Zell! Zell! Zell! Zell!

Zell Miller (yeah, this Zell Miller) strikes again in Iwo Jima, if covered by media today. He imagines the New York Times coverage of the Iwo Jima invasion if it were covered today by intrepid reporter Cutey Cudley along with political analyst James Crankville, Senator Blowhard, Senator Bombast, columnist Myscream Loud and the entire Senate Squeakers Group. It is amusing, but oh so close to the truth. It's obvious who he has in mind, with the exceptions of Senators Blowhard and Bombast. I'm a little confused as to their real identity, since there are about 50 candidates currently serving who would qualify.

He has a bit of fun with his story, but then he gets serious:

Historical note: In one of the bloodiest battles of World War II, when it was said "uncommon courage was a common virtue," 6,000 Marines were killed and 18,000 wounded. Some 21,000 Japanese were killed. The island itself is still barren and only a handful of people live on it. But after it was secured by the Marines, B-29s made over 2,200 emergency landings on it, saving the lives of more than 24,000 crewmen. AP photographer Joe Rosenthal won a Pulitzer Prize for the flag-raising photo. Of the six men in the photo, three were buried in that black volcanic ash, one came out on a stretcher. Only two walked off the island.

Think about these numbers for a sec, then revisit the photo of Col. Bud Day, below.