FWD: A Monument to Distorted Priorities

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HUFFINGTON: A Monument to Distorted Priorities 
Arianna Huffington, OverthrowTheGov.com
June 12, 2001

No one ever went broke overestimating the ability of a politician to choose 
gesture over substance. As if we needed any more evidence of Washington's 
distorted priorities, President Bush and Congress have handed us a truly 
monumental new example. And this one will be hard to hide. 


The House and the Senate passed a bill last month ordering the construction 
of the hotly debated National World War II Memorial, despite both a pending 
lawsuit against it and the National Capital Planning Commission's unanimous 
decision to find a more acceptable site and design. If the well-armed 
memorial partisans have their way, ground will be broken as soon as the 
Fourth of July activities on the mall are completed. 


Faster than you can say "Mom and apple pie," the president signed the bill 
into law, citing the fact that veterans of the Big War are dying at a rate of 
1,100 a day. "Of the 16 million men and women who served, barely 5 million 
remain," he said. "It is more important than ever that we move quickly to 
begin construction if those who served are to see the nation's permanent 
expression of remembrance and thanks." 


The absurdity of this statement was underlined by the anguished complaints of 
veterans' associations over the complete inadequacy of the president's budget 
when it comes to meeting the pressing needs of their members. So rather than 
symbolizing our eternal honoring of the vets' past sacrifice, the memorial 
represents a dishonoring of the vets who are currently suffering. 

More at: 
http://www.alternet.org/story.html?StoryID=11005

Kurt-Werner Pörtner