The Weathermen were an extremist group that devoted themselves to violence. They fell out of the ranks of the SDS because the majority of the people involved in The Peace Movement didn't approve of violence. There was a lot that went wrong in the sixties, including deserters to the war, racism, bigotry, corruption in government and the discovery of the Watergate break-in which prompted a movement to impeach the then president Nixon.
After Nixon resigned, there was a demand by Gerald Ford to heal this country. The troops were removed from Vietnam after the escalation to the Tet Offensive and the demands of Commanders and Generals to draft 200,000 more American boys to fighting a war that was completely hopeless. There was a movement to demand recognition of the POWs/MIAs and to return our soldiers from the clutches of cruelty to their waiting families at home. There was also blanket amnesty given to deserters as they returned from Canada.
Those that opposed the Vietnam War were correct. The violence within the boundaries of the USA on BOTH sides of the issue was wrong. Those that were found guilty of wrong doing were punished to the extent the government saw it appropriate, but, the point is Sarah Palin is bring up issues completely irrelevant to our society today. The radicals of the sixties were well incorporated BACK into our society and have proven to be valuable members of this society.
They were right to oppose the Vietnam War, its unending killing machine and they are forgiven for any and all actions on their part through the healing history of this country started by Gerald Ford. I don't want to hear it anymore.
Sarah Palin is carrying on like a spoiled child unable to get her way, when in fact she needs to appreciate EXACTLY what opposition to wrongful authority is and how it leads to peace rather than death. I find her a horrible woman incapable of defending her country, especially in the face of direly wrongful acts such as the invasion into Iraq while leaving the USA national security at jeopardy to terrorists that remain viable in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan.
She is a horror in more ways than one. Palin has huge character issues and everyone needs to appreciate that fact. She didn't unearth the corruption with Veco (click here). She simply 'rode the train of deceit' opportunistically to a Governorship. It's easy to sell a plane. It is another thing to bring down authority when it is wrong.
...and what about those donations?...
...when Sarah Palin ran for Lieutenant Governor of Alaska in 2002 (ultimately losing) she gathered $5,000 (or 10% of her campaign fund) from VECO officials and/or their wives (public information), including $500 directly from Bill Allen (yes, the Bill Allen above who pleaded guilty to Federal charges of bribery and was forced to resign)... (click here)
NO DIFFERENT than Iraq. Vietnam had many attempts to escalate war, change strategies and overcome the populous of these countries to unite under the leadership of Ho Chi Minh. The struggle of the Vietnamese people was different. They wanted to unit their country after being divided after WWII. In Iraq, the 'ethnic' differences defy unification and seek only to divide into three autonomous regions.
Why any USA pilot would fly blindly over Hanoi is beyond comprehension. It was the capital city. The planes would be met with enough fire power to bring them down. McCain's plane crash resulting in his capture was a given on such a mission.
Outside of the wrongful assault on Hanoi which killed innocent civilians, there were many simply stupid battles in Vietnam up to that point and I won't revisit them here, but, there are enough movies about the mess to chock a horse.
Following this escalation by the USA, the North Vietnamese in Hanoi organized The Tet Offienisve (click here). The more aggression the USA exhibited toward the North Vietnamese, the more they escalated in return.
...To a growing segment of the American public, Tet demonstrated the resolve of the Vietcong and the tenuous control South Vietnam had over its own territory. It also helped unite those at home in their dissenting opinions of the war....(click here)
The front line of the march and the banner is swamped by the surrounding crowd.
"Flower Power" was the sustaining theme. Two days after the March on the Pentagon, London joined in with protestors storming the US Embassy.
The issues Palin brings up regarding any parallel affiliation of Barak Obama with former-extremists that happen to reside in Chicago, is simply a passing note in the history of the USA. It means nothing except the demonstration of a desperate campaign to reignite a bigoted ad that appeared in The New Yorker. The McCain campaign should be ashamed of its own extremist Neocon views and positions and apologize to everyone including the American people.
I am glad John McCain survived his crash, survived his POW experience, came home due to the ACTIVISM of Americans that demanded he and all those like him returned and I am most pleased he has lived a productive life. Many men that were POWs from Vietnam were not as fortunate even upon their return. We are all grateful he is not one of them.
By the way, John. No need to say thanks.
