IVAW coffee joint gets sponsorship
LT Nixon writes this morning that the IVAW coffee shop near Fort Lewis, WA scored a corporate sponsor;
But like anti-capitalist rockers Rage Against the Machine signing onto a major record label, IVAW is taking “blood money” from imperialist coffee maker Tully’s. From the Weekly Volcano:
Tully’s founder and Chairman Tom O’Keefe has pledged $15,000 worth of coffeehouse supplies to the organizations behind the java joint — GI Voice Inc. and the local chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War. Tully’s spokesman Roger van Oosten of the Fearey Group did not respond to media inquiries about the donation.
Nixon made a great point in an email to me; why would the anti-corporate IVAW anarchists tolerate donations from a sweatshop employer? I guess their principles only run as deep as their politics.
Of course the local media is asking irrelevant questions of military officials;
Fort Lewis spokesman Joe Piek said it’s premature and inappropriate to even ask if military officials will pursue off-limits restrictions of an antiwar coffee shop.
The military isn’t in the habit of putting stuff off-limits that it doesn’t agree with, otherwise the entrances to military posts wouldn’t be lined with pawn shops, gun shops, strip clubs and peephole theaters. What civilians don’t understand about the military would fill the Grand Canyon a few times over.
What IVAW doesn’t understand about the anti-war crowd pimping them out would exceed that however.
Category: Politics
Tully’s is in Berkeley. Figures.
Shame, it is good coffee.
Try “Patriot Blend” http://www.operationgratitude.com
Our WalMart sells it. Delicious!!
You may not have noticed, but IVAW’s mission statement says nothing about drinking only fair-trade organic blends. We’re trying to end the war, not corporate domination of the coffee industry.
I understand how the two might appear similar, but visiting the website might help to clear these pesky questions up.
My name is Seth Manzel. I am one of the directors of the GI Voice Project, the group that is starting the Coffee Shop in question. I am a veteran of OIF III and a member of Iraq Veterans Against the War. I take issue with some of what you are saying.
Actually Tom O’Keefe is a Republican who supports the election of Dino Rossi, a Republican Candidate for Governor here in Washington. Tom sends coffee to soldiers over in Iraq and has been the key note speaker at a major deployment.
Tom supports the troops 100% as do I. The purpose of this coffee shop is to provide support to soldiers. Many soldiers who return from Iraq and Afghanistan have issues that are not being addressed by the military. Many have a hard time finding good mental health care. Even more are being mistreated by the military in ways that violate military regulations. We hope to be resource to soldiers facing these problems.
The fact that I, myself am motivated by anti-war feelings and that Tom seems to be motivated by nationalism is immaterial. If you want to support the troops, this project will go a lot further than those yellow ribbon magnets that everyone has on their cars.
If you have any questions feel free to Email me at (Ed. Note: I removed the email address and link to this bozo’s organization because I don’t provide recruiting opportunities for the anti-war-at-any-cost Left)
Funny, but we never hear anything from the IVAW crowd until we point out their hypocrisy and then they seem to come out of the woodwork to rationalize it. I don’t have questions, and I certainly wouldn’t accept at face value whatever excuse you’re wrapping yourselves in today. And I don’t accept your attempts at appearing impartial and innocuous, or that your motives are altruistic. See, I know what your membership thinks of the veterans who don’t think like you think. Wrapping it in a coffee house and reading poetry doesn’t change the completely subversive and anti-social motivations beneath the surface.
In typical fashion, the two of you from IVAW attempt shy away from the point. Your organization is being pimped by people who care little about you and more importantly care little for you.
The “we support the troops, not the war” gagline has been exposed as the fraud that it is, and to claim your “neo-beat” coffee shop is a support center is just as fraudulent. Throwing out the wearisome lines, again, that many troops don’t get what they need is fraud on the same par.
To try to establish bona fides via statements such as “Mistreating them in ways that are against Military regulations” or using an alleged connection to a Republican is shallow. (I don’t understand why your handlers continue to attempt that kind of “connecting” thing, they barely pulled that off with VVAW…)1) Claiming mistreatment is a broad and unsubstantiated charge. 2) Using either does little engender trust in your motives.
At least one of you, from the “git go” is idealogically honest in stating that “…We are trying to stop the war…” (although the war you’re trying to stop, may be over sooner that later…without your efforts)
Never heard of Tully’s, which seems to be a good thing. A much better coffee shop is the Green Bean. The franchise is owned by an Iranian American and he has opened franchises on several bases both here and overseas including Iraq. He has personally flown repair parts into stores in the combat zone. He also offers help to veterans who wish to open up one of his franchises.
So to heck with Tully’s stick with the Green Bean.
Link to the Green Bean story. http://www.inc.com/magazine/20070901/how-i-did-it-jason-araghi.html
Hey Army Sergeant,
Tell us who bankrolled the Ft Drum coffee house.
Folks,
The IVAW’s new line of bullsh*t about how the Afghanistan war is illegal and imoral is based on the fact that al-Qaeda were “non-indiginous people”.
I’m not kidding. That whole thingie about how the Taliban let al-Qaeda set up offices, plan 911, handle payroll, travel and training for Mo Atta and his peeps, clocking in and out like any carefree bureaucrat, that’s no big deal.
It was like the 90’s only better. In the 90’s, the terrorists at least were risking meeting Allah ahead of schedule during an attack. But in Talibanland, they went about their terrorism without a concern for their safety.