dear mr mackay and mr cherry: war is not a game. it does not save lives.

Further to my open letter to the CBC News of yesterday, it only gets worse.

The Ottawa Citzen reports that it was a laff riot in Kandahar on Christmas, as Don Cherry and Minister of Defence Peter MacKay yucked it up, war-school style. Cherry was allowed to launch a live artillery shell, shouting, "Taliban, here I come," as MacKay quipped, "Don, this is a different type of 'He shoots, he scores'."

MacKay also treated the troops to this Orwellian nugget.

The greatest gift you can give is the gift of life, which is what you are doing here -- you're saving lives. . . . Make no mistake, things are improving because of the heavy load you bear.

It should be illegal to deceive people in this way. Some truth-in-advertising laws must apply.

And "Taliban, here I come?" I expect that kind of slap-happy war talk from my country of origin. Which says a lot about Don Cherry and the war-loving government he supports.

Thanks to Sister Sage's Musings for the link to my earlier post and for this fresh insanity.