How Liberals "Support the Troops"

Liberal rhetoric: "We oppose the war, but support our troops."

Liberal reality: "Marines, get out!" - first Berkeley, and now Toledo.

Somehow, I don't think Mayor Finkbeiner's (yes, that's really the guy's name, and he's a REAL piece of work) inhospitality toward our servicemen (this reserve unit did a tour in Iraq last year) will play particularly well in swing-state Ohio.

Cavey on "Friendship"

(Hat tip: Fr. Richtsteig)

The Caveman philosophizes on the meaning of "friendship".

General Pace for Senate?

(Hat tip: PewSitter.com)

A Washington Post blogger speculates that the Virginia GOP might try to persuade retired Marine General Peter Pace (a devout Catholic) to enter the fray to replace retiring Senator John Warner:

Virginia Republicans are buzzing over speculation that retired Marine Gen. Peter Pace may be lured into running for the U.S. Senate being vacated by John W. Warner (R).

On Sunday, Pace retired as chairman of the joint chiefs of staff. He plans to settle in the Fort Myer area.

The conservative publication National Review ran an editorial Monday urging Pace to enter Virignia Senate race. [ED.: Link to National Review added.] The editors of National Review said conservatives aren't happy with either Rep. Thomas M. Davis III or former governor James S. Gilmore III, both of whom have been mentioned as possible candidates.

"The articulate and personable four-star would be a novice politician wise in the ways of Washington," the editorial states. "As a veteran of the Pentagon's senior ranks, he would have a commanding advantage over all other candidates on national-security issues. Unlike other senior military leaders, the Catholic General Pace has been outspoken about his conservative beliefs on social issues."

Virginia GOP activists say a draft General Pace website is expected to appear in the coming days. A General Pace for Senate page has also been launched on the social networking site Facebook.com

The effort to lure Pace into the race comes as Republicans are increasingly concerned that neither Davis nor Gilmore could defeat former Gov. Mark R. Warner (D), who announced his candidacy last month.

Pace, who had a four-decade long career as a Marine, could be the Republicans' answer to Virginia Sen. James Webb (D), who is also a Marine.

My Comments:
Maybe I could be persuaded to move back to the Old Dominion in order to vote for him.

But what will the retiring Sen. Warner do if General Pace runs to replace him? Will he support General Pace? You may recall that Warner stabbed his party in the back the last time it nominated a decorated Marine to run for the U.S. Senate in Virginia.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
General Pace Back in the News

Harry Reid Slanders General Pace

Brownback Sends Letter in Support of General Pace

Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

General Pace Back in the News

Both Regular Guy Paul and Terry Nelson have the details on the latest news about a fine Roman Catholic and Marine.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Harry Reid Slanders General Pace

Brownback Sends Letter in Support of General Pace

Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

A Marine's Patriotic Rap Video

Ooh-frickin'-rah!

Harry Reid Slanders General Pace

[NOTE: This is just a placeholder. I'm really waiting on the Caveman's comments on this.]

From FOXNews:

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid Calls Joint Chiefs Chairman Peter Pace 'Incompetent'

WASHINGTON — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid confirmed Thursday that he told liberal bloggers last week that he thinks outgoing Joint Chiefs of Staff Chairman Peter Pace is "incompetent." (emphasis added)

Reid also disparaged Army Gen. David Petraeus, head of Multinational Forces in Iraq.

But Reid, whose comments to bloggers first appeared in The Politico, also told reporters: "I think we should just drop it."

Reid's admission came as reporters peppered him with questions about Pace and Petraeus, overshadowing a Capitol Hill press conference designed to highlight Democratic attempts to improve fuel economy and energy efficiency.

Reid said he told Pace face-to-face recently that he had performed poorly as an adviser on the conduct of the Iraq war.

"I believe that General Pace would not be if he had come forward to be reappointed the chairman of the Joints Chiefs. It wouldn't have happened and I'm not going to get into what I said or didn't say. There is a long list of people including Senators (Carl) Levin and (Jack) Reed and others who have talked about General Pace long before I did. I think we should just drop it. The fact is, he's not going to be the chairman of the Joint Chiefs, for which I'm happy," Reid said.

[More]

My Comments:
Harry Reid, you small, venal man (and I use the term "man" loosely). The sum total of your pathetic life and accomplishments will never add up to what General Pace accomplishes whenever he visits the latrine.

General Pace and his 40 years of honorable and distinguished service to the Marine Corps and to this Nation stands head and shoulders above your paltry existence as a glorified paper pusher, and is above reproach from a sniveling, sniping little snotball such as yourself.

You, sir (and I use the term "sir" loosely), are fortunate that we do not live in more genteel times, when General Pace might have demanded satisfaction for your dishonorable remarks.


UPDATE
I am sick to death of the disgusting spectacle of good people having their reputations and careers shattered by the small-minded for the sake of political gain.


UPDATE # 2 (17 June 2007)
The Caveman's take is here.

Regular Guy Paul: Democrats "A Work in Progress"

Regular Guy Paul notes the reticence of the Democrat presidential front-runners to state their disagreement with General Pace's comments about homosexual acts being "immoral".

Bishop Clarifies: 'I Admire' Pace

Matt Abbott has published a clarification from Bishop Gracida regarding General Pace:

"Far from being critical of Gen. Pace, I was supporting him when I defended his right to hold the opinion regarding the immorality of homosexual activity, with which I and the Magisterium agree.

"He admitted he made a mistake by expressing his opinion to the media. It was a mistake because — and he would be the first to agree — as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he has a responsibility to enforce the policy of 'don't ask, don't tell,' which Congress put into law.

"Gen. Pace recognizes that expressing his opinion undermines his authority in enforcing the law.

"I concluded my comment by expressing the hope that we could all put the matter to rest, thereby sparing this good man, whom I admire, further embarrassment in the media circus."

My Comments:
As I have acknowledged in an update to my previous post on this subject, I was overly harsh and uncharitable, not to mention lacking in the requisite respect for and humility toward a successor to the Apostles, in my original statements regarding the Bishop's comments about General Pace. I again apologize for my intemperate remarks about this good and holy Bishop.

I am glad to see this clarification from the Bishop, as well as a public reaffirmation that the views expressed by General Pace on this subject are, indeed, in line with those of the Church.


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Brownback Sends Letter in Support of General Pace

Bishop Joins Those Piling On General Pace

Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

Brownback Sends Letter in Support of General Pace

Brownback commends Pace's leadership, personal commitment to moral principles:

WASHINGTON - U.S. Senator Sam Brownback today circulated a letter among his Senate colleagues for signature that will be sent to President Bush in support of General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The letter will be sent to the White House tomorrow. The full text of the letter is below:

Dear Mr. President:

We write in support of General Peter Pace, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who has recently received criticism for expressing his personal moral views.

During an interview on Sunday, while offering support for existing U.S. policies, General Pace discussed some of his personal moral convictions. These statements led to criticism from various groups and the media. Such criticism is both unfair and unfortunate.

As the highest ranking military officer in the United States Armed Forces, he is duty-bound to support the policies of the United States - support which he reiterated in a statement yesterday. But we should not expect someone as qualified, accomplished and articulate as General Pace to lack personal views on important moral issues. In fact, we should expect that anyone entrusted with such great responsibility will have strong moral views. We should be concerned if they do not have strong convictions on key issues.

The moral behavior of members of the Armed Forces is of the highest importance, particularly during this time of war. The question is whether personal moral beliefs should disqualify an individual from positions of leadership in the U.S. military? We think not. General Pace's recent remarks do not deserve the criticism they have received. In fact, we applaud General Pace for maintaining a personal commitment to moral principles. He has demonstrated great leadership during a very difficult time and he continues to do so today. We look forward to his continued service as Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.

My Comments:
The courage to say what's what. If the same-sex lobby didn't hate Brownback before, they're sure to now.

(Thanks to Fidei Defensor, late of College Catholic, for the head's up.)


Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Bishop Joins Those Piling On General Pace

Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

Bishop Joins Those Piling On General Pace

(Hat tip: The Cafeteria is Closed)

From Matt Abbott:

In response to the story regarding Marine Gen. Peter Pace and his remarks about homosexual behavior, the Most Rev. Rene Henry Gracida, D.D., Bishop Emeritus of the Diocese of Corpus Christi — and a staunch defender of Catholic orthodoxy — had this to say:

"Marine Gen. Peter Pace is entitled, as is every individual, to his own personal opinion on the morality of homosexual activity. However, given his position as the chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff, it was imprudent of him to express to the media his personal opinion, which could be interpreted as being in opposition to the official policy of the United States Armed Forces since he is charged with the responsibility for administering that policy.

"Gen. Pace publicly acknowledged the impropriety of his statement, so the matter should now be dropped by everyone."

My Comments:
A Marine states his own personal views on the morality of homosexual acts, which just so happen to be in line with what the Catholic Church teaches, and gets raked over the coals by a Bishop.

And yet, we still wait ... and wait ... and wait ... for some Bishop to do something ... say something ... about the continuing scandal of Catholic politicians who thumb their noses at Church teaching on abortion, ESCR, same-sex marriage, etc.


UPDATE
Perhaps I should clarify something. It's not that I necessarily disagree with the substance of what Bishop Gracida said. It may very well have been, and indeed, based on General Pace's subsequent apology, was, imprudent for the General to make the comments he made.

But why did Bishop Gracida feel the need to speak out in the first place? Why confuse people into thinking the Church disagrees with the beliefs General Pace espoused? Why give the enemies of the Church and the proponents of same-sex activity a weapon with which to attack Church teaching?

Is General Pace a member of Bishop Gracida's diocese? If not, did Bishop Gracida feel the same need to condemn Nancy Pelosi's statements regarding being a "good Catholic" and still being pro-abortion?


UPDATE # 2 (15 March)
"The Guardian", posting in comments, thinks I "jumped the gun" in criticizing Bishop Gracida. I am well aware of Bishop Gracida's reputation for orthodoxy, as well as some of his very courageous stands. I will admit that "spineless" is not the correct word to use to describe this Bishop, and I apologize for my use of that word in the title of this post. As I believe the title of this post to be uncharitable toward a successor to the Apostles, I have decided to change it.

Nevertheless, I do think that this particular instance of completely gratuitous piling on of General Pace by the Bishop is worthy of criticism. Athough, if I had it to do over again, I wouldn't use the word "spineless" in the original title of this post, I stand by my criticism of the Bishop's actions here.


UPDATE # 3 (16 March)
"John Duns", posting in comments, apparently doesn't believe that 2 separate blog posts in which I acknowledge and apologize for the wrongness of my words about Bishop Gracida are either numerous or abject enough. I wonder what additional sort of penance for this sin on my part (other than that which I have already placed on myself) will satisfy "John Duns". Here is the text of my comment in response:

I have apologized for my intemperate remarks about the Bishop in 2 different posts - this one and then again here:

http://proecclesia.blogspot.com/2007/03/bishop-clarifies-i-admire-pace.html

If you read that second post, you will note that the Bishop clarified his position on General Pace, which indicates even he thought his original statement might lead to confusion.

Here is what I said in that post:

"As I have acknowledged in an update to my previous post on this subject, I was overly harsh and uncharitable, not to mention lacking in the requisite respect for and humility toward a successor to the Apostles, in my original statements regarding the Bishop's comments about General Pace. I again apologize for my intemperate remarks about this good and holy Bishop.

"I am glad to see this clarification from the Bishop, as well as a public reaffirmation that the views expressed by General Pace on this subject are, indeed, in line with those of the Church."

Perhaps you missed that second one. At any rate, I'm not sure how many or how abject my apologies need to be before you are satisfied. I have acknowledged (1) that I don't disagree with the content of the Bishop's statements and (2) that I was wrong in my harsh criticism of the Bishop. What you seem to be unhappy about is that I continue to believe that the Bishop should not have added his voice to those criticising the General. I still believe that, but am grateful for his subsequent clarification.

But if you think this is a blog that routinely bashes bishops, you are mistaken. There are plenty of those sorts of blogs around, but this isn't one of them. I made a mistake regarding Bishop Gracida, and I have apologized for it - twice. If that's not good enough for you, then there are plenty of other blogs for you to visit.

Previous Pro Ecclesia posts on this subject:
Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

Joint Chiefs Chairman Calls Homosexual Acts "Immoral"

This is sure to get some folks riled:

Gen. Pace Calls Homosexuality Immoral

WASHINGTON -- The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said Monday he considers homosexuality to be immoral and the military should not condone it by allowing gay personnel to serve openly, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Marine Gen. Peter Pace likened homosexuality to adultery, which he said was also immoral, the newspaper reported on its Web site.

"I do not believe the United States is well served by a policy that says it is OK to be immoral in any way," Pace told the newspaper in a wide-ranging interview.

Pace, a native of Brooklyn, N.Y., and a 1967 graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, said he based his views on his upbringing.

***
"I believe homosexual acts between two individuals are immoral and that we should not condone immoral acts," Pace said.

[More]

My Comments:
Please note the lie in the Washington ComPost headline. General Pace does NOT call "homosexuality" immoral.


UPDATE
John Warner, RINO POS.

Note that RINO Warner also lies about what General Pace said. It sickens me to know that the former Mr. Elizabeth Taylor holds his position in the Senate only because of the untimely and tragic death of a distant cousin of mine, Dick Obenshain.