The reasoning behind Vox Verax: Why we write
by Leigh Pomeroy
On the eve of the 5th anniversary of 9/11, Vox Verax contributor Tom Maertens was featured in a front page article of his hometown newspaper, the Mankato Free Press. He also had an op-ed piece published in the same issue, as well as another in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Those who don't like what Tom has to say would complain that this is just another example of "liberal" media bias. The reason? Maertens is an outspoken critic of the current administration's foreign policy and its assault on individual rights, as well as of Congress's complicity in these policies.
Why does Maertens' opinion matter and why does he receive such attention? Because he once worked for the George W. Bush White House and was a powerless observer as these policies began to unfold.
Tom is hardly a left-wing rabblerouser. When he retired after a career in the Foreign Service he had no intention to become political. All he wanted to do was to return to the town where he grew up — Mankato, Minnesota — and together with his wife, Sylvia, raise their two teenage sons. But when he saw the course of action that the Bush administration was determined to follow, when he knew that it was manufacturing evidence to justify its policies, and when he saw loyal Americans and administration insiders subjected to character assassination because they disagreed with these policies he knew he had to speak out.
Those who support the President try to paint this as a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It is not. Those who criticize the President's policies come from a broad political background. And nearly all — at least the ones who are honest like Tom Maertens — would be just as critical if this President and Congress were Democrats instead of Republicans.
Former members of the administration and the U.S. military (Tom served in the Navy) who criticize the President's policies do not do so for political reason or political gain. They do so because they believe in what the United States of America ought to be and not what it has become.
On the eve of the 5th anniversary of 9/11, Vox Verax contributor Tom Maertens was featured in a front page article of his hometown newspaper, the Mankato Free Press. He also had an op-ed piece published in the same issue, as well as another in the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Those who don't like what Tom has to say would complain that this is just another example of "liberal" media bias. The reason? Maertens is an outspoken critic of the current administration's foreign policy and its assault on individual rights, as well as of Congress's complicity in these policies.
Why does Maertens' opinion matter and why does he receive such attention? Because he once worked for the George W. Bush White House and was a powerless observer as these policies began to unfold.
Tom is hardly a left-wing rabblerouser. When he retired after a career in the Foreign Service he had no intention to become political. All he wanted to do was to return to the town where he grew up — Mankato, Minnesota — and together with his wife, Sylvia, raise their two teenage sons. But when he saw the course of action that the Bush administration was determined to follow, when he knew that it was manufacturing evidence to justify its policies, and when he saw loyal Americans and administration insiders subjected to character assassination because they disagreed with these policies he knew he had to speak out.
Those who support the President try to paint this as a Democrat vs. Republican issue. It is not. Those who criticize the President's policies come from a broad political background. And nearly all — at least the ones who are honest like Tom Maertens — would be just as critical if this President and Congress were Democrats instead of Republicans.
Former members of the administration and the U.S. military (Tom served in the Navy) who criticize the President's policies do not do so for political reason or political gain. They do so because they believe in what the United States of America ought to be and not what it has become.
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