the article. "The Standard" has not been known to be a friend of the US.

[onyx]

Please ping me when you have 'blogged' and have cooled down.

It's so late, I am almost afraid to read it now because it might keep me awake.

[Cindy]

I'M VERY SORRY I SAW THIS **@! BEFORE GOING TO BED.
It is written in an enemy propaganda style.

[Cannoneer No. 4]

ping

[Berlin_Freeper]

"Patriotism and bleak demographics make the young men of Mississippi ideal cannon fodder for the war in Iraq."

On the other hand we have:

"Unpatriotic and well-to-do elite Liberalism demographics make the young men of Massachusetts ideal propaganda agents for the terrorists in Iraq."

[Darkwolf377]

Will you stop reading Pravda before going to bed?!?!?!! ;)

[Cannoneer No. 4]

Blake Johnson

Looks like somebody who used to hang around with my son.

[Myrddin]

Typical BS article. My son graduated with a 4.33 GPA, all '5's on AP exams and enough credits to be a college sophomore when he picked up his high school diploma. Thiry days later he reported to Marine Corps boot camp. He signed up for the reserves before his senior year in high school. Cannon fodder? Hardly. Lance Corporal in the USMC Reserves. Served in Iraq/Kuwait. Graduating with a BA in business this July. He just turned 23 last week. He has a California real estate broker's license, 15 employees and runs two corporations. Cannon fodder indeed.

[onyx]

I can't finish the read tonight.
I am too mad.

[beyond the sea]

"Unpatriotic and well-to-do elite Liberalism demographics make the young men of Massachusetts ideal propaganda agents for the terrorists in Iraq." ----

LOL

[singfreedom]

This is in a CHINESE paper!! What business is it of these commies, literally, who the heck is in our military!! And who is Ann Hull? Is she a disillusioned Brit or an ex-pat American?

My husband, a US Army retiree, will tell you, with no coaxing, that he joined the Army initially because his folks were too poor to help him go to college. A tour in Korea and 2 (complete) tours in 'Nam later, he will also tell you he is glad he joined.

I don't think I've ever been subjected to a "soggier" bit of journalism in my life!

[Coldwater Creek]

Wow! I am impressed and you have every right to be extremely proud.

Lots more kids out here with real success stories as well.

One of our boys went into the military right out of high school. He has 19 years in service, working on his third degree and his job is to help civilians restructure and make our military a more efficient fighting force.

Cannon fodder. I don't think so.

[sumocide]

It's a reprint. Says "THE WASHINGTON POST" at the bottom.

[linda_22003]

This was on the front page of the Post on 4/9/06. Was there any FR commentary on it then?

[L98Fiero]

"Cannon fodder. I don't think so."

They don't even have cannons. What tripe.

The average soldier is just that. He's a middle-class white male. This isn't even a real story.

[R. Scott]

My, my – Mississippi is just a red (neck) State full of dumb hicks who actually prefer to enlist than go on the dole. They aren’t nearly as intelligent and sophisticated as the Enlightened Ones in California or Massachusetts. < /sarcasm>

[vetvetdoug]

I can recognize and smell feces when I see it. Mississippi has poor folks and the military is a good place to advance oneself. I did it with the help of the USAF. This article is typical leftist liberal excrement.

[LibLieSlayer]

This article is racist, bigoted, snobbish, elitist, and DEAD WRONG! I'd like to sit this b!tch down in one of the fire ant beds in my back yard, but I would cover her in Maple syrup first!

I can guarandamntee you that the 30% of meth-headed thugs that fail to graduate High School here ARE NOT the same youth that enlist in "OUR" Military. I can also guarandamntee you that this Peavy Electronics employee has never even thought about China... that is before the interviewer outright asked her about it.

The attitude displayed in this "hit piece" is why Charlie Gibson (of ABC's Good Morning America) was booed and run back into his car in Biloxi, MS. (East Point by the old National Guard Armory, 4 days after Katrina hit), when he started trying to interview people picking up the pieces of their lives. Foxnews crews were embraced.

Mississippians will NEVER listen to these satanists, and Mississippians will NEVER fail to come to the aid of "OUR" Nation.

The SOUTH fought a War to secede from the Union, and ironically today, it is the SOUTH that firmly defends and keeps "OUR" Nation and its ideals!

To all leftists, media, and enemies:

YOU ARE EITHER WITH US, OR AGAINST US... IF IT IS THE LATTER... YOUR DAY IS COMING BUD!

LLS