Military Press

Utter crap.
This large-​format glossy-​covered display ad masquerading as journalism consists mostly of plastic surgery, tattoo, Internet college, and other so-​called «we support the troops» advertisements. Much of the balance consists of misleading ads that are made to look like news articles or op/​eds. And what mercifully little space is left is filled with poorly written and badly edited ‘Barack Obama and his fellow-​traveler Democrats are socialist dogs who don’t deserve your respect or support’ middle-​school-​quality opinion essays.
So what? Don’t Americans have the Constitutionally protected right to publish any poorly written garbage they like?
Well, sure. To a limit. As Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. famously wrote, you’re not allowed to falsely shout «Fire!» in a crowded theater to cause a panic.
But consider the «theater» here. This rag is widely and prominently distributed for free on Navy and Marine Corps bases around the region.
So after luring in the young Marine or Sailor with a pretty girl on the cover, or some rah-​rah patriotic call to arms, the young servicemember is spoon-​fed what some would call seditious — some might even say treasonous — vitriol wherein Richard Matz and his minions regularly declare the Commander in Chief incompetent nd/​or the worst president ever, and a cesspool full of other the-​sky-​is-​falling hyperbole.
Frankly, I am stunned that our area military installation commanders allow this to go on under their noses. You don’t have to look further than Summer 2013 Egypt to see what comes of having a hyper-​strong and alienated military that believes it’s bigger than democratic process, and that believes it’s smarter than the civilians who the founders of the American republic wisely placed above the military.
What else? For all his chest-​thumping bravado, Richard Matz apparently never served a day in uniform. Except maybe in a Cub Scout uniform. But then, isn’t that in the proud tradition of so many other non-​serving loudmouth warmongers like Dick Cheney, Karl Rove, Ted Nugent, Rush Limbaugh, George Will, Bill O’Reilly, Michael Savage (aka Michael Alan Weiner), Bill Kristol, Sean Hannity, Antonin Scalia … whew … Charlie Daniels, Toby Keith, Senator John Cornyn, Senator Jon Kyl, Representative Saxby Chambliss (who also smeared a true war hero, Max Cleland, to get elected), Paul Wolfowitz, Senator Joe Lieberman, and so many more?