MacSauce continues to grow! Half a dozen new members this month. And the more UAUGers who join, the better it gets! Some of the discussions have been heating up nicely ...
While much of MacSauce is (naturally!) deeply Mac-related, there's been a rising tendency for members to weigh in on topics-of-the day. The President's recent appearance at the VietNam memorial and related current events came to the boil recently. It's a good way to illustrate MacSauce's ability to "string" a discussion together as one member after another joins in. The following fracas arose when a member began it by noting:
My Hypocrimeter reached its peak reading for the day whilst watching "Crossfire" with my favorite redneck, Bubba Buchanan. One of the topics was Bill Clinton's less than glorious service during Vietnam, so I watched with interest to see if anyone would be so impolite as to mention the fact that Bubba ducked out on the party by virtue of a "bad knee" -- which joint has subsequently experienced a miraculous recovery since he now jogs every day. To my delight his wattles shook with rage as his opposite number casually mentioned that he (Bubba) had, er, avoided the conflict. "Not so!" quoth Buchanan. "I was in the ROTC for three years in College!"
This brought the reply:
Is this bum knee any differerent than a college deferment, or a trip to Canada only to be pardoned later so you can return to the US, or having flat feet, or being too short, or having parents in the right place to get you out of the service, or any of the numerous other reasons people avoided going to Vietnam? I'm sure that Mr. Buchanan didn't protest the war on foreign soil as did our "president" Clinton. Talk about hypocrisy, look at Bill Clinton at these military memorial services -- he doesn't even know the first thing about the military and yet he is qualified to preside over a memorial service! All those men and women that died protecting our freedoms would turn over in their graves if they knew a war protester was memorializing them!
And the answer:
Q: Is (Buchanan's) bum knee any differerent than a college deferment..."
A: Yup, 'tis. Buchanan and his fellow chicken-hawks were and are content to beat on the wardrums but when the moment came to fight they copped out. The hypocrimeter gives them a 10!
Q: "Buchanan didn't protest the war on foreign soil as did our "president" Clinton."
A: Curious reasoning at work here -- Clinton is criticized for "criticizing the war on foreign soil." Let's flip that one around: he came out, openly, and opposed a war that ended up costing thousands of lives. He (and many of his generation) regarded that war as unjust and indeed unamerican. The question remains moot -- but that war was lost not only because of those who opposed it but because those who favoured it were often like Bubba Buchanan -- happy to send less favoured young men to struggle in a most ill-conceived foreign engagement while they remained safely at home with knee problems. Clinton at least stood up and said it was wrong and then did all he could to avoid being sent. Better, of course, that he would have been a forthright conscientious objector and not sought to weasle out via ROTC etc -- but at least he said it was wrong. The fact that he did so "on foreign soil" -- so what? Wrong is wrong, and "foreign soil" doesn't alter anything.
Q: "[Clinton] doesn't even know the first thing about the military"
A: True, he didn't spend a war making training movies in Hollywood, but (when last I checked) isn't there a quaint notion about civilian control of the military? Should we re-write the constitution so as to make only military-trained men eligible to be commanders-in-chief?
And the response:
Sorry, but you are dead wrong on this one. The armed conflict (not a war remember) was lost because Congress (democratically controlled as it has been for the last forty years) would not give the military the authority to go in a do what a military is trained to do WIN WARS (remember the Persian Gulf War)!!!!!! They instead wanted to direct the conflict from their posh congressional seats here in the states. Why do you think Clinton felt he had to protest the conflict on foreign soil an not at home? I think now that Clinton is President and has control he has taken his protest to the next level and is trying to "gut" the military and the defense industry. If it is true spending cuts you want as is the justification for cutting the military budget then why not go after the Social Welfare programs which suck up billions of dollars and give nothing in return!!
“less favoured young men” -- sounds like you are trying to foster a bit of class envy here! If you have an employer whom offers a steady income and benefits (medical/dental, educational, life insurance, etc.) for not only yourself, but your immediate family upon your death and you as a prospective employee have little or no education, no job, and little chance of obtaining a well paying job.
A. Do you go into the military or......
B. Do you sit on you butt and hope for a better future and a handout!
And the reply:
Oh dear, so the War was lost by Congress and not by the Military who only lost it because Congress wouldn't give them a free hand? I hate to interfere with comforting myths, but have you ever wondered WHY Congress felt it necessary to "interfere" with the war? Could it be because they were responding to their perception of their electorates' wishes?? And if you think the military planners covered themselves in glory, your punishment should be to read the works of General William Westmoreland on the subject! The military AND their political masters rode down this misbegotten road together...
I apologise for any class-envy this might be stir up, but the fact is that VietNam was NOT a volunteer's war! It tended to draft the less-favoured while Bubba Buchanan & other chickenhawks were generally able to get college exemptions and deferements (while wholeheartedly supporting the patriotic effort, of course.)
And, yes, Clinton would have retained a bit of stature if he'd objected conscientiously and gone to jail or attended the conflict as a stretcher bearer. He copped out. And so he, and we, now reap the full harvest of paranoia now coming in. I'd thought that when Neanderthals like Rep Dorman accused him of being an agent of the KGB that's be enough to satisfy even the most rabid full-mooners, but I wuz wrong!
The ending of the Cold War is nothing but a plot to gut the military!
And if budget cuts don't do it, gays in the shower rooms will. I mean, what Real Man could ever be asked to bare his butt under such circumstances?
Hell, this is fun!
(PS: Do you know how Rush Limbaugh ducked out on military service? Well, it so happens that he told his draft board .... no, no, this has gone too far.)
This last comment brought in a third party:
No I don't know. This I would love to read!
And a fourth:
Clinton is a liar, a coward, and should NOT have spoken at the ceremony, but so what… at least he's in character (or is character an error here?)
And more:
"Is (Buchanan's) bum knee any differerent than a college deferment..."
Unless the college deferment is for the purpose of attending an ROTC program NO, IT IS NOT!!
Buchanan didn't protest the war on foreign soil as did our "president" Clinton.
Clinton and Fonda make a great pair. The American system allows for change from within. Many who served our country protested vehemently within the system and this protest along with many other factors helped to get th US out of Vietnam.
"[Clinton] doesn't even know the first thing about the military"
He knows little enough that he dislikes it and wants to destroy it. Knowlegeable civilian control of the military is essential for our republic. Control of the military is one thing. Destruction and demoralization (Clinton's agenda) is quite another.
But the curious would not be put off:
Would like to see your reference for the Rush Limbaugh remark or are you once again passing off bulls**t for fact!! --
And the response:
I'm shocked -- shocked!! -- that anyone could seriously expect me to reveal the exact circumstances that enabled my hero Rush Limbaugh to evade the military service he so warmly recommends for others. What transpires between a man and his draft board is private and should remain so.
I will say, however, that it remains my conviction that cross dressing should not, in itself, disqualify a fellow from following the flag.
And the counter response:
The hypocrimeter gives that response an 11.
To which, the reply:
Hey! An eleven!! I broke the record!!!
(I still say that animal husbandry should not exclude one from military service and what a radio personality does with an adult, consenting hampster in the privacy of his bedroom is of no concern to anyone else, much less his draft board)
And then a contribution from a new discussant. (George, you're awful lucky we agreed to make this anonymous):
I thought that the proper use of Duct tape prevents the hamster from exploding!
As a good friend once said, (speaking of animal husbandry), "I miss EWE, sooooooooo much"
Whoops, Rush Limbaugh comes on TV in just a minute.
Have to go and be liberalized some. He calms me down!
Well, there you have it! MacSauce is not just about our Macs, it's about anything and everything we want it to be.
