Squirrels, Rabbits and The Greatest Frickin' Generation

Saturday with the Simonizer found him putting a shine on those two pillars of nationalism - God and country. He was having a little chat with two of Billy Graham's shysters grandchildren who have written a book glorifying their humble grandpa who lives in "log cabin" and who we find out "used to preach to squirrels and rabbits." Funny how the corporate/mainstream media like NPR love books that lionize Billy Graham but just can't seem to find the time to cover books that are well researched (and critical of America's greatest war preacher).

Just wouldn't be militaristic enough for Scott Simon without a gooey tribute to the warrior ethos. What better way than a grandfatherly sort who reenlisted after September 11th and now at the age of 60 is in Iraq. Ignoring that the war in Iraq has made many of us citizens of the planet poorer, unsafe and - of course - dead, we get to hear his wife tell us how her granddaughter "who's in about the fifth grade...was very happy to know that Papa Jim was trying to do something to keep the country safe." Aargh...

Lastly, I was struck by a piece from Jackie Lyden on Sunday's ATC. It's a decent enough report about the problems that the tanking housing market has created for WWII era retirees. When I heard her start the story I thought she called them the "Grayest Generation" which seemed a witty turn of Brokaw's sloppy "Greatest Generation" cognomen. But alas, NPR and Leyden have decided that this inaccurate (and propagandistic) label should stand as objective truth.

Gosh, and I didn't even get around to mentioning Sunday's fluffy, feel-good "This I Believe" piece about the power of Teddy Bears...from a veteran of Bagram in Afghanistan...yeah, that Bargram - home of cuddly, feel-good American soft-power...