I’ve got two reviews for you today – one of a book and one of an upcoming anti-war documentary. They couldn’t be further apart in political slants.

The liberal media is America has crammed “Bushism” books down our throats for a few years now. If you haven’t seen them, check them out the next time you’re at a Barnes and Noble or Books a Million. Well, in the considerable footprints of that best-selling series comes this offering from the other side of the aisle – “Clintonisms: The Amusing, Confusing, and Suspect Musing of Billary“.

Normally, I won’t review books that are politically motivated unless there is a military angle to it. Then I realized that it’s quite possible that I could have a commander in chief named Clinton again and I remember the low morale from the last Clinton regime in the military. Clintonisms is a hilarious and somber account of Clintonian foot munching. What interested me the most were the military-related quotes:

“Because of my opposition to the draft and the war, I am in great sympathy with those who are not willing to fight, kill, and maybe die for their country…I am writing too in hope that my telling this one story will help you to understand more clearly how so many fine people have come to find themselves still loving their country but loathing the military.”
-Bill Clinton, letter to the director of the University of Arkansas ROTC program, December 3, 1969

Working closely with and meeting some Secret Service agents in my military time, I’d heard stories about how the Clinton’s treated them. I met a Marine who told me that Mrs. Clinton wouldn’t allow the Marines to wear their uniforms in the White House. But, this book really highlighted the truly profane manner in which Mrs. Clinton ran the place.

Editor Julia Gorin does a brilliant job in subtitling all the quotes. For example, “Happy F—ing Flag Day” above this Hillary Clinton gem: “Where is the G–damn f—ing flag? I want the G–damn f—ing flag up every f—ing morning at f—ing sunrise.” She sent that uplifting message to her staff at the Governor’s Mansion on Labor Day, 1991.

The book is full of enilightening quotes spanning the Clintons’ time from the 60′s through just a few months ago when Mrs. Clinton remarked to ABC News, “Oh my goodness, I feel like we are going to get into the White House again and we are going to walk around and say where do we start to clean up this mess? …Bring your vacuum cleaners, bring your brushes, bring your brooms, bring your mops.” – Hillary Clinton, November 5, 2007. Julia adds the subtitle “Bring Your Cigars!” to this one. I’m still crackin’ up!!

With the elections coming up, if you find yourself wondering whether or not to vote for Clinton, read this book. If you’re looking for an eye opening book that highlights the reality behind the “amusing, confusing and suspect musings” of the Clinton legacy, you’ll find all their beliefs, values, and political leanings in Clintonisms. Frankly, I’m a little frightened after reading this knowing that I voted for Clinton in the Texas primaries! It’s an easy read that your friends and family will find impossible to ignore on your coffee table or in the bathroom!

A Soldier’s Peace is a documentary that is currently showing in film festivals throughout the United States on a limited basis. If you’re in the Vail, Colorado or Columbia, Missouri in early April you can catch the film at the The Vail Film Festival or the University of Missouri respectively.

The documentary follows SGT Marshall Thompson, a combat journalist who served a year in Iraq. And yes, SGT Thompson is also a liberal. Believe it or not, I also liked this documentary. It begins with a tearful reunion of Thompson and his wife as he gets off the plane at the end of his deployment (you can read his blog accounts of the deployment at Chokehold in Iraq. Warning: it’s very pessimistic.) and stays with him as he tries to figure out a way to get attention for his anti-war stance. I think there should be a documentary made of ALL Soldiers’ experiences in Iraq. That way we’d get a good balanced view of what’s going on over there so you can make your own judgements.

A Soldier’s Peace films Thompson as he envisions, plans, executes and follows up on a 500 mile walk from the northern border of his homestate of Utah (he’s a fellow Mormon too) to its southern border. My problem with this film isn’t in the production, but in the content. Thompson states quite clearly that he wants to get the message out about how bad it is in Iraq and how we shouldn’t be there, but never provides any substance behind his views. He has no examples or experiences to back up his views. At the beginning of the film he remarks, “If every Soldier came home and just said ‘it’s good to be home’ no one will know what it is really like in Iraq.” For the next two hours, you are left waiting for what it is really like in Iraq. Sadly, you finish the movie without the answer.

The movie is laced with 60′s protest footage of everything from the civil rights movement, to the Vietnam war, and the Kent State shootings. It highlights such “celebrities” as Martin Sheen, Rocky Anderson, MC Hammer, and *hack* Cindy Sheehan. To be fair, the film shows some footage of those who don’t agree with Thompson’s crusade. Unfortunately, most of them are of the extreme right wing fringe and poor examples of those of us who happen to think we’re doing the right thing. When showing footage of Utahns views of the war, the film leads you to believe that the reason Utah is so supportive of the war is because they’re just morons who amble through life in a blissful state of ignorance.

Troubling to me was that a Soldier, still on active duty, was having trouble with his feet after walking a mere 17 miles. Also troubling is the underlying feeling that this wasn’t entirely the idea of Thompson himself, but the brainchild of IVAW. At just about every stop along his walk, SGT Thompson is greeted by its members as well as supporters and members of Code Pink, Vietnam Veterans Against War, Veterans For Peace, Democracy Now! and others. The film would have you believe that his protest march was supported by the general populace, using the lack of counter-protesters along the way as evidence.

I think it’s important for people on both sides of the war argument to watch documentaries like this. It evokes emotions and opens our eyes to how one Soldier can feel like he’s making a difference. The anti-war ?music? laced throughout the film is annoying. Having to listen to people like Martin Sheen and MC Hammer tell me about how the war is wrong forces the bile to creep up my throat. These pampered, coddled entertainment industry cods have no leg to stand on in telling me what is right or wrong in a country they’ve never been to. At many of Thompson’s stops, crosses are placed in fields to symbolically represent dead Soldiers and children’s shoes are laid out to highlight all the innocent people killed in the war. Not once does he even acknowledge or even give credit to the Soldiers who are working hard to SAVE innocent lives. He also doesn’t note that those innocent people were killed mostly by terrorists and insurgents. As Thompson speaks about the crosses that adorn every scheduled stop, he plays on the emotions of those in attendance by stating that “the dead Soldiers [represented by the crosses] will never be able to (fill in the blank).” Never be able to hug a loved one. Never be able to feel the cool breeze. Etc. Neither will those nearly 3,000 innocent Americans who died at the hands of terrorists. Neither will the millions of Iraqis who died under the brutal hands of Saddam Hussein.

At times, the film loses focus and goes on seemlingly endless rants about Kent State, government conspiracy, and obnoxious references to Vietnam (every anti-war film needs them to succeed). The film attempts to persuade the viewing audience that Soldiers who say things are going well in Iraq are liars. More than once, a clip will roll of a protester noting that Thompson’s march will “convince other troops to speak the truth” as if we’re lying or inaccurate about our experiences. People “listen to a Soldier” – but only if they say what the protestors want to hear. I know from experience.

I finished the film as I started it – with my nose crinkled. Before Thompson’s walk is over with, he gets a call from his wife that his daughter may have cancer. Near the end of the film, the following excerpt from his journal is displayed over images of him walking down the road:

“When Soldiers and civilians die in Iraq, some feel they must attach meaning and purpose to the loss of life or else they will not have honored the fallen properly. If my daughter died, I would still love her & honor her, even though her passing would not protect or save me from anything. The truth is we can honor those who have died without honoring the war took them.”

I think it’s safe to say that I have never met someone that has “honored the [Iraq] war”. People attach whatever meaning they can to loss to lessen its affects on them. There is almost always meaning and purpose attached to the loss of life. At the very least, there is an attempt to do so, whether the death come from a diving accident, they were killed by a drunk driver, or a heart attack took their life. To insinuate that those who support our actions in the war against terror are “hawks and warmongers” is plain wrong. Thompson himself said that Soldiers don’t want war. However, he didn’t conclude that statement with the obvious fact that Soldiers will fight and win when needed.

If you’re looking for a completely slanted, biased view of the war as seen through the eyes of one Soldier with a mission – watch this film. Reading through his blog, one can easily see the pessimistic view he holds about his military service. The film furthers that view by providing questions that are never answered. One is left to believe that war is just bad, no matter how much or little it is justified. It loses its credibility in the people it associates with: Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink, Rocky Anderson, IVAW, and others. You can watch trailers of the film at the A Soldier’s Peace website.