Hold on, Man. We don't go anywhere with 'scary', 'spooky', 'haunted', or 'forbidden' in the title.

Ah, the old Vietnam war 'We would've won it if it wasn't for you meddling kids' defense.

Hardblogger Rick Francona argues that the politicians, specifically John Murtha, are about to tie the hands of our military with statutory limitations on how military funds are spent. He argues that this is the exact same sort of "betrayal" our troops experienced in Vietnam.

For example, for years we were not permitted to bomb North Vietnamese targets north of 20 degrees north latitude – even when the North Vietnamese Air Force built an airfield just north of the line.

Bombing our way to victory? Care to place money on which branch of the military Francona served in?

There are a ton of lessons to be learned by the Vietnam war, of course. Unfortunately Francona expresses none of them in his piece. He could have argued the importance of the Powell Doctrine, or of expressing skepticism towards politicians and wariness of jingoism. Instead he chose to argue a wives's tale. Worse; he chose to invoke that wives's tale in order to attack a straw man.

It wasn't my war! You asked me, I didn't ask you! And I did what I had to do to win!

I have no idea why more sites haven't linked Kung Fu Monkey's excellent Memorial Day missive Lions Led by Donkeys in which he eviscerates the cheerleaders for the war in Iraq.

There is truth in the idea that soldiers are our designated warriors. But the accidental revelation in these attitudes is the bizarre concept that by soldiers choosing a life of taking risks on our behalf, these war supporters are somehow absolved of any responsibility to them other than emotional support and approval. There is the stink of ... the troops as employees. Like, say, gardeners. Not that I would ever make such a crude comparison.

But the fact is that soldiers make this choice in a specific context. They are not just entering a job. They are, to pull up my Catholic high school education, entering into a covenant with us. They take an oath to sacrifice their lives, if need be. That is, in my faith anyway, the holiest thing a person can do. In return, the civilian side of the covenant is a deep responsibility, a responsibility far beyond the emotional support one gives a sports team, or the minimal responsibility one has with employees. Our oath is simple:

We will make sure you have the equipment you need.

We will make sure have a clearly defined mission.

We will make sure that such missions are as well-planned as possible.

We will take care of your families while you are gone.

We will take care of you when you come home.

I'd add that losing the medical records of 26.3 MILLION vets is a major violation of that covenant with our soldiers to take care of them when they come home.

This is no small thing. Those personal records can't be recaptured, that Jeannie can't be put back in the bottle. Those vets will face the consequences of the cavalier treatment of their most personal information for the rest of their lives.

That's EVERYBODY that's worn a uniform and utilized their veteran's medical benefits. This is a monumental crime that's a little more important than the ho-hum news-of-the-day treatment it's gotten so far by the national media.

You talking about killing? Hmm? Y'all experts? Y'all know about killing?

I've been hesitant to link this Flash video Bravery which is set to James Blunt's moving song.

A word of warning if you haven't seen it: it's pretty graphic with quite a bit of blood. Personally I have a strange mixed opinion with regards to the presentation of graphic images of war from death to torture. I can't stomach it myself yet I also think it ought to be broadcast as widely as possible. People are too fucking removed from the decisions they make at the ballot box and how that has an effect on real people's lives.