Mia Culpa: Keep it Secret, Keep it Safe:
Arriving in tuxedos and gowns to honor departing Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld last night, members of the Union League of Philadelphia were greeted by Celeste Zappala holding a sign: “Rumsfeld Betrayed My Son. Betrayed My Country. Gets A Medal… For What!”Standing among dozens of protesters outside the Union League building on Broad and Sansom streets, the grieving West Mount Airy mom wore a poster with a large photo of her late son and the words: “We Mourn Sgt. Sherwood Baker. Killed in Baghdad. April 26, 2004.”
“Rumsfeld is the symbol of the failed policy that has killed 2,888 American soldiers and wounded over 20,000,” Zappala said, “and they’re giving him a medal for that? This is appalling.
“If they want to give out a gold medal, give it to our soldiers who somehow made it home alive.”
When the league gave Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor its Gold Medal in 2004, the event received full press coverage.
But the league kept the Rumsfeld medal cloaked in secrecy until the Daily News broke the story on Thursday, after club member James A. Ounsworth told a reporter that he was “astonished and ashamed” because “Rumsfeld is a failure. I don’t think you should give an award for failure.”
When asked about the secrecy surrounding the Rumsfeld medal, league spokeswoman Patricia Tobin said, “It’s up to the awardee. We always try to respect the wishes of the awardee.”
Asked why the league had chosen Rumsfeld to receive the medal, Tobin said, “I’m not going to be sharing that with anyone.”
The replacement of Donald Rumsfeld has been no great victory for anyone. He’s still the ‘official’ Secretary of Defense, and won’t be leaving that position until the end of this year, with a full government pension, and all the medals he can carry home. And worst of all, no one who replaces him will be any different.
-D.
Group Think, Duct Tape and Slam Dunks
::Tullycast:: 