We're not really allowed to have an adult conversion about war because political adversaries are so eager to use our words to polarize and attack -- which is what happened to Chris Hayes yesterday when he discussed his discomfort with the word "hero" during his Memorial Day segment. He has since issued this statement:

On Sunday, in discussing the uses of the word "hero" to describe those members of the armed forces who have given their lives, I don't think I lived up to the standards of rigor, respect and empathy for those affected by the issues we discuss that I've set for myself. I am deeply sorry for that.

As many have rightly pointed out, it's very easy for me, a TV host, to opine about the people who fight our wars, having never dodged a bullet or guarded a post or walked a mile in their boots. Of course, that is true of the overwhelming majority of our nation's citizens as a whole. One of the points made during Sunday's show was just how removed most Americans are from the wars we fight, how small a percentage of our population is asked to shoulder the entire burden and how easy it becomes to never read the names of those who are wounded and fight and die, to not ask questions about the direction of our strategy in Afghanistan, and to assuage our own collective guilt about this disconnect with a pro-forma ritual that we observe briefly before returning to our barbecues.

But in seeking to discuss the civilian-military divide and the social distance between those who fight and those who don't, I ended up reinforcing it, conforming to a stereotype of a removed pundit whose views are not anchored in the very real and very wrenching experience of this long decade of war. And for that I am truly sorry.

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Glenn Beck hosted one of his hourlong sessions before a studio audience talking about the role of heroes in American life. The consensus, both by Beck and his panelists, was that Americans no longer look up to their historic heroes the way they should. Instead, as Beck suggested, we have "Mao Tse Tung hanging in our White House."

Say again? Oh yeah -- the Obama administration is riddled with radical Marxist revolutionaries. Right. Tell that to progressives right now. Moron.

Anyway, Beck apparently draws the line when it comes to the possibility, heaven forfend, Obama might be regarded as a hero:

Beck: I'm a big visual guy. And if you look at the way Barack Obama was imaged -- he was, as a savior. He was, as a -- you look at it now, anybody notice -- you watch the newspaper, and you watch the photos of him coming out of the White House, almost always, they'll have a shot of him with the seal of the President -- you notice that? And it almost looks like a halo. They'll take a shot from the side, and he's standing there, and it looks like a Russian icon!

He's talking about the photos of the president that have been shot for some time now whenever there's a press appearance at the White House. And it didn't start with Obama:

Indeed, if we're suddenly all worried about presidents being made out to be heroes, you have to wonder where Beck was when W. strutted out to his "Mission Accomplished" photo-op:

Now that's what I call an action hero.

Fortunately, Obama has spared us any codpiece appearances.

Mock Paper Scissors: Day Seven of the Vitter-Bardwell Watch

TBogg: Does Joe Lieberman have any goals beyond promoting Joe Lieberman?

Instaputz: OY. Another gal who can't write is expected to produce a book for an audience who can't read? Sarah Palin will plotz!

Rude Pundit: Hoo boy. Pat Buchanan's paramilitary heroes are to teabaggers what a gay rights parade is to that parade's extra special leather contingent.

Evil Slut Clique: Think Before You Pink, a comprehensive overview.

Mike is at a music gig this week; send tips [with subject heading ROUND UP] temporarily to bluegalsblog AT gmail.

No more James Bond for the pinheads at table seven... (h/t Mr. M.)

Others might have been taken in by the sheer, overwhelming "factiness" of the Jamie Leigh Jones rape/kidnapping/extortion case, but not the Heroes of the Wingnut State. John Swift (satire, but still) takes up the tale:

… Indeed, if the terrorists wanted to undermine the war effort and destroy Western Civilization as we know it, this would be the perfect way to do it. Find an intelligent, attractive young woman to claim she was gang raped by contractors who work at the Vice President's company, and then get a Republican congressman and the State Department to back up part of her story. It's brilliantly evil and almost foolproof! There was just one thing these clever terrorists didn't count on: bloggers like Shackleford, Curt and Ace who would see right through their fiendish plan. …

Jon Swift has links to the right wing bloggers in question, as we don't like to link them here, ahem....

Although I have yet to embrace the Harry Potter phenomenon -- almost 400 million books in print! -- I figured I would mark the occasion of the final book's release with this classic clip of the crazy lady from Jesus Camp.

And while I'm on the subject, let me say something about Harry Potter: Warlocks are enemies of God. And I don't care what kind of hero they are, they're an enemy of God. And had it been in the Old Testament, Harry Potter would have been put to death! You don't make heroes out of warlocks!

How this doesn't qualify as psychological child abuse is beyond me. Poor kids.

...the Rutgers basketball team can go from sports heroes to victims to role models in just a few days, Kudos to Imus...Or something like that....

MaxSpeak, You Listen! The Story of Thanksgiving...and also of another land grab

The Largest Minority: On 'Real Time with Bill Maher', actor Richard Dreyfuss gave the country a civics lesson. Powerful and inspiring.  Here's Civics Lesson Part 2

Nitpicker: No country, party, religion or profession has yet cornered the market on heroes or assholes.

Booman Tribune: Another stolen election in Florida

The Reaction: Here's what Bush will do about Iraq,,,

Bring it On! Screwed by Bush (PG) 

The Wall Street journal are such heroes to the masses. They filed a motion to have the federal court unseal eight pages of redacted information that Patrick Fitzgerald used against Judy Miller, which justified her almost three months in the hoosegow. What great guys aren't they? What a cool way to help their buddy Scooter the deer f--ker Libby out by trying to uncover as much evidence as possible. They are so worried about their beloved President that they just have to lend a helping hand. Jane at Firedoglake has much more. One thing is for certain-Jane says about Patrick Fitzgerald, "It's not over for him until the last bell is rung. Unseal that, you bastards "

JAG Memos Revealed Discourse.net

Marty Lederman has an important post about the torture scandal, The Heroes of the Pentagon's Interrogation Scandal -- Finally, the JAG Memos
. As Marty says, "These memos reveal the JAGs as the real heroes of this story."

The memos are extraordinary. They are written by JAGs from the Air Force, Navy, Army and Marines. As Senator Graham put it on Monday, these folks "are not from the ACLU. These are not from people who are soft on terrorism, who want to coddle foreign terrorists. These are all professional military lawyers who have dedicated their lives, with 20-plus year careers, to serving the men and women in uniform and protecting their Nation. They were giving a warning shot across the bow of the policymakers that there are certain corners you cannot afford to cut because you will wind up meeting yourself."
It is fair to say that these accounts reflected sustained, uniform and passionate opposition to the OLC legal theories that were being foisted upon the military. Indeed, the tone of the memos is one of barely concealed incredulity, and outrage--disbelief--that a young legal academic from DOJ could sweep right in and so quickly overturn decades of carefully wrought military policy, using legal analysis that almost certainly would not withstand scrutiny outside the Administration and around the world. ...

In particular, these memos eloquently warn of the grave harms that could result from such a radical shift in policies and legal understandings--harms not only to the prospects for nation's efforts to stop terrorism, but also to military interrogators and officers who could face domestic and international prosecution for engaging in such conduct, and, most importantly, to U.S. forces who are themselves detained in this and future conflicts.

He's also got the text of six key JAG memos. Essential reading.

It is fair to say that these accounts reflected sustained, uniform and passionate opposition to the OLC legal theories that were being foisted upon the military. Indeed, the tone of the memos is one of barely concealed incredulity, and outrage--disbelief--that a young legal academic from DOJ could sweep right in and so quickly overturn decades of carefully wrought military policy, using legal analysis that almost certainly would not withstand scrutiny outside the Administration and around the world. ...

In particular, these memos eloquently warn of the grave harms that could result from such a radical shift in policies and legal understandings--harms not only to the prospects for nation's efforts to stop terrorism, but also to military interrogators and officers who could face domestic and international prosecution for engaging in such conduct, and, most importantly, to U.S. forces who are themselves detained in this and future conflicts.

He's also got the text of six key JAG memos. Essential reading.

Here's a video that was put together by the Downing Street Memo folks.

Download | play -WMP only

"It's tempting in the flurry of minutes and memos and articles to get so wrapped up in the story that you forget exactly who the story is about. It's not about impeaching the President. It's not about Republicans and Democrats. It has, and always will be, about them. About those heroes who sacrificed and trusted their government. About those with brave hearts who cannot speak now from the grave. And so, it is up to us to speak for them. It is up to the media to ask the questions that would have flowed from their lips, were those heroes alive today."

For all the up-to-the minute info: http://www.downingstreetmemo.com/