[Vision2020] Commentary by Michael Costello of the Lewiston Tribune

[keely emerinemix]

Tom, you are absolutely right on this.  The misuse of statistics, or the 
apparent fabrication of statistics, is being used to divide people in a time 
when we can least afford division.  Differences, yes; but the ripping apart 
of the common bonds that sustain us in community, no.

Of secondary importance is the misuse of statistics to illustrate important 
points, only to have advocates lose credibility by being exposed as idiots 
or liars.  A recent Christianity Today article properly excoriated some 
evangelicals who scream ridiculous statistics and then use them as the basis 
for utterly absurd conclusions and, worse, profiteering.  It's wrong to lie, 
and it's also not very effective, either.  (An example in the article was a 
pastors' group proclaiming that statistics bear out that Christianity would 
come to an end within 30 years . . . but, of course, attendance at their 
conference would help save the faith from the forces of young people's 
indifference.   And the saints all heaved a sigh of relief.  Or just heaved 
. . . )

I don't know of anyone who wants the U.S. to "lose" the war in Iraq, but I'm 
grateful to be counted among the majority of Americans who no longer, or 
never did, support our involvement there.  Perhaps it's time to start asking 
what it is the Bush administration wants us to lose by continuing to wage 
war.  What a list that would be!

keely


From: "Tom Hansen" <thansen at moscow.com>
To: "Vision 2020" <vision2020 at moscow.com>
CC: kozmocostello at hotmail.com
Subject: [Vision2020] Commentary by Michael Costello of the Lewiston Tribune
Date: Sat, 10 Feb 2007 15:36:55 -0800

 >From today's (February 10, 2007) Lewiston Tribune -

Buried within the phlegm espoused below by Michael Costello is the
statement:

"A recent opinion poll revealed that only 51 percent of registered Democrats
actually wanted the United States to win this war. More than a third (34
percent) actually wanted failure and another 15 percent were uncertain."

As loose as Mr. Costello is with such ignorant numeration, I CHALLENGE him
to identify the source of his stated opinion poll, the one that claims "More
than a third [of registered Democrats] wanted failure [in the war] . . . "

Just what is your news source, Mr. Costello, to make such a claim?

It's the unsubstantiated crap such as this expressed by Mr. Costello, and
supported by self-serving blogs, that creates a false sense of indignation
between neighbors, that divides a nation that so desperately needs a sense
of unity.

-------------------------------------------------------------

COMMENTARY: Michael Costello...Some perspective on grim milestones

Michael Costello

It's easy to tell when we're a long way from the Iraq war's next "grim
milestone." With the last grim milestone receding into the past and the next
grim milestone a year or more away, the mainstream media are forced to
concoct such silly headlines as Tuesday's Associated Press story, "Death
toll keeps rising ...," as though it might actually go down.

It's probably no coincidence that grim milestones are all multiples of 10,
as I'm sure that the same lively minds that cook up headlines like the one
noted above still need their fingers to count on.

Trust me. The 2,999th life lost was just as precious as the 3,000th.

Grim milestones could be tabulated another way, without abandoning the
powers-of-10 rule. For example, if our losses continue at their current
pace, we'll reach 1 percent of the lives lost during the Civil War in
another 18 months or so. The same goes for World War II. And keeping the
math simple, later this year, we'll approach half of the losses we suffered
during the Philippines anti-insurgency effort of 1899.

It's worth remembering that nearly twice as many servicemen died in
accidents during the final full year of the Carter administration as died in
Iraq last year. Considering how terribly underfunded the military was during
his reign of error, it's likely that many of those deaths were attributable
to poorly maintained equipment. I don't recall any newspapers declaring a
grim milestone when the 2,000th active-duty serviceman died in 1980.

Although the "Greatest Generation" that fought so nobly during World War II
deserves its notation, this country has never produced a better quality of
men and women than those who have volunteered to fight this war. The threat
that challenged the Greatest Generation was more immediate and less abstract
than the challenge this generation's finest have volunteered to engage.

For most Americans, the threat we face is just as remote and theoretical as
global warming and just as easy to ignore in our daily lives. Every time I
see a public service announcement warning us of the threat of global
warming, I have to wonder if just once in a while the threat of radical
Islam might deserve such mention.

And this generation's warriors are sacrificing a much more comfortable
lifestyle than the Greatest Generation left behind. While most of this
generation chooses to accept challenges no greater than the seventh level of
some video game, a small fraction so values a country that can provide most
of its citizens with such untroubled lives that it gave up its share of it
to defend it for the rest of us. That such a decadent society can still
produce warriors of such valor undoubtedly challenges our enemies'
preconceptions.

This is particularly amazing as so much of our popular culture and our
education establishment is dedicated to convincing young minds that America
is at its core a corrupt, evil and oppressive place not worth defending. We
have entire academic departments within our universities devoted to
poisoning young minds.

In spite of all the institutions dedicated to demoralizing our youth, today
at least we still produce enough of these fine young men to keep our nation
secure. We will have reached a genuinely grim milestone when we no longer
can.

Nevertheless, this war has certainly not been without its grim milestones.

A recent opinion poll revealed that only 51 percent of registered Democrats
actually wanted the United States to win this war. More than a third (34
percent) actually wanted failure and another 15 percent were uncertain. I'm
not sure when it happened, but surely we have long ago passed a grim
milestone when barely half of the majority party still wants this nation to
win on the battlefield.

Recently a New York Times reporter was publicly scolded by his newspaper's
ombudsman and its managing editor for stating on the Charlie Rose show that
he hoped for a U.S. victory in Iraq. Surely it was a grim milestone when the
nation's historically premier newspaper crossed a line that considers
patriotism in time of war inappropriate.

For a time last year, the French government was unable to convince the
French military to fulfill France's obligations to the peacekeeping force in
southern Lebanon. When the U.S. military views its primary task as marching
in parades, then we will have truly reached our last "grim milestone."

-------------------------------------------------------------

Pro patria,

Tom Hansen
SFC, US Army (Retired)
Moscow, Idaho
Democrat

"I love my country but fear my government."

- Author Unknown



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