coward

[Joel S. Berson]

At 8/10/2012 01:06 PM, W Brewer wrote:
>Dang. BGZ beat me to it: <<<In 2002, Bill Maher famously lost his job
>hosting ABC's "Politically Incorrect" after questioning whether the 9/11
>terrorists were "cowards">>>
>
>WB: My reaction at the time was for a <<Martyrs' Brigade for Freedom &
>Democracy, Inc.>> Though the notion of suicide is repugnant to most
>Americans, the notion of self-sacrifice in a military context is somewhat
>more palatable. I therefore proposed that those who have most benefited
>from a military career should volunteer for a Martyrs' Brigade for Freedom
>& Democracy, to be drawn from the ranks of retired military personnel,
>starting with the highest ranks and working on down, as wartime
>requirements dictated.

I believe Benjamin Franklin made a similar proposal -- that men
should be enlisted into the militia oldest first.

Joel

>For example, a retired admiral would strap on a
>suicide belt, dress in a burqa, and advance towards a Taliban machine gun
>nest in Afghanistan, and then do the right thing. Culling the ranks of
>retired field grade officers would in fact have the additional side-benefit
>of reducing entitlement payouts that much sooner. The vast pool of military
>retirees should last through a number of future conflicts; but, if
>necessary, volunteers could also be drawn from amongst retired Congress
>persons, and so on, down through the political pool. The undesirable
>effects of wasting youthful kamekazis by the Japanese during WWII should
>not be lost on us, as it has apparently been by other Martyrs' Brigades.
>
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>The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org

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The American Dialect Society - http://www.americandialect.org