Ben Stein also lamented that “not one prayer or moment of silence [was heard during the 3.5 Oscar show] for those who have given their lives” in Iraq. I hate this right-wing rhetorical tactic. Cheer our men and the women in the military who are mainly doing what they can to survive and nothing more (of course), and let them know they have our support (ditto) except that righties always twist this into a vote of support for the general effort in Iraq and the fact that what we’re doing over there right now is inspiring revenge-lust among who knows how many thousands of Muslims, and will most likely bring about another 9/11 down the road. And Stein’s line that men and woman in the military in Iraq have “given their lives” is crap. I know what giving is, and it has nothing to do with being shot or shrapnelled to death because your vehicle didn’t have the right kind of armor. My dad was with the Marines against the Japanese in World War II, and he says he never knew a soldier who gave his life for anything. Getting killed is about bad luck or getting sloppy or whatever, but nobody goes up to God or the enemy and says, “Here…take my life. It’s yours. Consider it a donation for the cause we’re fighting for.”