When Eagles Try to Wear Beaver Tails ...

Sigh. I really hope people on both sides of the border realize that this is a joke, and one that ranks up there with lava lamps and pet rocks.

However, I can certainly imagine Jeremy Hinzman buying one out of desperation. Mr. Hinzman is a former Airborne paratrooper trying to get refugee status here in Canada.

Michelle Malkin's column pretty much sums up my opinion of Mr. Hinzman, but if you don't like the amped-up rhetoric try Peter Worthington, for a view from across the border. Unlike Michelle, Peter's been under small-arms fire before, and he's a bit more generous to Hinzman's character. (But only a bit.)

Naturally I think Mr. Hinzman's claim should be rejected. There is a big difference between public humiliation and public persecution--just ask women in Taliban-era Afghanistan. Furthermore, the circumstances of Mr. Hinzman's Army career and subsequent parting have a whiff of "rip-off."

An army has soldiers, and soldiers are trained to kill people in battle. Yes, the U.S. Army offers some nice benefits, but so do other organizations. By joining the Army you're implicitly accepting the possibility that you may have to kill people, or get killed yourself. That's the bargain you made, and if you consider yourself honorable it's a bargain you have to keep.