October 10, 2004
DREAM ON
As I was reading
VDH's blurb about the debate, I had a thought. Kerry keeps repeating "I have a plan..."; I think he should switch over and go with "I have a dream...". Think about it: it's catchy, it's chock-full of symbolism, and it much better fits his ridiculous theories and vague projections about how the world would work under his presidency.
I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "I'm an internationalist. I'd like to see our troops dispersed through the world only at the directive of the United Nations." I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Paris the sons of former neo-cons and the sons of former Iranian nuclear bomb makers will be able to sit down together at a table of brotherhood filled with allies from all different nations, and by all different nations I mean France and Germany. I have a dream that one day even the United States, a police state, sweltering with the heat of injustice and oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice, not unlike North Vietnam was when I met with the Vietcong in 1971. I have a dream that my two children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the orangey color of their skin but by the content of their briefcases, which is where they keep their lucky hats. I have a dream today.
Posted by: Sarah at
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Sarah:
Almost makes me want to vote for him...not.
Great news about the Aussies!!
Bet you are looking forward to your husband's leave; you both remain in my prayers.
Jim
Posted by: Jim Shawley at October 10, 2004 03:52 AM (qko7X)
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Sarah - saw President Bush at a rally yesterday (along with about 10,000 other people) and GWB's new meme is "He can run, but he can't hide". I loved it and the crowd loved it. It was great to hear 10,000 people yelling it along with the President.
Posted by: Toni at October 10, 2004 09:47 AM (K4kPu)
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I am very concerned that you are very right. It almost seems as though Kerry was being prepped for running for president by some foreign power. I would not doubt that he was fully and completely indoctrinated by the communist party during his college years and only got worse when he met twice with the leaders of Communist North Vietnam. If elected I am very much certain that he would try to make America in the image of socialists countries like France very quickly and eventually towards full communism there after.
After reading all about Kerry from his college years to now, he has consistantly been anti defense and anti intelligence, the two things that during the cold war, kept us safe.
Posted by: Allen Stoner at October 10, 2004 01:43 PM (TFkfJ)
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I'm on a fly fishing forum. On the off-topic part of the board I asked the many leftists there what John Kerry's plan was for Iraq. I specified that I didn't want to know his goals, we all know that, but rather what his plan was to achieve those goals. I got a link to Kerry's page, nothing there but goals, I got "diplomacy" but that's a goal, not a plan.
Not a one of them could say what Kerry's plan actually was.
Oh, and you'll be pleased to know that you're some kind of neo-con propagandist pajama blogger. lol
Kalroy
Posted by: Kalroy at October 10, 2004 02:32 PM (lU63E)
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In almost every episode of the BBC series "Blackadder", Tony Robinson's character "Baldrick" has "a cunning plan" for dealing with the current situation. And, when he utters the catch-phrase, you immediately know that it is going to border on the insane.
The Junior Senator dresses better than Baldrick but that gives me no cause to expect a better quality of plan.
Posted by: homebru at October 10, 2004 11:20 PM (/YRiG)
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Hello folks nice blog youre running
Posted by: lolita at January 19, 2005 09:47 PM (yM4u5)
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October 09, 2004
RETURNS
Heh. Pixy thinks a good indicator of who is going to win the election is the
betting odds!
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Looks like they were right, too!
With half the vote counted, John Howard looks set for a fourth term. Yay!
Posted by: Pixy Misa at October 09, 2004 07:40 AM (+S1Ft)
Posted by: Tanker Schreiber at October 11, 2004 11:59 AM (Lsg7m)
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SOMETHING BETTER?
In the comments section below, Manny wrote the following defense of voting for Kerry:
With Bush it seems that we will get just more of the same. If you like that then I imagine you will vote for him. But with Kerry we may get something better. There are no guarantees but Kerry is certainly not the ogre of the negative campaign.
However, since the first debate, bloggers have been pointing out how Kerry's plans have already failed. Wretchard wrote about how The Global Test already didn't work for us, and CavX addressed the "allies at the table", Iran, and North Korea. I'm not sure I agree that we "may get something better", since Kerry's suggestions seem to be falling apart even before we get to 2 November.
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I see this as a misrepresentation of one of Kerry's best arguments.
While I am an avid student of American history there is one document from our earliest history that should be familiar with all your readers. I am referring to our founding document, the Declaration of Independence.
Kerry's argument for US military action that meets the standards of a 'global test' is nothing more that what our founding fathers said when they declared that "... a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."
Our founding fathers claimed the right to overthrow a legitimate authority that had become tyranical and said that "To prove this,[the tyrany] let Facts be submitted to a candid world."
If our founding fathers were not afraid to explain and to justify themselves to the judgement of mankind I don't see where Bush, or any president, should think he is any better.
Kerry's policy just harkens back to the sensible policy of our forefathers. I believe there is an objective right and objective wrong. I believe these things can be determined and that it is only tyrants who believe they need never justify themselves in the court of public opinion.
I not saying Bush is a tyrant, but clearly his policy is the exact opposite of Thomas Jefferson's, and it seems of John Kerry's as well.
While I believe both Bush and Kerry as just as patriotic as was Jefferson, who 'pledged his life, liberty, and sacred honor' to the revolution it seems that only Bush of these three is contemptious towards what Jefferson called "a decent respect to the opinions of mankind."
Posted by: manny at October 09, 2004 02:06 PM (s6c4t)
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October 08, 2004
BROWNSHIRTS, INDEED
Hud found a link to a round-up of
property damage and threats by Kerry supporters. These are scary times, folks.
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This is beginning to bother me, especially the union organized mobs. The fact that those forcing takeovers of Bush/Cheney HQ's think they are doing good things has to be the worst. I'd wager the whole time they think that they are promoting free speech and not surpressing it. Strange black-is-white up-is-down world.
Nothing like this in my neck of the woods yet, and my Bush/Cheney sign in my window has not been messed with. And a few apartments over there is a John/John sticker in someones window that has also not been messed with. Same with my GF who has rather Large sign in her front window as well.
Posted by: John at October 08, 2004 04:18 AM (+Ysxp)
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It's really unfortunate when idiots do things like this, and it ends up being really bad for the campaign in the long run. (Who wants to vote for someone who attracts criminals.)
On the other hand, the Bush campaign requires those attending his rallies to sign a loyalty pledge, and uses the
secret service to keep those who don't support the president out. Hardly 1st Am. defender there.
No, the two are not directly comparable. The difference, though, is that the latter is not an act of Bush supporters, but of the administration itself.
I don't particularly like either candidate, but I have to say that I think the greatest threat today is balkanization: conservatives and liberals seem increasingly unwilling to talk civilly with one another, and that's just bad for the country.
Posted by: Alex at October 08, 2004 06:02 PM (mksoO)
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Alex, I agree with you about the balkanization. I thought of your comment when I read this article today though:
Only One Campaign...
Posted by: Sarah at October 09, 2004 03:36 AM (FbQyH)
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October 06, 2004
VOTING
I find I'm irrationally afraid of my absentee ballot not making it to Missouri. I can't stop thinking about it. I worry that it's stuck somewhere inside the mailbox and won't get found until it's too late. The bad thing is that there's no way of knowing.
I don't think I ever told the story of how I was almost "disenfranchised" in 2000. I went to the voting place and went into the little booth, and I jacked up my ballot Florida-style. Punched it wrong. But unlike Florida I wasn't so dumb that I didn't realize it, so I stood there and tried to figure out what to do. Both the ballot and the sign on the inside of the booth said that if you make a voting error, you should destroy the ballot and return it to the polling people for a new one. So I emerged from the curtain ripping my jacked-up ballot and asked for a new one. And the volunteers started shouting. They used menacing words like "violation" and "irregularity" and reprimanded me for defiling the voting center. They asked me what on earth would possess me to rip up my ballot, and I calmly replied, "The sign you have printed on the inside of the booth." And then they refused to believe that the sign would say such a thing. I tried to get one of them to come in the booth with me to see it, but they weren't budging. They almost refused to give me another ballot, but finally they relented. I voted properly and then left, but I mentioned that they might want to change their signs since there obviously was a huge discrepancy in procedure. It was a mess.
Plus I voted for the wrong guy! I mean, I punched it right, but BOY would he have been the wrong guy!
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VOTE
Excellent post on why to vote Bush at
Cold Fury (via Bunker). Taste:
Well, here’s why: because the choice isn’t between Bush and George Patton; it isn’t even between Bush and Barry Goldwater. The choice is between a man who, in the end, has made the right moves, if sometimes diffidently, and a man who has shown over a long career in the Senate that he is not just indifferent but actually hostile to the use of American military power in pursuit of American interests. The choice is between a man who, in the immediate aftermath of the most hideously successful terrorist attack in history, had the bedrock good sense and unabashed patriotism to be unable to conceal his anger, and a man who would have needed three polls and a focus group to tell him how he ought to feel about it in order not to discomfit and alienate his America-hating Lefty base. The choice is between a man who genuinely seems to like soldiers, respect their service, believe in their competence, and honor their intelligence and basic decency, and a man who underhandedly wriggled out of his own commitment and came home to slander them as butchers and latter-day “Jenjis” Khans.
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Sorry to hijack this comment thread, but I didn't think you'd mind.......
BILL WHITTLE'S BACK!!!!!!!
YEA!
Posted by: MargeinMI at October 06, 2004 09:46 AM (yAoyA)
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You can go on pouting about John Kerry all you want but Kerry will win in November.
Without another republican theft he will be President in January. Get used to it.
Posted by: dc at October 06, 2004 02:48 PM (s6c4t)
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HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
Feeling threatened?
Posted by: Sarah at October 06, 2004 03:26 PM (4kYUJ)
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October 05, 2004
VOTE
This article,
Troops in survey back Bush 4-to-1 over Kerry, jives with my husband's assessment of his own platoon.
By the way, the husband sent his ballot the other day. As long as the mail moves along in a timely fashion, the two of us will be squared away for 2 November.
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And so long as the Democrats don't try to invalidate overseas military absentee ballots like they tried to do in 2000.
Kalroy
Oh, sed nunc malium malius me habeo, but I'm feeling much better now.
Posted by: Kalroy at October 05, 2004 07:07 AM (al6AG)
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My hubs called tonight, their ballots left on today's chopper.
I can't speak for his platoon, but if how the wives are voting is any indication, the numbers would hold up at this end as well.
Posted by: Tink at October 06, 2004 06:08 AM (S6VXg)
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October 03, 2004
DEBATE
CavX, one of the smartest fellas out there, weighs in on the debate. I did get to see it in a rerun here, and I agree with
CavX's assessment. And I think Bush won. I just re-read the transcript. I don't care if the MSM networks are saying Kerry won, because in reality his answers were muddled and his thinking illogical.
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I think Bush definitely won in the areas that count, being real and having substance. The MSM is trying to giveKerry a boost, but some polls are showing Bush gained points. We'll know more on Monday, but Kerry is such a fool, he is bound to lose big.
Posted by: James Hudnall at October 03, 2004 03:37 AM (FV8Tp)
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Thanks for the compliment, Sarah. You know what? I've been thinking about it, and it may be that Bush deliberately threw away style points in a debate on a subject Kerry can't possibly beat him on. Expectations for Bush are now lowered for Friday's "town hall" style all-subjects debate (which will be the tough one), while expectations for Kerry are raised. Plus, I've seen clips of Kerry's speeches since then, and he's getting even more cocky and arrogant than before (which I didn't think possible). I've said before that Bush plays chess while his opponents play checkers; we'll see Friday whether that's true.
Posted by: CavalierX at October 03, 2004 08:28 AM (sA6XT)
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A woman called a talk-radio program here after the debate and said she watched the debate with her kids (8 & 10, I think). Neither child was tuned in to the content, of course, but their observations were interesting. One said Kerry looked like a Bobble-head doll and the other said he seemed like a phony.
Some of us who actually judge real debates (high school forensics) are routinely faced with intros like Kerry made (sympathy for blah, blah, thanks to blah, blah, etc.) and with us that style (slightly) negatively impacts the scoring. But this was not a real debate, and there was no true scoring.
My perception is - if one had been carefully following the campaign, Bush won (McCurry to Lockhart 'it was a draw'), but if the debate was all one knew about the issues, Kerry won - he was smoother, and his inconsistencies and previously-disproved statements of fact went unnoticed (and unchallenged).
Posted by: Glenmore at October 03, 2004 10:28 AM (HtP2k)
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This is a soldier's response to the debate.
http://jb-williams.com/soldier-debate1.htm
Posted by: Moor at October 03, 2004 02:12 PM (g8OfD)
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I have seen many mentions of the President's hesitations, pauses, and troubled looks. What I have not seen is any mention that many/most/all of them came after some particularly fairy-dust pronouncement by the Junior Senator.
Every time, I could almost hear the President thinking "How can I respond to someone who claims to believe such rot?"
I am half expecting an announcement by the Junior Senator that he has received the official support of the Flat Earth Society.
Posted by: homebru at October 03, 2004 04:41 PM (hEnFa)
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October 01, 2004
VOTING
I received two absentee ballots from the state of Missouri. One is a federal write-in ballot, which I received two months ago, and one has the actual bubbles you fill in, which I received this week. I don't understand why I got both of them. I wonder what would happen if I were a bad person and filled out both of them. Would Missouri catch the mistake? Would my vote count twice? Are there more people out there who received two ballots, people who don't have the "voting integrity" I have? Just wondering...
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When I lived in Missouri I believe you were allow three votes--but only if you were registered Democrat.
Posted by: Mike at October 01, 2004 07:20 AM (MqNKC)
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If it's a St. Louis area ballot, just give one to a dog. They love dog votes here.
Posted by: fad at October 01, 2004 10:54 AM (R+jlL)
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Sarah,
I'm in Iowa with a husband in Afganistan. I don't know if the laws are the same in MO or not, but I asked this same question of our county elections office.
I was told that if they received both ballots back in time for the election, that only the printed ballot would be counted.
The write in ballot can be sent out much earlier than the actual printed ballot. Since our state ballots were only mailed out last week..and it's taking a full 3-4 weeks for mail to be received at my husbands firebase..he's already sent the write in..and when he receives the state ballot he'll send that so his vote will also count in our local elections..but it's highly doubtful that he'll receive it in a timely manner.
Since the declaration envelopes are numbered by the county and signed by the voter, I have no doubt that it will be caught by my very small county. Who knows if it would be caught in a larger county.
Posted by: Tink at October 01, 2004 02:19 PM (S6VXg)
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Tink, thank you for the information. I hope that it doesn't lead to multiple votes for people!
Posted by: Sarah at October 01, 2004 06:05 PM (/KC96)
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I've forwarded this information to the Federal Election Commission and to the DNC as well.
I don't know that it will do any good but we all have to keep our eyes peeled for another Republican attempt to steal the election.
Thanks for the heads up Sara.
Posted by: dc at October 02, 2004 01:28 AM (s6c4t)
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Hey, it's no problem, dc. Since the Democrats don't generally like counting military absentee ballots, I'm sure it will all even out in the end. [/sarcasm] Asshole.
Posted by: Sarah at October 02, 2004 02:21 AM (7bK6S)
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Sarah,
No problem..I understand your concern, I had the same concern, which is why I contacted the elections board.
The official hadn't run into this issue before (like I said, small county, and 2 hours from the nearest base)so she literally read the information to me, and then called back later and verified that she had given me the correct info.
Since the declarations envelope is numbered by the county (and each ballot has to be accounted for), then addressed, signed, and if it's your first time voting absentee, a copy of either an ID, utility bill, or one of several other specific pieces of identification, they are able to verify that only one ballot is counted, and they insure that members of the military are able to be heard in an election. With so many deployed, and with it taking mail so long to reach remote bases, it could really be an issue in this election.
(and maybe next time I comment, I won't typo Afghanistan)
dc said:
"I've forwarded this information to the Federal Election Commission and to the DNC as well.
I don't know that it will do any good but we all have to keep our eyes peeled for another Republican attempt to steal the election. "
dc,
A) My husband and I are both Independents.
B) It wasn't the Republicans who tried to have military absentee ballots thrown out in the last election.
Posted by: Tink at October 02, 2004 02:39 AM (S6VXg)
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ALLY
I'd like to wish Tony Blair a speedy recovery for his
surgery. Hurry back, friend! We need you in this fight!
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As much as I distrust the guy and hate his domestic policies, I'd have to agree with you. He's the best of a bundle of bad choices, and we need him for the next couple of years - unless, of course, Baroness Thatcher decides to come out of retirement...
Posted by: Dominic at October 01, 2004 06:10 AM (pqgq+)
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September 17, 2004
INTERVIEW
I read this
long interview with John Kerry (thanks to
this comments section), and I don't think I understand him any better. He naturally goes through a long list of reasons why the W stands for wrong, instead of answering the direct, completely un-vague question that was posed.
IMUS: What is this plan you have?
KERRY: Well, the plan gets more complicated every single day because the president...
IMUS: Try to simplify it for me so I can understand it.
...
KERRY: Well, Don, I realize that, but the fact is that the president is the president. I mean, what you ought to be doing and what everybody in America ought to be doing today is not asking me; they ought to be asking the president, What is your plan?
He rambles for a bit, and then the interviewer throws him a ba-zing:
IMUS: We're asking you because you want to be president.
Indeed. If ifs and buts were candy and nuts, we'd all have a merry Christmas in Cambodia. But what are you going to do about it, Kerry? Stop saying what we should be asking the President and start explaining why we should vote for you. What would you do differently, and don't give me this bullcrap about bringing allies to the table. No single country has agreed to do anything differently, even if you're President. You criticize the President for "not having a plan to win the peace"; explain why you think the world will be more peaceful if you yank all the troops out. Explain it, please. Cuz last year you said
Those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe today that we are not safer with his capture, don't have the judgment to be president or the credibility to be elected president.
More stuff from the interview:
IMUS: Did you read "Unfit for Command?"
KERRY: No.
IMUS: Did anybody on your staff?
KERRY: I have no idea.
IMUS: Why wouldn't you want to know what's in it? It's the No. 1 "New York Times," of course, it says nonfiction bestseller.
KERRY: Because they have right wing people to buy them in bulk, and that's what they're doing.
Can't possibly be individuals who want to search for the truth themselves rather than buying what CBS is peddling? It's gotta be Karl Rove buying books by the crate and turning them into fertilizer for Bush's secret cocaine stash. Please. You can't be president if you believe in a book-buying conspiracy. (By the way, none of these conspiracy nutjobs are mature enough to be president either.)
Here's a zinger of a question:
IMUS: Back in May of 2001 on "Meet the Press," you said you yourself have committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers in violation of the Geneva Conventions. And my question, Senator Kerry, is, is there a difference between what happened in your case in Vietnam and what happened at Abu Ghraib, in that both were acts in violation of the Geneva Conventions?
KERRY: There is a difference.
IMUS: What is it?
KERRY: There is a difference. What I was referring to in that testimony was the general categorization of free-fire zones in Vietnam and the general categorizations of some of the weapons that were being used, which were in violation of the accords. We didn't learn that until we came home. I didn't know any of that while I was there. I didn't know any of that over there, nor did most soldiers.
That sounds mighty different from what he said before about Jengis Khan. That wasn't just weapons types, that was
They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
Why can't we get a straight story out of this man?
IMUS: Do you think there are any circumstances we should have gone to war in Iraq -- any?
KERRY: Not under the current circumstances, no, there are none that I see.
But he just got done saying something that sounds different...
KERRY: Let me explain it to you. I felt in 1998, and I said that Clinton ought to have the power, the authority to use force, in order to force Saddam Hussein to have inspectors, to be able to disarm. The only way to get the inspectors in was to be tough, to have the threat of force and the authority to use force. I was prepared to use the force if he didn't do what he needed to do. But I warned the president, as did many people, take the time to build up the international coalition, don't rush to war, because the most difficult part is not winning the military part of the war; it's winning the peace. [emphasis added]
Kerry would've gone to war if "he didn't do what he needed to do." Who is "he"? Saddam, I guess. What did he "need to do"? "Have inspectors" and "be able to disarm". That's an extremely vague sentence, and it would be nice to know what exactly the last straw would've been for Kerry. What exactly would've made him decide it was time to go to war? What exactly would've made it too imminent for him?
What exactly is his platform?
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Jay Leno says Bush got back at Kerry for the "W" line. "Everyone knows 'wrong' begins with 'R'."
I would guess Dubya could laugh at that. Kerry could never laugh at his own expense.
Posted by: Mike at September 17, 2004 07:44 AM (MqNKC)
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Now that we have gone to war, we have discovered that there was no pressing reason to go to war. So... how was Bush right again?
Posted by: yettrab at September 20, 2004 10:56 PM (9AAwc)
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IMUS: Back in May of 2001 on "Meet the Press," you said
you yourself have committed the same kinds of atrocities as thousands of other soldiers in violation of the Geneva Conventions....
KERRY: ... What I was referring to in that testimony was the general categorization of free-fire zones in Vietnam and the general categorizations of some of the weapons that were being used, which were in violation of the accords. We didn't learn that until we came home. I didn't know any of that while I was there. I didn't know any of that over there, nor did most soldiers.
That sounds mighty different from what he said before about Jengis (sic) Khan. That wasn't just weapons types, that was
[Referring to Winter Soldier Investidation]
They told the stories at times
they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, tape wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the country side of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.
Why can't we get a straight story out of this man?
Um, I think it's because he's talking about two different things.
Posted by: Cash Flagg at September 21, 2004 04:42 AM (uScBg)
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Please. You can't be president if you believe in a book-buying conspiracy.
Huh, I didn't know that one. I thought the only qualifications for being President were being at least 35 years old, being a natural-born citizen, living in the U.S. for 14 years, and (except in Bush's case) winning a plurality of the vote.
PS. From
The New York Times BestSeller List:
A dagger (+) indicates that some bookstores report receiving bulk orders.
Looks like the New York Times can't be President.
Posted by: Cash Flagg at September 21, 2004 05:01 AM (uScBg)
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September 16, 2004
COST
I just heard part of John Kerry's speech to the National Guard, just the live snippet that the news played. In it he criticized the President, saying that 95% of the cost of the Gulf War was paid by our allies. That was shocking to me, so I looked it up. The
two figures I found amounted to only 88%, so I'm not sure how he got 95%. But still, 88% is a big number. A
closer look revealed that more than half of the cost was shouldered by Kuwait (makes sense) and Saudi Arabia. I'm not sure I want Saudi Arabia considered one of our "allies", as Kerry's speech classified them. Japan paid a big chunk of change in 1991, much appreciated, and Korea paid a bit. Germany forked over a bit more than $5 million. Appreciated too, but I'm not sure what point Kerry is trying to make today. He criticizes the President for not getting our "allies" to help pay in 2004 like they did in 1991, but France isn't even on the list. And isn't that really who we always mean when we talk about "getting allies on our side"? And would we really be happier with the current war in Iraq if Saudi Arabia were helping to foot the bill? I'm not sure I would be.
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Another example of Liberals seeing only what they WANT to see, and not the whole picture. Now for the other side of the coin: since you're in a looking-things-up mood, did we make any HUGE loans or concessions to any countries right around the time they were "paying" for the cost of the Gulf War? (The US "persuaded" the World Bank to forgive Egypt's $14 billion debt and dropped our opposition to the Bank making huge loans to Iran, for starters.)
Posted by: CavalierX at September 16, 2004 06:20 PM (sA6XT)
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You poor, poor things, you're really confused aren't you?
The Bush II administration clearly vastly underestimated what this war would cost (it will be more than double the first war), but we had a real coalition the first time and they helped deferr the costs. This time we're assuming the entire cost for what Bush claims is making the world a safer place. Isn't that rather stupid? Sadly, yes.
Posted by: bushgirlsgonewild at September 16, 2004 07:44 PM (vzHiG)
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IT's a shame that we couldn't get some of our old friends to shoulder the monetary burden . But then again since they did the last time even our good friends in the UK woudln't allow us to take Baghdad or do anything about Saddam . As the world goes on and on about how this war is so horrible an even worse thing happens in Darfur and other places where they turn a blind eye. Amazing isnt it. But then again , if there's something to be done . The US must lead the way or no one goes and does much of anything.
Posted by: MorningSun at September 17, 2004 01:52 AM (EPBbn)
4
Learn history, read, do something rather than display your inability to research to the entire world 'cos France sent troops to Gulf War I!
Sorry for being heavy but I feel like you must have watching CNN World.
Posted by: Tadhgin at September 29, 2004 03:46 AM (eoRrs)
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September 01, 2004
GOVERNATOR
I can't get the link at C-SPAN to work, which is disappointing because I'd really like to hear Gov. Schwarzenegger's charming voice as he gives
this speech. I'm with Lileks: I like him.
MORE TO GROK:
Kalroy's link worked. Heh. Arnold just said "girlie-men", and George H.W. Bush and I both cracked up!
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Both Arnold and Laura Bush did an outstanding job. Arnold is a good speaker, and Laura Bush is nothing but "class"--a good night for the Republicans. I guess Michael Moore couldn't take the heat. He's not going back to the convention. He's a bully; he can sure dish it out, but when the tables are turned, he runs pretty fast.
Posted by: Nancy at September 01, 2004 03:26 AM (+jEfD)
2
I kind of felt sorry for Laura, Arnold was one tough act to follow. His pride in this country was just beaming out of him every minute of that speech. Rudy's speech the night before was the best so far IMO. Even McCain impressed me, and I'm not a huge fan of his. GO BUSH!
Oh, and I agree, she's one classy lady. Can't even imagine "The Razor" as first lady. UGH!
Posted by: MargeinMI at September 01, 2004 08:28 AM (EAKX6)
3
Actually, I felt sorry for Ah-nold - he had to follow Maryland Lt. Gov. Michael Steele. If you didn't see it and doubt me, pull it up on CSPAN.org and watch the replay.
Posted by: Glenmore at September 01, 2004 08:46 AM (n38Cr)
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Try this one.
http://a235.v126583.c12658.g.vm.akamaistream.net/7/235/12658/v0001/streaming.gopconvention.com/video/20040831_schwarzenegger.wmv
Maybe it'll work for you.
Kal
Posted by: kalroy at September 01, 2004 06:14 PM (q1aeu)
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Hey nice LaDY!!!
Okay, I found this on the GOP Convention site. Supposedly it's got the video of Arnie, and others, on it.
http://www.gopconvention.com/rewind/
Looking at the list, it's amazing how many speakers I got bored into missing.
Kalroy
Posted by: kalroy at September 01, 2004 11:39 PM (q1aeu)
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You should have listened to the speech, and read the entire text of the article you cited. Arnie never claimed to have seen soviet tanks in his hometown. He talked about visiting Soviet occupied Austria, and even talked about going through the checkpoint into the Soviet occupied area.
Also the Soviets were quite scary to those who lived next to them and in their shadow. As to his statement of leaving socialist Austria, he said that it had become socialist which is debatable if one uses the Soviet Union as your comparison, but is entirely true when comparing it to the US.
Nice try at propagating propaganda though.
Kalroy
Posted by: kalroy at September 05, 2004 11:46 AM (q1aeu)
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Funny...The Soviets also were responsible for ousting the Nazi occupiers. Again, you use sematics to muddle the issue.
Posted by: curveball at September 06, 2004 10:00 AM (XxIKf)
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What does the Soviet role in World War II (guess the allies didn't take part in it at all, since you claim the Soviets were responsible) have to do with whether or not Arnie saw Soviet Tanks while in the Soviet occupied zone of Austria?
Again, you propagandize to hide the inanities of your own argument.
Just admit that you haven't read the transcript of his speech and are simply spouting the party line. Had you read, or listened to his speech you'd have realized he was talking about the Soviet occupied zone. Had you done any research, you'd have found that Arnie himself has already clarified that when he mentioned entering the Soviet Occupied zone, what he meant was that he was in the Soviet Occupied zone.
I'm guessing you're a journalist, since you exhibit all the qualities of one.
Kalroy
Posted by: kalroy at September 06, 2004 11:22 AM (q1aeu)
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August 31, 2004
MY KIND OF MAN
I hear Rudy Giuliani was a hit. I can't watch the RNC here, so I have to read it, and
I like what I read. And you know what else I like? I like having a president who's
uncomfortable with the Queen of England and completely at home with a crew of construction workers. But maybe that's just me.
MORE TO GROK:
Thanks, NightHawk. It was even better to watch than to read.
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Character. I would guess that even William F. Buckley would feel the same as Bush. Not Kennedy. Not Kerry. Not Hillary, although Bill might.
Posted by: Mike at August 31, 2004 07:48 AM (MqNKC)
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Take a look at C-Span (http://www.c-span.org). They have the video of Rudy's speech.
Posted by: NightHawk at August 31, 2004 10:19 AM (jy9sQ)
3
Rudy Giuliani said in a past presidential race that he would find it hard to back any candidate who favored repealing the federal assault weapons ban:
Someone who now voted to roll back the assault-weapons ban would really be demonstrating that special interest politics mean more to them than life-or-death issues.
Hmmm...And Bush supported the extention of the ban back in 2000, but now he is going to let it expire on Sept 13th. Sounds like some people are flip-flopping.
Not to mention the fact that you have no idea who Giuliani really is. As long as he pays lip service to your Bush, you don't care about anything else.
P.S. I didn't see anything about Bush's latest...reversal...
"Can we win the war on terror? I don't think you can win it."
Posted by: rfidtag at August 31, 2004 10:56 AM (XxIKf)
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"Can we win the war on terror? I don't think you can win it."
I'm of the opinion he means it in the same way that we haven't defeated Nazism, or Stalinism. They're still there, but they're in a situation like the one Bush describes in the rest of the quote.
Kalroy
Posted by: kalroy at August 31, 2004 12:52 PM (q1aeu)
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August 30, 2004
THERE'S A WAR ON
Steyn says the same thing that I told my friend when
we discussed stem cell research:
But [Bush at the RNC] will talk up successes in the war and remind us that, if we don't win it, the best prescription-drugs plan in the world isn't going to make much difference.
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The problem with that kind of argument is this: Many people figure that the probability of a prescription drugs them affecting them is much higher than the probability of anyone they know getting hurt or killed in the next 9/11. So they don't care if the US loses the war in the long run because they want their drugs in the short run. Domestic socialism has much more appeal than vague, abstract violence abroad. "Gimme government goodies" is the mentality of too many Americans.
Posted by: Amritas at August 30, 2004 10:05 AM (McZj1)
2
"a prescription drugs them" should read "a prescription drugs plan."
Another problem is that many people (and I am not talking about Leftist fanatics) probably don't see what the point of winning is. So what if the US wins against al-Whoever in Ira-q-or-n? What's that got to do with ME?
Hawks sense an existential threat looming toward the US. Doves don't. They don't perceive Islamists as being the equals of the Third Reich or the Japanese Empire. I would say that the Islamists are weaker - and in some ways worse.
If Islamist air forces and navies were blasting apart the East Coast, you can bet that all but the most devoted pacifists would become hawks overnight.
Until then (that is, almost certainly never), people will think: a Nick Berg here, somebody else there, what's the big deal? Three thousand deaths weren't enough for them.
Posted by: Amritas at August 30, 2004 10:21 AM (McZj1)
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I think you're right, Amritas...the threat is too intangible for many people. And here's what's funny: many people on the left talk continuously about how "intelligent" they are. But what *is* intelligence, if not the ability to perceive and act on things that can be perceived only indirectly, and to identify trends before they hit you in the face?
Posted by: David Foster at August 30, 2004 11:30 AM (XUtCY)
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David,
By that definition of "intelligence," extreme Leftists would still think they are smart since they are "catching on" to the Nazification of America that eludes me for some reason. While they see the Fourth Reich coming (if it isn't already here), I just utter "duhhhh" as I vote for Bush.
Posted by: Amritas at August 30, 2004 01:29 PM (McZj1)
5
Time to reread the Constitution. The Federal Government's main job is to protect the people. Let Merck and Pfizer take care of stem cell research.
Posted by: Tanker Schreiber at August 30, 2004 02:13 PM (qFLTD)
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August 27, 2004
GRADES
Long-time readers will know that nothing gets my blood boiling like some snotty intellectual calling average Americans stupid. They frequently do it to our servicemembers, which really ticks me off. And they do it all the time to our President. Nothing makes me madder than the audacity of a
statement like this:
Does anyone in America doubt that Kerry has a higher IQ than Bush? I'm sure their SATs and college transcripts would put Kerry far ahead.
OK, well we all know President Bush's grades, since "Bush is dumb" is like sooo 2000. What are Kerry's grades, then? Can't Howell Raines find them and make a factual statement instead of resorting to bandwagon techniques?
I don't know what happens behind closed White House doors. I don't really care who's pulling most of the weight, be it Bush or Cheney or Rice. As a team, they're getting the job done. But, having absolutely no facts at my disposal, I'm not sure I want to poke at President Bush's IQ. What does IQ measure? Little picture games and mind puzzles and making connections and so on. I think President Bush might do quite well on a test of this nature.
Smarts isn't about memorizing and regurgitating, which is what the SAT and grades are about. Hell, I'm freaking awesome at that. I can play the school game like nobody's business, which is how you end up valedictorian and summa cum laude. But I'm slowly learning that playing school and playing life are completely different things.
Last night I had my second stats class. We learned variance and standard deviation, long formulas involving sigmas and x-bars and things that give most math-fearing people (the majority of the class) the heebie-jeebies. But I got the formulas right away. I figured out how to do the functions on the calculator right away. But then when I raised my hand and asked for how it applies to the real world, I could hear the panic in people's gasps. It's bad enough we have to plug in the frequency and take square roots, for chrissake, who cares what it all means! But I cared. I'm not taking stats just to finish a degree; I'm taking it because I want to know how it applies to the real world. And I could easily see how to plug in all the data, but I couldn't for the life of me figure out the relationship between the answer we got (18.2 cents) and the real problem (increase cigarette taxes in 27 states).
It's very humbling to realize you can't figure it out unless the teacher shows you how.
I've realized that I've an overabundance of capability, but no real ability to decipher relationships on my own. Give me formulas, give me numbers, and I'll give you all the answers, but ask me what it means and I'll stutter. And I get A's and had a relatively high SAT score. (I'm getting better at it through blogging, but I'm still stunned by the likes of Den Beste, Bunker, and CavX. I'll never get to that level.)
President Bush, and whoever else is working behind closed doors with him, can see the big picture. I don't care if he can plug the numbers into the calculator himself or if Cheney does it for him, as long as he continues to get 'er done. What indication do we have that Kerry sees the big picture? He obviously can't even make the mental relationship that voting for war and against funding makes you look like a jackass.
Look, I just don't like to call anyone stupid. I especially don't like it when Howell Raines -- who presumably thought Jayson Blair was pretty smart -- points his finger at the President. There's much more to smarts than grades in college; I'd say, to quote CavX, that
spending the last three years destroying terrorist training camps, breaking up terror cells in the US and abroad, uncovering a multinational nuclear proliferation ring, forcing belligerent North Korea to the bargaining table, cowing Libya into giving up its WMD programs and terrorist support, and winning two wars against terrorist-supporting Islamofascist dictatorships in the process
makes the President look pretty smart to me.
MORE TO GROK:
Instapundit says pretty much the same thing I said.
And Ann Althouse:
In any case, my questions about Kerry's intelligence do not arise solely from my inference that he had a poor academic record and low standardized test scores. My questions are also based on his exasperatingly convoluted and unclear manner of speaking. This has been excused as a propensity for "nuance" and "complexity," but could also be caused by a lack of mental capacity. It could also be willful evasion. I'd really like to know.
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Also, it makes for a rather more substantial war record than Kerry's 17 weeks in Vietnam.
Posted by: Pixy Misa at August 27, 2004 04:21 AM (kOqZ6)
2
Aw, shucks... Don't sell yourself short. I was curious how the Sadistics class was going.
You make a really good point about relative intelligence. The Cadets I taught were all close to the top of their high school class rankings, many of them valedictorians. All were extremely bright. But some had trouble with analysis and critical thinking. All their school career prior to USAFA was based in a great deal of rote learning. It was a tough slog for some who got Cs and Ds for the first time in their lives. The most rewarding part of the job was seeing that light come on over their heads!
Posted by: Mike at August 27, 2004 07:42 AM (MqNKC)
3
I agree with Mike, I think you're selling yourself short.
But you are right on the money about knowledge and application. To know facts, figures and such is very important. Yes. BUT in my mind, the application of that information, the ability to lead and make decisions based on that information is what is so key in execution. Our President is a great leader. He built a team of experts, those with the knowledge and expertise in certain areas, he manages the big picture based on their information. He makes decisions. That's what's so important.
I am a huge supporter of education. Knowledge is power. BUT some of the best leaders I've known and/or worked for were more street smart than book smart. They knew to surround themselves with those that know and use that to get the job done.
(Sorry to go off like this, but it's something that has been a thorn in my side since 2000. Guess I'm going to need to do a post on it eventually!)
Posted by: Tammi at August 27, 2004 08:15 AM (4Ls5e)
4
I haven't seen any evidence that Kerry is particularly intelligent. Using lots of big words strung together in complex sentences is not a sign of intelligence, but rather of a particular kind of family and educational background. And as Goethe said, "When ideas fail, words come in very handy."
Posted by: David Foster at August 27, 2004 10:20 AM (XUtCY)
5
If Dubya is dumb, he MY KIND of dumb. Dumb enough to get the job done without the total self-paralysis of Kerry's "nuanced" BS. Liberals think that trying to consider everything from every point of view is smart. While Kerry's standing there gazing at the sky and pondering, Bush is tying Kerry's shoelaces together, stealing his wallet and taping a "KICK ME" sign to his back. Besides, any man who can graduate from both Yale AND Harvard is plenty smart enough for me!
Posted by: CavalierX at August 27, 2004 10:23 AM (sA6XT)
6
My questions are also based on his exasperatingly convoluted and unclear manner of speaking.
If that's the criterion we're using for judging IQ, then Bush would be about
five points above a ficus plant.
I mean, really. Why don't you just attack Kerry for being too beholden to big oil and Christian fundamentalists?
Posted by: apostropher at September 10, 2004 08:00 PM (XA/yX)
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August 22, 2004
BACKBONE
When the left-wing minions descended upon me a few months ago, spewing hatred and insults, it hurt. It hurts to be called names and told you're stupid and worthless. At that time, I found comfort in asking myself What Would Dubya Do? This is a man who has entire movies made about how worthless he is, yet he still manages to sleep at night. In terms of dealing with criticism and being self-confident, President George W. Bush is my personal hero. Whenever I feel down about myself, I remind myself that he deals with far worse every day.
I've read a couple of places today about how John Kerry is trying to get the FEC to shut down the SwiftVets ad. In my book, that makes Kerry about as spineless and weak-hearted as I am. I'm not a politician, so I'm allowed the luxury of feeling hurt when someone speaks bad of me; Kerry better get used to it if he plans on running the most hated country in the world.
I agree with LGF commenter William (found via Greyhawk) that this speaks volumes about Kerry's character.
While this is amusing and pathetic on the surface, what started as questions about Kerry's Vietnam era activity, Kerry has now turned into nothing less than a battle for free speech.
After Michael Moore's propaganda film, Bush never suggested it should be silenced.
After the moveon.org attack ads, Bush never suggested they should be silenced.
It's called freedom of speech (though Moore has moved perilously close to treason with his film while our troops are engaged in countries abroad).
Now Kerry seeks to silence free speech, because it's critical of his past.
For the blogosphere community, this has now moved past mocking the media for their absurdly obvious bias, and has become serious.
Kerry has changed the game with this move to shut down free speech.
If the media remain complicit now, they're not being complicit in smearing the SwiftVets, they're complicit in shutting down free speech -- the foundation of our society.
The "progressives" throw around labels of "fascism" and demonize John Ashcroft and Bush, but this has now become a battle for the country.
I don't think I'm exaggerating here. This has now become quite serious.
It is indeed serious. I grappled with this issue on my janky little blog -- whether to block certain commenters or close the comments section -- because I believe that people have the right to say what they think, even if it hurts my feelings. Shouldn't a presidential candidate in the United States of America believe in that as well?
MORE TO GROK:
More whining here. And Bunker writes about the media's fear.
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I've been trying to give Kerry the benefit of the doubt, but this does it.
Sadly, one possible response to the WWDD question (nice alliteration) is that Dumbya don't cause he's too dumb. And/or insensitive.
Kerry, OTOH, is swift (SWIFT boat, get it?) to act on any threat, whether it be a terrorist or a homegrown critic. That's the kind of man I want in office. Decisive. So decisive he constantly makes contradictory decisions. But at least he uses his mind unlike the pretender for the throne, right? And he went to Vietnam nam nam nam ... (echoing)
Seriously, the issues you and Kerry face are not the same. You were being attacked on your own property. You have a right to defend it. So does Kerry - just like Chomsky. When Chomsky came under fire at his site, comments were taken down. Sad but not censorship. Censorship is the suppression of expression beyond one's own property. There are limits to what I will tolerate in my own domain, but with certain exceptions (e.g., libel) I will not impose the limits on those beyond it.
But here, Kerry is crossing the line and trying to impose his will beyond his domain. That is not someone I want messing with *my* domain.
Posted by: Amritas at August 22, 2004 05:53 AM (vDqr8)
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Marc, you had me worried for a second. I thought you might have gone over to the dark side!
Posted by: Mike at August 22, 2004 02:09 PM (PDh3/)
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Mike,
Whoa, I didn't realize how convincing I was getting. Some afterthoughts:
When I wrote,
"Decisive. So decisive he constantly makes contradictory decisions."
I meant to say something about how the quantity of "decisions" counts more than their quality (i.e., their consistency).
The main point I was trying to get at, however poorly made, was that Sarah does have the right to delete comments or remove them entirely from *her* blog if she wishes, whereas Kerry does not have a right to silence others *not* using his property. In short, Sarah was and is not a censor, which is what Kerry is trying to be. A censor for president? Never.
But force-loving Leftists would say "yes," though they would object to the word "censor." They are the good guys and only bad guys "censor." Like Bush. So why didn't Bush censor his opponents? Because they were small- r right! Uh huh.
Posted by: Amritas at August 23, 2004 01:41 AM (A8VTg)
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Ha, Marc, it's like what we were saying about Sexual Harrassment Panda:
Gerald: You see, Kyle, we live in a liberal democratic society. And Democrats make sexual harrassment laws. These laws tell us what we can and can't say in the workplace and what we can and can't do in the workplace.
Kyle: Isn't that fascism?
Gerald: No! Because we don't call it fascism. Do you understand?
(Heh, it's not censorship if we don't call it censorship...)
Posted by: Sarah at August 23, 2004 01:55 AM (qi6n1)
5
The Sleeping Giant Awakens!
I am an Air Force vet. Vietnam and the 2 Gulf Wars. I have never done anything truly heroic. I take the Senior NCO Creed to heart. I believe in "Fly, Fight and WIN!" I spent last year in the desert. I left my wife and children to serve. I went and joined my daughter. My daughter is there now again, for the fourth time.
The John Kerry situation has brought back a lot of issues that I have kept hidden. I have had the honor of serving and we were permitted to win. That has meant more to me than I can say. The history of the world created by our unceremonious political removal from Vietnam is documented, but not well portrayed.
We were portrayed by John Kerry, and it coated us with his slime. That he is even being considered as Commander In Chief just makes my skin crawl. The same people that spit on us when we came home are his core supporters. This time around, they feel the politically correct necessity to say they support our troops, but oppose the war. Lip service only. They lie. They hate anyone who loves this country enough to actually stand up to protect it.
My heart goes out to the people who have lost loved ones. I know it must be hard. But to betray what they stood for because of your hurt is wrong. Good people died in Vietnam, Iraq and in all wars. To be quick to surrender in their memory is to betray them, and betray your country.
Protest all you want before the war is waged. Once the war has begun, it is time to truly support our troops by permitting them to fight and win. To be permitted to only fight and die and have the country change course only leaves our military, and our homeland more vulnerable.
The consequences of pulling out of Vietnam were enormous, but would pale in comparison to pulling out of Iraq. Terrorists have struck on our home soil. They are betting that we will lose our nerve, thanks to Somalia and Vietnam. The greatest military in the history of mankind can be totally undermined by cowards back home. It doesn't take courage to spout anti military and anti American garbage to a frothing ignorant crowd. It can actually get you the easy babes of the "movement".
What would the world look like if we had been given the opportunity to win in Vietnam? Without Jane "Hanoi Jane" Fonda and John Kerry and the communist sympathizers undermining us? 2 1/2 million Cambodians would be alive. Untold South Vietnamese would not have been murdered. We would not have to approach every skirmish wondering whether the "Peace in our time" crowd would succeed in undermining us.
Does anyone think we gained respect because we abandoned Vietnam? We lost respect. We provided future enemies with an exploitable weakness. If we had never entered Vietnam, nobody would have cared. But to go and quit is the worst. We can never let it happen again.
The untold story of the first Gulf War was the influence of those hard-core Vietnam vets that remained. In their hearts was NO QUIT! WE WILL NOT let that happen again! They could finally feel the sun shine on them again. The darkness of Vietnam will always be with them, but they could finally find peace.
Not so for the vets that were not part of it. I served stateside for the first Gulf War. My older brother, also a Vietnam vet, went. I was denied the opportunity. My reserve unit was not called up. I was requested by the active duty, but was held by my unit. That is one reason why this one is personal. I did go. I thought maybe I was too old, but I was called this time. I made my experience count. I am proud to have had the opportunity.
If the John Kerry crowd wins, we bail and America loses. It will all be for naught once again.
Would I go again? In a heartbeat. It is that important. To "spare" us, and suffer a terrible attack on our home soil would be the ultimate injustice.
We are doing the right thing. We have good people willing to sacrifice everything. Everyone I talked to in Iraq would gladly extend indefinitely if it would assure victory. Vigilant was more than a word. We may be a little too PC, but it will only help us in history if we win. If we abandon our troops mission, and bring them home, it may save their lives, but only at the expense of many innocent victims. We are trained and equipped to fight. It is our job. We have begun; we MUST be permitted to finish.
Vietnam vets don't want to bash Kerry. We have all tried very hard to put it behind us. John Kerry burned and branded us. He caused us to fight and die without the valor of winning. He married nice rich women and had a nice comfy life in the Senate. So be it, was our feelings. It is over. But by making his self-serving service his prime reason for being qualified to be president, he has awakened us. Painfully awakened us. We were disgraced, but we were never weak.
We are old now, but we still have heart. Our battle cry is "NEVER AGAIN!" The greatly abused sleeping giant is awake again, and forced to make a stand. My sleepless nights have returned. What was deeply buried is now deeply felt. We stood up during Vietnam. Our service was not supported. They were wrong then. They are wrong now. History has been hijacked. What should have been was undermined. WE were undermined.
This time we are home, and we can make a difference. We do not have to be ashamed any longer. Our mission is now to make sure that what happened to our generation NEVER HAPPENS AGAIN! We must stand up and be counted one more time. This is our battle, and we must win.
The change during Vietnam happened while we were over there. We had no influence. This time, we are here. We have an obligation to support our troops. Not with cowardly lip service, but with action. We need to make ourselves heard, and we need to make a difference. Our country needs us once again. Most important...VOTE! Have our voices heard! Our country needs our experience, knowledge and ability one more time. We can no longer hide our loyalty to our great country. Stand up and be counted! Write, talk to friends and family. Let them know how you feel. Permit our troops to win this one. "I'm mad as hell, and I'm not going to take this any more!"
Your country needs your service one more time. After we win, you can finally truly sleep. You will have accomplished your mission and won your war! I am proud of all of us. Stand up. Be proud! WELCOME HOME!
Posted by: Dave at August 25, 2004 03:06 AM (qmtI/)
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August 15, 2004
QUESTIONS
I've come up with a few questions that I'd like to pose to military wives who think voting Kerry is in their best interest.
1. Kerry has recently been talking about reducing the number of troops in Iraq as soon as he gets into office. Would you support this measure, knowing that it might mean that your husband could be stretched even thinner and have less support and back-up on his missions?
2. Kerry has also said that the reduction of American troops will be made possible by the addition of foreign, especially Arab, troops. This question is rather hypothetical, given that to date no additional nations have agreed to send troops if Kerry were elected, but would you rather have your husband fighting alongside Arab soldiers instead of other Americans?
3. Kerry recently spoke out against the genocide in Sudan and said, "we must also start planning now for the possibility that the international community, acting through the United Nations, will be forced to intervene urgently to save the lives of the innocent." There's no question that the situation in Sudan is horrible, but would you want your husband to deploy there as part of a UN-led peacekeeping mission?
Yep, they're loaded questions. But the problem is that many wives hear the words "Kerry's gonna reduce the number of troops in Iraq" and they don't think about the fine print. A premature reduction of troops means less stability and more strain for those who are left there. Do we really want to vote for that?
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I don't think it will matter who is in the Oval, we're in this for the long haul and I don't see a significant reduction in troops happening for at least 3-5 years. You're right though Sarah, he's playing to the yearnings of our wives and mothers.
Glad your hiatus wasn't a long one btw.
Posted by: Sgt Hook at August 16, 2004 12:01 AM (olp4a)
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August 12, 2004
FEAR
To be honest, this is what I fear most. I don't even want to think about an
assassination.
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August 10, 2004
FOUR QUESTIONS
So Kerry would have
gone to war anyway, lack of WMDs and all. Um, huh? Anyway, he lays out four questions he'd like President Bush to answer. In the remaining 15 minutes before I have to leave for work, I am going to try to give the short answers:
Kerry challenged Bush to answer some questions of his own -- why he rushed to war without a plan for the peace, why he used faulty intelligence, why he misled Americans about how he would go to war and why he had not brought other countries to the table.
1) It's my understanding that we really were surprised by the insurgency. OK, mistake. I understand that American intelligence relied too heavily on what Iraqi exiles said would happen. They were wrong. The military has been frank about their shortcomings though. We're trying to fix the problem, but unfortunately we've got the entire world breathing down our necks now. My husband said his unit gets shot at from mosques but they're not allowed to do anything back. That's a problem. Oh, and all that build-up at the UN? That's not a "rush to war".
2) There's a big difference between lying and being wrong. We had some faulty intelligence. So did Clinton. So did Putin. Heck, so did Saddam. We all thought he had WMDs. We were told he tried to buy yellowcake, which for all the hullabaloo turned out to actually be true. Intelligence is not an exact science, and we did the best we could with what we had.
3) "Why he misled Americans about how he would go to war" is an odd question. I've heard it phrased about why we should go to war, but never how. I don't quite understand the accusation here. Heh, maybe he means why Bush said there'd be shock and awe, when really it looked pretty lame from the TV set in my grandma's sewing room...
4) Oh the glorious "other countries" charge. Here's what I'd say to John Kerry:
Look, moron, even someone with a free geocities account appears to be better informed than you. Put down the guitar, shut off your "rap music", and take time to count the countries that support us in Iraq. And count the waving coalition flags on the Rottweiler's blog. Just because your precious France isn't on board doesn't mean we're alone.
I'll fill in links later [done, as of 0945]; I have to go to work. Unlike Kerry, I have to show up more than 30% of the time.
Ba-zing!
MORE TO GROK:
RWN answers the questions too, and says nearly the same stuff I said.
Posted by: Sarah at
03:25 AM
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Note, Kerry says the he'd have voted for the war regardless. He is not saying that he'd have gone to war regardless. He has said he only voted for the war to lend negotiation powers to the president, not for him to actually go to war. I don't think this sheds any more light on him than there was before.
Posted by: John at August 10, 2004 08:53 AM (crTpS)
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