"stay the course" link is broken.

Comment #1 true metaphorically as well.

...late in the night relieved to the place at last again I made my way,
Found you in death so cold dear comrade, found your body son of responding kisses (never again on earth responding,)
Bared your face in the starlight, curious the scene, cool blew the moderate wind,
Long there and then in vigil I stood, dimly around me the battlefield spreading,
Vigil wondrous and vigil sweet there in the fragrant silent night,
But not a tear fell, not even a long drawn sigh, long, long I gazed
The on the earth, partially reclining sat by your side leaning my chin in my hands,
Passing sweet hours, immortal and mystic yours with you dear comrade....

But there is no Whitman to redeem these losses, is there? In fact this whole affair is so sordid that the very idea of this sort of sentiment applying here is comical.

Or if you want a more contemporary reference, there is no chance that this war will produce any artistic piece of redemption such as Johnny Cash's Ballad of Ira Hayes. (Which incidentally made the new Eastwood pick pointless 40 years before it was made.)

Why is this? Because deep down everyone knows it's about oil, that the administration has lied again and again in claiming other motives, and that those who have died have basically died as the moral equivalent of mercenaries. The were in it for the money. They didn't die to defend a thing. It's not a war about principles. It's simply about the interests of American industry.

And because of this there will be no Walt to turn the momentary tragedy into something timeless and important. It will remain just a sad fact for a few, and a meaningless statistic for everyone else. And that's it.

No good songs. No good poetry. No heroes. No fond memories. Lost loved ones and friends. A country that cannot redeem itself. It's over. America is over.

No, America isn't over. The GOP wetdream of America as unimpeachable God-is-on-our-side Superpower may be in a shambles, but America, the idea of "the land of the free and the home of the brave" can still be salvaged from the wreckage these egocentric Apocalytic-minded idiots who've been running it for the past few years have left for the rest of us to clear up.

Start counting the days, roll up your sleeves, and get ready to put some elbow grease into setting things straight again.

I wish it were so comte, but it just isn't. Either someone put something in their kibble or the people in this country have lost their ideals. I'm pretty and sure that they have lost their way. I can't remember or can research a time when people have used the disgusting excuses they use today to marginalize people There were times back in 'the day' (Lincoln, Harrison, et. al.) when the press and public were vicious and mean. They didn't try to destroy their country though. There is something going on here that I just cannot fathom.

All the lives ever lost in war, all the limbs, minds and lives are "important and timeless".
Lost causes still have heros.
Bring them home.

Kevin, the US has had a number of dark moments (Japanese intern camps, Joseph McCarthy), almost all them stemming from fear (Pearl Harbor, Communism). 911 and terrorism is just another example. The thing is, the US has a rebellious and libertarian core that distrusts power and won't tolerate its abuse (at least once the confusion and bullshit clears). The downfall of Bush and company is an inevitable result. Enjoy.

Dan, Dan, Dan...

When will you learn? The president has never been about "stay the course."

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/10/22/bush-stay-the-course/