Annoy.com Exhibition: Uncle Sam

Hey America, my old friend
I give my life to you again
Because a terror leaves us bleeding
Unbridled violence leaves us needing
And the hatred that once ripped me to my core
Now wants more
The sound of lies and violence

In foreign lands I hide alone
The anguish chills me to the bone
In the danger of the foxhole
I close my eyes, deny my screaming soul
While my nightmares keep me fighting through the night
No end in sight
The bitter lies and violence

And as the bastards went to war
No one cared, 'cos no one saw
With no thought, no rhyme, no reason
The empty threats of troop cohesion
Were left lying like a corpse in an early grave
And still they gave
The deathly lies and violence

"Fag," said I, "It's time to go
The war is over end the show.
Your life is only worthwhile when you die
Although we asked, we cannot take the lie"
And the bombs and bullets
echoed through the desolate night
With deafening lies and violence

The blind and wounded could not find
There was nothing left behind
And the victory scream of naked hate
Could do nothing to redeem the State
And the Law said "These people cannot any longer help us win the war"
Forever more
And then killed them with lies and violence.

Uncle Sam. 2001 Type C Print. 36" x 48"

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SPECIAL FEATURES

Who's That Queer?

NOISE

Regardless or your reason for making a statement about your sexual orientation - including harassment, threat, integrity or other reason - during the military mobilization your statement may not immediately initiate the discharge process. Commanders are focused on the mission and not on discharging valued team members.
How Will The Current Military Mobilization Affect 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell?', Servicemembers Legal Defense Network

In my opinion, the Navy's actions in this case violated the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy. In simple terms, Senior Chief McVeigh did not "tell" in a manner contemplated under the policy -- he sent an anonymous e-mail which did not list his surname or his Navy connection - but by launching an investigation solely on the basis of this e-mail, which required the Navy to obtain Senior Chief McVeigh's identity from America Online, the Navy "asked" in a way that should be forbidden under the policy.
Professor Charles Moskos, author of the United States Armed Forces' current "Don't Ask, Don't Tell, Don't Pursue" policy under oath concerning the U.S. Navy's discharge proceedings against Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh

In response to the Navy's now-delayed discharge of Senior Chief Petty Officer Timothy R. McVeigh for being gay, ApolloMedia's Annoy.com has launched what it's calling a "'Who's That Queer' Competition" by posting a photograph of a gay active serviceman and daring the military to identify him. The serviceman's face and name tag are obscured in the playfully erotic photograph, taken in a shower. Fein ridiculed AOL - which told the Navy that McVeigh owned an account on which one of several user profiles contained references to being gay - as "AO-Tell."
Steve Silberman, Annoy.com Shows - But Doesn't Tell, Wired News

The case of the naval sailor facing dismissal after private information about him was allegedly leaked to Navy investigators by America Online took another bizarre twist Tuesday as prankster Web site Annoy.com launched an E-mail protest against the Navy -- one that dragged AOL's chief executive into the spotlight.
Maria Seminerio, New porno spam scam, ZDNET

My greatest fear when I was sent to Southeast Asia during the height of the Vietnam War was not that I would end up close to some gay troops. It was that I might get caught in the crosshairs of an AK-47. I didn't worry about having to share a shower stall with a homosexual, but instead cringed at the thought of going into harm's way with an armed bigot at my side.
Military should turn blind eye to sexual orientation, DeWayne Wickham, USA Today