Iva Toguri D'Aquino, born Ikuko Toguri on July 4th, 1916 in Los Angeles, California, died Tuesday in Chicago. She was a United States citizen who was visiting relatives in Japan at the start of the war. In 1949, testimony led to D'Aquino being convicted of treason by the United States government. She was released after six years, and on January 19, 1977, pardoned by President Ford, who also restored her citizenship. Tokyo Rose is something of an urban legend -- a fictional person cobbled together from scraps of real history. There's no proof that such a woman existed, although one woman was convicted of treason as Tokyo Rose. During World War II, American soldiers dubbed the female broadcasters on Japanese radio, "Tokyo Rose." It was a name invented by the soldiers -- U.S. government research never found evidence of a person named Tokyo Rose in radio programs anywhere in the Pacific. The voice of Tokyo Rose was said to have taunted Allied forces during the war, hurting morale. What are some of the things Tokyo Rose said to affect our military's morale?
"'Where is the U.S. Fleet? I'll tell you where it is, boys. It's laying at the bottom of Pearl Harbor!" "Hello there, Enemies! How's tricks? This is Ann of Radio Tokyo, and we're just going to begin our regular program of music, news, and the Zero Hour for our friends -- I mean, our enemies! -- in Australia and in the South Pacific. So be on your guard, and mind the children don't hear! All set? Ok! Here's the first blow to your morale-the Boston Pops playing "Strike Up the Band!"Wow. That's some strong stuff. For this, Iva Toguri got six years in the slammer. Let's compare these quotes with what some of the other infamous enemies of America have put on the airwaves.
"The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history; and he failed to build a true international coalition." - Nancy Pelosi "While President Bush likes to project an image of strength and courage, the real truth is that in the presence of his large financial contributors, he is a moral coward." - Al Gore "All of us want to support the president when he's at war, ... But you can't support him when he won't change directions, won't listen." - John Murtha "The idea that the United States is going to win the war in Iraq is just plain wrong." - Howard DeanWell, you get the idea. Have we forgotten the meaning of treason?
No, ALL of us haven't forgotten what Treason is...
ReplyDeleteIn any other period of American History, the people you mentioned would be in serious trouble for the things that they have said.
The problem now is that we are under attack by forces who have discovered that they can use our own freedoms and Constitutional protections to destroy us.
So they use their positions of elected power to attack the President, undermine the War effort, and damage the image of America around the World, and claim Constitutional protection for these acts.
They even claim that their actions are some sort of Morally Superior form of Patriotism.
It's sickening.