Filmmaker
Filed Under: Politics
I stopped working for the military industrial complex a few months after 9-11. It felt unseemly to make promotional videos for some soulless bureaucrat while our national treasure was half-way around the world getting their heads blown off. Money spent on a nifty animation showing missiles flying and tanks rolling - animations shown only to other bureaucrats at boondoggle tradeshows in Washington, D.C. - could have been better spent on body armor, weapons, ammo, etc.
In peacetime, arguably, such Powerpoint bullcrap has its place. Look at this nifty idea for a weapon! Look at this nifty idea on how we can improve our communications! But in wartime? Build the damned thing. Don't make a tradeshow video.
I didn't want to make my living off a moral outrage. Or have to deal with these glazed-eyed defense industry bureaucrats any further: no emotion, no humanity, nothing.
I wake this morning to read this from the Business Insider:
The Air Force Admits It's Been Dumping Troops Remains In Landfills For Years
As part of an ongoing investigation into military mortuary services, the Air Force admits it dumped the partial remains of at least 274 servicemembers in Virginia landfills. Craig Whitlock and Mary Pat Flaherty of The Washington Post report the dumping was hidden from families who had agreed to allow the military to dispose of their loved ones remains in "a dignified and respectful manner."
...The Air Force went on to tell The Post that it cannot say how many remains went to the dump and that to find out it would have to search the records of more than 6,300 servicemembers handled by the mortuary since 2001.
Rep. Rush D. Holt (D-N.J.) received a letter from the Pentagon saying, "It would require a massive effort and time to recall records and research individually."
Here's what I think. Some evil little acquisitions bureaucrat hired a sleazy fly-by-night mortuary service to dispose of the remains, then sat around in his cubby-hole office jerking off to porn. Meanwhile, the mortuary service tossed our service men and women's remains into g-ddamn Hefty bags.
I want the name of this monster. I want his picture. I want him fired.
Someone, somewhere, knows who this disgusting creature is. I want his head on a pike. Metaphorically speaking. Barely.
If you know, send me an email: ladd at filmladd dot com
Update 1: Smitty from TheOtherMcCain.com points out that the original reporters on this are from the Washington Post. Obviously their motivation on reporting the story is to make the military in general, and Bush (under which this happened) in particular, look bad. While the slant is obviously there in their writing, I don't think this story was manufactured out of whole cloth. There's a troll in a cubby-hole somewhere terrified that light will be shined on him. I want to plaster that troll face everywhere.
contact ladd @ filmladd dot com
