Outgoing TO Mayor, David Miller, Makes a Remembrance Day Speech Worth Remembering And Insults Joe Warmington’s War Mongering Sensitivities

Aww, poor Joe,  outgoing Toronto mayor, David Miller  steps out of the usual war glorifying mold to make a plea for peace for his Remembrance Day remarks yesterday. 

“The reality is that the depravity of war continues today” — Mayor David Miller

“Today,” he told the crowd outside of Old City Hall Thursday. “I’m reminded of the words President Jimmy Carter spoke in 2002 while accepting the Nobel Peace Prize: He said war may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other’s children.”

It seems that war mongering wingnuts like Joe Warmington have gotten their knickers in a twist about it.    Like your typical right wing nut Sun Media columnist, Warmington lacks originality, the column, dripping with the usual war glorifying cliches the brainwashed masses swallow, hook, line and sinker every year.

Remembrance Day; pretty ceremonies of playing “Taps”, a sea of cheap red poppies, war glorifying speeches patronizing the old veterans in full dress uniforms while mourning those who were killed in the line of duty (those killed in the line of duty are especially honoured, naturally, let’s remember, they cost the c.  Those very same old veterans who are fighting, being nickel and dimed by Veteran’s Affairs Canada in a most dishonorable and undignified fashion. Funnier, for that one moment,  while they wear the uniform, decorated with those metals, they’re made to feel important, but made to feel like a piece of shit when they attempt to claim what’s rightfully their’s, so spare the bull-shit, Joe.

Warmington goes on, spewing the BS:

A lot of people died to give him his free speech. But they died to allow us to criticize a powerful person like him, too, without threat of jail

I dunno Joe, I think there about 1000 G20 protesters and innocent bystanders and passersby detained in animal cages in Downtown Toronto who would beg to differ with you.  Not to mention, Stevie Spiteful’s new proposed Anti Anti-Semitic/Israel criticism legislation. But, I digress.

A legion member had found Miller’s speech “cynical”. Rich, given it was an Ontario Royal Canadian Legion that not only condoned, but also awarded a best costume prize to some wingnut in a KKK costume stringing a man with a painted black face with a noose around his neck.  Perhaps that’s the real freedom of speech Warmington and his ilk refer to; hate speech.  Not impressed.

Miller, who despite paying some tribute to our soldiers in other sections of the speech, seems to not understand the purpose of Remembrance Day: “We gather today as we do every year in sadness, in mourning and in the faint hope that next year we will not be remembering any additional casualties of war. Sadly, history teaches us that is not likely to be the case.”

Not good enough for Warmington, it appears, because, well, but…but…Afghan girls can go to school now!!  Really? They can? Without worrying about their well being? After the 9th schoolgirl poisoning in Kabul just last August, Me thinks not!  I dunno, call me cynical, but our troops risking their lives so girls can risk poisoning and other harmful goodies for going to school (many from more traditional homes or those who fear for their safety are probably kept away from school anyway), is pretty depraved.

What’s even more depraved about war, and this war in particular? It’s how no one tells the truth about it. The bottom line is that war is big business; it’s a major employment program in the US and surely in Canada as well. Major corporations making a killing who have very powerful lobbyists who buy and sell politicians particularly in the US. Take that Joe!

When a politician of any stripe comes out and does and/or says something against the grain like most profess they’d like their politicians to do, it gets met with criticism and verbal slammings in the corporate media and by Jane and Joe Six Pack themselves. David Miller, albeit a lame duck politician with no electorate to play up to,  said what was really on his mind instead of the typically war glorifying cliches oozing of the usual hypocrisies; he spoke the truth. He should be applauded for his effort.  In stead, he gets slammed.

When Miller says that while mourning the loss of soldiers this year with the hope of not mourning any more casualities the following year, he probably understands Remembrance Day better than War mongering Warmington and his ilk. 

But, Joe, have no fear, next year at Remembrance Day, I’m sure Rob Ford will have a nice war glorifying Archie Bunker style speech riddled with all the cliches you enjoy so much, in the tea-baggiest way possible.

No wonder I never bother with poppies. 

I mean no disrespect to war veterans. I just think the best way to honour them is for our governments to treat them with the dignity they deserve and to give them their rightful benefits in a timely manner without them having to nickel and dime for it. Also, to not punish those who speak up on their behalf. 

Pretty shows in a sea of red poppies amidst “Taps”  and war glorifying speeches riddled with cliches is cheap and hollow and insincere for the most part.