I betcha Bush goes to Pat Tillman's funeral!

[trumad]

and I betcha Karl Rove thought of that the minute he heard about it!

[Old and In the Way]

1. Good chance, I think.

Real hi-profile memorial. I'm sure the NFL will be happy to underwrite this extravaganza.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

2. I betcha Pat Tillmans's family tells Bush to go

fuck himself

IMO

[karabekian]

12. probably not

Tillman made the decsion to go and join the army and forgo his lucrative football career. I bet they are pretty supportive of the president.

[Noon_Blue_Apples]

17. Or, a patriotic american - and Bush did not do same

He was not a bush pin up boy - I betcha his family honours that and tells bush to shove it!

"Tillman made the decsion to go and join the army and forgo his lucrative football career." - doesn't sound like a neocon repub to me - he ACTUALLY WENT TO DEFEND HIS COUNTRY (in his mind anyway) AND PASSED ON BIG BUCKS!

that is not the neocon repug way

B

[Uzybone]

26. Why

becasue you join the military you support the president??? That makes no sense. Maybe the guy was just really pissed about 9/11 and wanted to serve (which is what he said to his friends and family at the time).

[RummyTheDummy]

31. How would we know?

I'm very ant-war, yet my parents are both Repubs.

[Jack_Dawson]

3. Tillman = Stud

3.84 college GPA, just-married, NFL career and giving it all up because of 9/11? I would never do it but admire the hell out of the guy.

[Commendatori]

7. Same here

I'd love to claim that I would have done such a thing, but having played professional sports myself for a short stretch, I can tell you that there's no way I would have even thought about it had I been offered millions to stay at the top level.

[MallRat]

10. Pro sports, BlueOyster?

What sport? What team? When?

-MR

[Commendatori]

19. Yes, pro

I played Triple A ball for a few years and had a cup of coffee in the majors. I'd rather not say which team (I did that on another site once and they took no time figuring out who I was), but it was mid 1980's.

[Jack_Dawson]

21. Jim Rice, is that you?

:toast:

[Commendatori]

23. Nope, you've got the wrong size,

wrong position, wrong ethnic background, and you've given me credit for a few hundred too many homers and too many years. I'm not anyone you've heard of unless you're a TRUE fanatic; I also didn't break in in the mid 70's. However, I was on a sports site a while back and was refuting a dumbass statement about baseball when the whole thing came up; I threw out a few stats and they figured my identity out in minutes. I'd rather just admit that I lie about my last name when registering for sites and be done with it :)

[RetroLounge]

27. Bob Eucker? Is that you?

:)

RL

[Commendatori]

34. My career stats

are a lot closer to Eucker's than to Rice's, unfortunately. :(

[karabekian]

14. i agree

RIP

[AlinPA]

4. Rove will send him. Filthy slime. nt

[IrateCitizen]

5. Personally, I find this discussion to be extremely off-putting

The news just came out that the guy was killed, and already we have people on both sides of the fence trying to politicize it.

Over at FR, they are now soliciting donations "in his memory". Here at DU, we have people making statements about how he must have been a "liberal hater", and now we're already talking about how Bush is going to exploit his death.

Jesus Christ, can't we just acknowledge the guy's memory in a somber spirit for a day? I mean, here's a guy who turned down a $3.6 million dollar pro football contract in order to do what he believed was the right thing to do. He also graduated college in only 3.5 years, and went from a recipient of the last scholarship to the PAC-10 defensive player of the year at ASU -- not to mention going from pick #216 in the draft to starting strong safety in one year.

I don't give a shit what his politics are, I don't give a shit what Bush and Rove plan to do with his death -- what I do know is that the world lost an extremely principled and upstanding human being, and it's slightly less well-off as a result of it.

[edison1958]

9. Thanks, Irate...well said!

Personally, I don't think POTUS will attend. He's not the MIC (Mourner-in-chief) type.

[lancdem]

11. Excellent post

I didn't even know he was killed until I saw this thread. I admire him for doing what he believed in.

[atreides1]

13. At Least 800 Principled and Upstanding Human Beings Have Died

The world has lost more then just one pricipled and upstanding human being. Mr Tillman didn't sacrifice any more then did Laurie Piestawa,
and the other 800 military personnel that have died in this so called war on terror.

So what he gave up 3.6 million dollar pro football contract, is that worth more then the children of PFC Piestawa, and what they lost, not to mention the wives, children, fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and other family members.

You acknowledge his academic accomplishments, his athletic ability, but what about the other troops that have died in this war. Some were accomplished athletes, some had college diplomas. Does that mean that they are less then Mr Tillman?

He unlike most that have died had a choice, while most of the dead were already in the service Mr. Tillman was not, he made the choice to enlist, and for that he deserves admiration.

But he does not deserve any more then the others that have died before him, he does not deserve more recognition, and he does not deserve special treatment.

Personally I do care that Bush will use this as PR for his re-election
and that is what makes this an issue.

And let us not forget the thousands of principled and upstanding Afghans and Iraqis that have died, they were human beings also.

[Jack_Dawson]

18. It puts a face on the KIAs

Most people don't know any. A lot of people have heard of Tillman. Nobody is inferring anyone killed is "more important" than anyone else. Relax.

[plumbnsquare]

37. Pat Tillman

Actually, I'm glad he's being recognized, and it does not diminish the sacrifices of the others one wit (whine, whine). Tillman himself did not bring attention to himself, but when a young man walks away from millions of dollars in a humble way (a choice which most people don't have the opportunity, yes opportunity, to make) it is a testimony, thankfully, to the caliber of those who are willing to put their lives on the line to watch our backs. It has nothing to do with politics or whether you agree with this war (let's not go there). I'm impressed. Period.

And there are doubtless others of his character who have done the same thing, and I can NEVER thank them enough. I think of the son of author Frank Schaeffer ("Portofino", "Saving Grandma"), John, who, to the horror of his high school administrators, joined the Marines a few years ago out of high school. Just wasn't cut out for Harvard, you know (my, how tragic). He was deployed to the Middle East and is now back. One person in his school wondered if they should have convened a meeting to "find out what went wrong." Now that's what I call being out of touch with reality.

[anarchy1999]

15. Thank you, thank you and thank you again, IC.

n/t

[atre]

24. Agreed. nm

nm

[Rex]

30. I've only seen ONE person say something negative (liberal hater)

about Tillman. Are you trying to cause problems or did you see the one post and decide you just HAD to post how bad DUrs are. :eyes:

So far I see nothing but support for Pat Tillman (except that one poster on another thread).

[Snellius]

32. But trumad is also denouncing the politicizing of Tillman's death

Your heart is certainly in the right place but what bothers many here is how Rove and the Bush administration use the war and 9/11 for their propaganda purposes, not to commemorate the sacrifice of others, but only when it serves their own political ends.

[trumad]

33. Weird

I'm getting whacked for politicizing this when the post is about er politicizing this?

[IrateCitizen]

35. Question: Has Bush announced he is attending Tillman's funeral?

If your answer is YES, then you're quite justified in expressing your outrage at the politicization of his death.

If your answer is NO, then you are actually politicizing his death by placing it in such a context.

Nuance, trumad. Nuance.

[trumad]

36. Nuance

No... just hard edge skepticism of Rove and Gang...

[plumbnsquare]

38. Thank you

Well said, IC.

And to the others: it's not about Tillman being "more important" than the others. Stop your whining for once. Again, I'm glad to see young men of Tillman's caliber (whether they make money or not) making the decision to defend a country that allowed them to become famous and make millions in the first place. Sacrificing a college education, time with their families, and for some, their blood. Lots of Hollywood stars did the same thing in WWII. What's the problem with Hollywood today? It's become nothing but a cesspool pimps and their whores who drive their limos tell the rest of us how we're supposed to live, what kind of vehicle to drive; interested only in their personal peace and affluence. They are unwilling to give up any of their own luxuries, but instead wag their manicured fingers at the rest of us; it must be nice to have millions of dollars that allow you to travel in your private jet to the protest-du-jour.

I hope Tillman's picture gets splashed all over the place. A good, in-your-face reminder of what many aren't willing to do.

[PROGRESSIVE1]

6. Most likely * will go. He needs to get those numbers up.

Bill Clinton Honoring our dead(Unlike Bush who just uses them as props)

[RamboLiberal]

8. I too regret both sides are politicizing his death

But I bet * will not go to the funeral. If he does then Rove and * are dumber than I thought. No pun intended but this would become a political football that * would go to the funeral of a football star who died as a soldier. It would make it look like he's ignoring the death of soldiers who hadn't made a name for themselves in pro sports.

[karabekian]

16. its somewhat disgusting

how a hero's death (and every other event) is turned in to a blame bush or bash bush discussion. It gets tedious and is frankly strange to me. people seem to have a fetish with bush or something. Newsflash, the world does revolve around him and not every event that happens has to do with him. It seems like were in deep trouble when its all about bush and no one really talks much about Kerry or his future. Im just ranting a bit even though the freeper accusations will no doubt fly.

[trumad]

25. Oh really!

Ya ever see Bush's campaign commercial? You know...the one with the flag draped coffins... AND did you get a chance to see the Mission Accomplish banner aboard the aircraft carrier, the same aircraft carrier that he strutted around in his flight suit? You're a bit naive if you think that George Fucking Bush and Karl Rove don't capitalize on events like this. There ain't no doubt in my fucking mind that Karl Rove's political office was conferencing on how to capitalize on this sad event..no doubt in my fucking mind! AND as far as having a fetish about George Fucking Bush here on Democratic Underground.... If you consider our Laser like intent to remove this piece of shit from office a fetish, then bring on the whips baby and spank my ass!

[Joanne98]

20. Yes and the Tillman family will let Bush turn it into a campaign commerial

Maybe the Laci Peterson family can go to. It can be the "Traditional Family Moral Patriotic War/Football Hero Fetus-Loving Christian Show".
I'm going to be sick.x(

[JETS]

28. THE MAN JUST PAID THE ULTIMATE

sacrifice for his country. If this is the best thing you can say about him, then I hope you can be quite while you get sick.

[adriennel]

22. well...

I respect anyone who joins the military out of a sense of duty. However, I am a little disconcerted that Mr Tillman's photo is splashed across the front page of CNN and other news outlets. We haven't seen this kind of personal coverage since the Private Lynch affair. Mr Tillman indeed made a huge sacrifice. But why is it any more or less of a sacrifice than the other US soldiers who have given their lives in Afganstan or Iraq? Because he left behind more money than most of us can dream of having? Is it because he was in the NFL?

Given the current climate of "DON'T SHOW THOSE PHOTOS OF THE DEAD!!!" I find it a bit hypocritical to make a "poster boy" out of one valiant and deceased soldier.

[Snellius]

29. Only because he was killed in Afghanistan and not Iraq

.