SHUT UP HIPPY DOUBLE SHOT

The Shut Up Hippy ward is given to those who have distinguished themselves with traitorous and/or assanine political statements. Two fine gentlemen made it their business last week to step into the media spotlight and make absolutely ludicrous declarations. Unfortunately one of these men is a former military commander, and the other is a former chief executive. Both have proven themselves to be, as Rummy used to say, "uniformly unhelpful".

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Under normal circumstances, this award would never be directed at a former member of the United States armed forces. Retired LG Ricardo Sanchez, former U.S. military chief in Iraq, spoke this week in very harsh terms, criticizing American civilian leadership as incompetent and suggesting they would be court martialed if they were service members. He called Iraq "a nightmare with no end in sight." Just so we're clear, LG Sanchez was commander of forces in Iraq for about a year starting in mid-2003. He retired in the wake of the Abu Graib scandal, and while cleared of any wrongdoing, it happened on his watch and under his nose despite several visits to the prison. LG Sanchez's statements this week ignore his personal responsibility for all his complaints. Why, General, did you not speak out on any of these matters while you were commander? Why, sir, are you avoiding your own accountability? Management of the war does not rely solely on the civilian leaders. This President, for all his flaws, has always put a high priority on advice from the military. General Sanchez had nearly an entire year to improve conditions on the ground in Iraq. He failed. General Sanchez had nearly an entire year with an unlimited media platform and highest access to the President and SECDEF to speak out on his concerns. He did not. General Sanchez, as overall commander, is directly responsible for the abuses in Iraq, and is duty bound to prevent or prosecute any such cases. He failed, allowing an internal report to leak to the media months after he had received it and taken no action. He was allowed to waltz away into a cushy retirement when in fact he probably should have been the subject of a major investigation or court martial himself. The General has zero credibility, and likely is surfacing now in connection with a selling a book. Instead of criticizing the very leadership you were a part of and encouraging the America's enemies, General Ricardo Sanchez: SHUT UP HIPPY.

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Speaking of selling crappy books, The Peanut Man, aka former President Jimmy Carter, made a softball media tour this week, declaring Dick Cheney a "disaster" and accusing the United States of torture. Everytime Peanut Man writes another book wasting thousands of trees, he goes out and reminds us all how bad a CINC he really was. Carter should be an expert on torture: he tortured the American electorate for four long, painful years. His was an administration that presided over the weakening of America and the near decimation of our economy. Carter used the "Misery Index", the combined number of unemployment and inflation, as a cudgel to beat Ford in 1976. Using that standard, Peanut Man's reign was a massive failure, even when compared to the curent administration, which Carter called "the worst in history". When Carter left office the Misery Index stood at 20.2 percent. By comparison, today's Misery Index of 7.1 percent looks pretty darn good. Carter's response to the Arab oil embargo was to start wearing sweaters and telling the American people to turn down the thermostat to 68 degrees. His fanciful foreign policy based on "human rights" was another disastrous failure. His constant embracement of murderous dictators, which continues to this day, is repugnant. During his term in office, Peanut Man gutted the defense and intelligence budgets, axing the neutron bomb and attempting to axe the later rescued B1 bomber, moves that only emboldened the Soviet Union. By the end of the Carter administration the Soviets were advancing from Afghanistan to Grenada. Carter gave away strategic control of the Panama Canal. Jimmy Carter's military faced a crippling shortage of spare parts for aircraft and ships, as well as the trained crews to operate them. Carter stood weakly by for 444 days as Americans were held hostage in Iran and did absolutely nothing. His neglect of the military came home to roost when an attempted hostage rescue mission in Iran failed, resulting in the loss of eight aircraft, three Marines, and five Airmen. He was by any standard the worst CINC since, well, maybe ever. Carter is now even reminiscing about the safe and secure 1990s, conveniently forgetting the numerous terrorist attacks that Slick Willie failed to adequately address. For your completely twisted memory and inane screeds, Peanut Man, SHUT UP HIPPY.

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JINGOCON