The September 18 edition of TIME magazine (cover: "Does God Want You to be Rich?"), there’s a brief interview with Al Franken. Here’s the best one:
Do you consider yourself a conservative on any issues?
… I’m probably a conservative when it comes to foreign policy. I believe in not attacking a country pre-emptively unless you’re sure of what you’re doing and you’re working with allies.
Absolutely — that indeed is a conservative position. My support of the war is something that I list among my own liberal positions (I have a bunch of them, and a bunch of conservative ones, and some that just don’t fit on the spectrum). Liberals historically have been optimistic people who believe that it’s not only possible, but imperative — particularly if you possess great power — to go out and make the world better. Conservatives are isolationist, and turn up their noses at building nations.
Vietnam just skewed the whole thing so it doesn’t make sense any more. But if you go back to JFK and beyond, you find interventionists galore, with the right embracing "America First."
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This is a sleight of hand, of course. Warthen attempts to direct attention away from an important aspect of what Franken said. Here it is again:
I believe in not attacking a country pre-emptively UNLESS YOU’RE SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND YOU’RE WORKING WITH ALLIES.
And Warthen performs another clumsy sleight of hand when he says this:
“Liberals historically have been optimistic people who believe that it’s not only possible, but imperative — particularly if you possess great power — to go out and make the world better.”
Warthen dishonestly conflates “making the world better” with whatever course of action he happens to support – in this case, a war, fought by persons other than himself, and imposing sacrifices upon persons other than himself. And this ties in with Franken’s point, the point that it is important to BE SURE OF WHAT YOU’RE DOING in an enterprise as important and costly as a war.
To Warthen, the desire to “make the world better” – whatever that means – is enough to justify fighting a war to impose his fantasies on nonwhite populations. Warthen’s intentions are good, in his own view, so all the consequences of the course of action he advocates – consequences which invariably fall on others – are justified.
To Franken, wishing isn’t enough. To Franken, it’s important to “be sure of what you’re doing”. You can’t fight a war to “make the world better”. The results of war are much more immediate and specific, and it’s important to work through the chain of possible outcomes to determine if the war is likely to make the world better, or – as has happened with the Iraq war – make the world worse.
As I’ve said before, the United States has ONE CHANCE, and ONE CHANCE ONLY, to achieve a tolerable outcome in Iraq. We simply do not, as things now stand, have sufficient resources to finish the job. The ONLY way that the job can be finished, is for Brad Warthen, PERSONALLY, to shoulder a share of the burdens of the Iraq war, rather than simply sitting on his sofa advocating an increase in the burdens borne by others.
Warthen must begin to make a net positive contribution to the U.S. treasury. He must use all his powers of persuasion to urge every friend, relative, and acquaintance he has to join the military, in order to replace the 2718 that have died, and to reduce the burden on those that remain. He must, every month, attempt to join the military himself, in the expectation that someday soon, the continually relaxing standards the military sets for recruits will open a place for him. Until the day he is able to join the military, he must spend every available moment doing whatever work he can to support the war effort and to reduce the burden on those who serve, whether this be volunteering at a Veterans’ hospital, doing unpaid volunteer civilian service in Iraq or elsewhere, or any other suitable volunteer work available.
The United States is stretched to the limit in Iraq. We’re giving everything we have. We have no more left to give. There is one man, and only one man, who can turn the tide. Brad Warthen can shoulder a share of the burden, or he can condemn us to defeat.
There is no other way.
Mary, we arent stretched to the limit. Here you are, comfortable in the 82nd Chairborne, and you havent been called to duty yet. How about getting off of your wornout and overused tokas and volunteering to help this nation?
Yo, you want me to pay for your trailer, too?
It’s YOU that wants the war, not me. I think the war is harming America. I was opposed to the war, because I thought there weren’t any weapons of mass destruction, that Colin Powell’s presentation at the U.N. was all lies, and that the war would be a disaster, causing needless death to American soldiers, a vast waste of money, great harm to the Iraqi people, and an increase in the danger faced by the U.S.? And guess what, I was right!
Why do I bear a special obligation to participate in a war that YOU want, but that I DON’T want? The obligation falls first on the members of the 101st Fighting Keyboardists and all the other chicken-hawks who are all for war so long as someone else fights it.
Hey Mary, why don’t you just simply assume that we are not at war? We haven’t defended ourselves against Al-Qaeda and they are running the country now (much better than Bush could, of course).
How do you like your Burka? What do your daughters do at home all day since they are not allowed to go to school (assuming you have daughters)? How did your dad/brother/husband feel after the religious police beat him up for not visiting the Mosque 5 times a day? Who’s chauffeuring you around? How do you eat spaghetti on the rare occasions you are allowed out of the harem? What would happen to a woman under Sharia if she is raped? Unlike here in the US, the woman would be considered at fault. No, we have nothing to defend and would be so much better off if we simply surrendered, right?
You are so naive it’s not even funny! Sometimes I really wish we could simply ship off the likes of you to Iran or Saudi Arabia just so could finally appreciate how great you have it here.
Brad, your undying (and no personal sacrifice) support for the Iraq quagmire WITHOUT any suggestions of any kind on how to make it work has become tiresome. Stop saying that you support the war unless you have something concrete to offer. Your optimism, without any plan, has really grown disgusting over time. Why won’t you tell us what you want to do? Do you not read your own paper? If you did you would see that the situation is getting worse, much, much worse.
It’s supporters like you that have resulted in the tragic deaths of 10s of thousands of Iraqs and Americans. And for absolutely no gain. Worse, the world has grown LESS safe. There are MORE terrorists, many more. I’ve been willing to give you the benefit of the doubt in the past, but now you’re just an enabler of the incompetent Decider and his blood-bath of a war.
My plan is simple. Bring the troops home NOW. That will almost certainly improve the current situation which is the worst of all possible worlds.
Lex, I’ve asked it before, and I’ll ask it again:
Are you a professional moron, or just a gifted amateur?
First, you conflate “defending ourselves against al Qaeda” with Operation Inigo Montoya. You present this list of consequences of having the U.S. run by al Qaeda, but you don’t explain how there is a danger that al Qaeda will actually run the U.S., or how Operation Inigo Montoya makes it less likely that al Qaeda will eventually run the U.S.
Second, I go to great lengths to explain the only way that the war can be won. The war can only be won if those who are presently fighting by sitting on their sofas make a more concrete contribution. If you think that Operation Inigo Montoya must be a success in order to keep al Qaeda from ruling the U.S., look to Warthen and yourself, not me. It is your shirking that has kept us from breaking through in Iraq.
Second,
Al Franken gets just about everything right.That’s why he DOESN’T SUPPORT THE WAR.
Did you skip over the word “not” when you read his answer or has your state of denial about the war affected your reading comprehension skills?
I’ve come to be a fan of Mary Rosh, that is when he’s not calling me “profoundly stupid”. “Chairborne Ranger” is a BW Blog classic.
I agree that Lexie’s narrative on The US of Al-Queda was flimsy and an obscuration of the real threats. It was an effort to bolster his wobbly position.
Lex, Saddam Hussein cared and cares nothing for religion. He never implemented Shari’a law. Now that he is gone, it may well be implemented.
Christians enjoyed many freedoms under Saddam; now they are fleeing the country in droves, half have fled to Syria. Many of them have held the professional occupations that are needed there.
I am not saying Saddam was an angel, but let’s keep the balance.
Brad, your position on the war in Iraq is morally bankrupt, tactically indefensible and stategically disasterous.
You’re doing a heck of a job– just like Bush, Cheney and Hastert.
BTW, Brad, I’ve been (and will be busy) so why don’t you write a column for the dead tree edition about your experiences volunteering at the VA Hospital?
Oh, wait. I bet that you have “other priorities” (like Cheney during ‘Nam)– YOU’RE the one in the stomach-turning, chickenhawk “chairborne brigade.”
By my estimate, we should reach the 3000 mark for soliders killed in Iraq sometime between New Years and Bush’s State of the Union speech.
The psychological impact of that number will be a fitting kickoff for the lame duck period that will mark the final two years of the worst presidency of my lifetime. If you think Bush fatigue is bad now, wait til 2008.
Doug, I had severe Kerry fatigue after about 5 minutes of his first campaign speech. Remember that bag of wind launching his campaign on the deck of the carrier down in Charleston. Hillary fatigue is also prevalent throughout the nation also. So if you lasted 6 years with Bush before fatigue, thats not bad. I have talked to a few soldiers who served in Iraq and they actually resent the near celebration of each death milestone by the liberal media. Hey, we made 2000, hey, we hit 2500, hey, we are going to make it to 3000. It is really pathetic that a political party thinks its fortunes go up as our soldier’s death toll rises. That is why the American people cannot and will not let cut and runners lead our military.
How do you anti-Americans explain Saddam having a mural painted of an Iraqi airline crashing into an American skyscraper, over a YEAR BEFORE Sept 11, 2001?
Lee says:
>How do you anti-Americans explain Saddam >having a mural painted of an Iraqi airline >crashing into an American skyscraper, over a >YEAR BEFORE Sept 11, 2001?
Is it next to the photo of Rumsfeld and Saddam shaking hands?
Do you have any link to a source that will confirm your statement?
Dave,
I’m no Hillary supporter but you’ve got your head in the sand if you think she is not going to be a potential candidate with at least some chance of winning.
I’m hoping for NYC Mayor Bloomberg to run. We need a rich, smart guy for a change.
Doug, Hillary arrived in VA to help Webb campaign and George Allen went up by 6 to 8 points. I really hope the coldhearted witch is the Dem nominee. Bloomberg, a Jew, won’t stand a chance. The anti-semitic left and the black leaders would rip him apart.
Marines discover Iraqi 9/11 mural
CNN – Wednesday, March 26, 2003 Posted: 5:56 PM EST (2256 GMT)
http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/26/sprj.irq.mural/index.html
The mural that Marines found Wednesday in Nasiriya depicts a plane crashing into a high-rise building.
NASIRIYA, Iraq (CNN) — U.S. Marines searching Iraqi military headquarters in this southern city that was the site of intensive fighting came across a mural depicting a plane crashing into a building complex resembling New York’s twin towers, a news agency photograph showed Wednesday.
The plane’s logo and coloring resembled that of Iraqi Airlines, said Getty Images News Service executive Brian Felber, based in New York.
The photograph, showing two rifle-toting Marines in front of the mural, was shot by staff photographer Joe Raedle, who is accompanying the 1st Marine
Expeditionary Force from Task Force Tarawa.
Getty is a news photo agency that distributes about 500 photographs from
around the world each day and has 10 staff members embedded with U.S. forces in the Iraq conflict.
Felber said this photo was “causing a bit of a stir.”
Regarding Hillary: I ran into a couple of Joe Biden’s Irishmen at breakfast downtown yesterday morning. The senator was closed up in a private room with somebody or other, but I spoke briefly to Mark Doyle, and quite a bit longer with Danny O’Brien, the chief of staff (former chief of staff; he’s with the campaign now).
They’ve been traveling all over helping congressional candidates, and Danny says Hillary’s not doing well in either Iowa or New Hampshire. Since you can’t really expect her to do well HERE, that sort of undermines the whole "inevitability of Hillary" — if Mr. O’Brien is right.
Brad, I agree with that assessment. In fact, Hillary groupees have begun to circulate “rumors” that she really wants to stay in the Senate and cement her leadership role in the Senate. Nice plan B it appears. Nationwide, she would draw a lot of votes but probably only carry CA, NY, MASS, NJ, Wisconsin, Illinois and a couple of other tiny states. It would be a GOP blowout. Of course, she could run as a VP on a ticket with Biden or Bayh, but they better have some extra special security if they get into the White House. Can anyone imagine having her waiting for you to die to become President? She would be like the black widow spider for sure.
The 2006 elections is shaping up as a political junkies dream. The generic Democrat is polling about 5% ahead of the generic Republican in various polls. Given the gerrymandered nature of the congressional districts that’s about what the Dems need to break even. Hence the House is roughly a toss-up. It’s just possible that the Foley brouhaha will tip the balance in favor of the Dems.
As for the senate, it appears Lieberman is going to hang on. That could be very important since he’s officially an independent. The polling shows a slight tilt toward the Dems over the past couple of weeks. Five GOP seats are in real danger of shifting over (MT, RI, MO, OH and PA). That would make a 50/50 split with the VP holding the tie-breaker vote. If one more seat goes Dem, possibly TN, the Dems would have the majority.
Now here’s where it gets interesting. Assuming the Dems win a net of 6 seats, that makes Lieberman a very powerful person. As an independent he would automatically control the senate just by a change in who he caucuses with. In effect he could become more powerful than the lame duck president come January, 2007.
Here’s my prediction:
Senate: 48 Dems; 50 GOP; 2 Independents (Jeffords and Lieberman) I don’t think TN is quite ready for an African-American senator and it, along with VA, will stay GOP. NJ, MD and WA will stay Dem. PA, RI, MO, MT and OH will switch from GOP to Dem.
House: It will be close but the Iraq war and Mark Foley will put the Dems over the top with a 220 to 215 margin.
So Dave, what you’re saying is that you don’t care about the fact that American soldiers are dying, you only care about the fact that people notice that they’re dying.
And again, your willingness for American soldiers to die does not represent personal courage on your part. Courage constitutes a PERSONAL WILLINGNESS to face danger, not a willingness for OTHER PEOPLE to face danger while you sit collecting handouts.
The desire to send other people into danger in order to give yourself a feeling of total security is not courage; it’s cowardice.
Mary, the war in Iraq for those who support it is not about security. It’s not about making people’s lives better. It’s not about spreading freedom and democracy to other people. It’s not about protecting our supply of oil. It’s not even about defending the honor of the fallen. No. It appears that it’s only about winning. At any cost. No one says exactly what we’re supposed to win. Some sort of trophy perhaps. Maybe the president can stand on a podium and a band can play the national anthem. It really is disgusting that no one can say exactly how American citizens benefit by a victory in Iraq. And worse, no one seems to be able to even describe what a victory is. And one time getting rid of Saddam and WMD was the goal. Now?
All wars are about winning, and radical Islam declared war on Western Civilization over 30 years ago.
We have to destroy them, and it will be done by those who understand and appreciate Western civilization, not by reactionary socialists and others who also want to reverse the progress of human liberty.
Lee, I take that as saying it’s up to you. I think that’s right. We are in a war for survival, but America is stretched to the limit. We are doing everything we can do. The continued existence of western civilization hangs in the balance.
So get going. There’s plenty you can do, so do it. It is YOUR ABSENCE from the fight that is turning it into a stalemate. The added weight that would result from your making a positive contribution will turn the tide.
Or, you can just sit collecting handouts and impunging the patriotism of those who pay the taxes that provide you with the handouts you depend on to survive, the way you have for your whole life.
Which will you choose?
Joe Biden– what a waste. If the Dems select him to run then we’re doomed to another four years of Republican attacks on the middle class and the Constitution– and our children.
Maf54 (7:47:11 PM): good so your getting horny
Xxxxxxxxx (7:47:29 PM): lol…a bit
Maf54 (7:48:00 PM): did you spank it this weekend yourself
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:04 PM): no
Xxxxxxxxx (7:48:16 PM): been too tired and too busy
Maf54 (7:48:33 PM): wow…
Maf54 (7:48:34 PM): i am never to busy haha
“You don’t stand up and say ‘Your president is lying to you and you are dying for no reason.’ I don’t do that joke.”
Al Franken-on entertaining the troops in Iraq
Yeah, ol’ Al is a real laugh riot.
He used to be funny, though. I enjoyed some of his impersonations of political figures during his SNL days — Paul Simon, Pat Robertson…
Then there was the wonderful “One-Man Mobile Uplink Unit reporter.”
We can all wax a bit nostalgic for the Al Franken Decade, I guess.
Irony: the expression of one’s meaning by language that normally signifies the opposite, typically for humorous or emphatic effect.
–The Oxford Dictionary of English
What’s the difference between Al Franken and Brad Warthen?
Al Franken went to Iraq.
Another difference between BW and Franken:
Franken realizes that Bush is/was/will be lying to us and that the troops are dying for a mistaken ideology. BW thinks that it’s OK.
So what is your military experience, “Mary Rosh”? Where did you earn the right to denounce everyone who is patriotic and has facts you cannot answer?
Who’s denouncing anything??? I’m not disagreeing with what you say. I’m just saying that if western civilization is going to be saved, YOU are going to have to step up. We are balanced on the knife edge, and what it’s going to take to tip the scale toward victory is for YOU to shoulder a share of the burden.
Your local recruiting office closed while you were sitting around thinking about how to accuse me of attacking people who are patriotic, but they open tomorrow. If western civilization is to survive, YOU need to go to your recruiting office on Monday morning.
Now, you can continue as you have all your life, that is, you can continue to be a lazy, worthless, shiftless, dependent, freeloading loser denouncing liberals with one side of your mouth while filling it from the other side with food paid for by handouts financed by the taxes of liberals, but that isn’t going to to ANYTHING to protect western civilization. If the United States is going to survive, you must, for the first time in your life, do something other than sit on your sofa waiting for your government check to arrive.
Lee, I have repeatedly asked Mary John Lott Rosh what her service to the country has been. Never a response. That is because “it” has never lifted a finger to serve. My profile is correct, it is a frustrated government worker, maybe post office, who longs for every citizen to join the socialist movement. It and Al Franken belong together as Franken has morphed into a bitter, very un-funny, third rate radio talk show host who helped run Air Hate America out of business. My guess is Mary hasnt been able to succeed in the free market and projects her resentment and bitterness toward America as a result of it.
Dave, last time I checked Air “Tell the Truth” America is still airing. Granted the ratings are lower than right-wing talk. The reason liberal radio struggles is because most liberals like to think on their own. We don’t want someone telling us what to think like some robot.
Conservatives, on the other hand, need Rush and Sean to tell them the latest right-wing spin points. That’s reflected on this blog where Lee, Dave and Lex constantly regurgitate the latest neo-con bromides.
Repeating a lie does not make it the truth. That might be good politics but it’s not good for America.
Yeah, Dave, right. I make enough to pay for my own government services, PLUS enough to pay additional taxes that go to pay for handouts that keep you and your fellow conservatives from facing the famine that would result from an attempt to depend on your own initiative and industry (such as it is).
And I don’t understand where you, Lee, Lex, Warthen, and all the other chicken-hawks, Chairborne Rangers, and assorted cowards get this obsessive idea that have that only those who oppose the war are obligated to fight in it.
You go on and on and on talking about how success in the Iraq war is vital to the survival of America and of western civilization. But that’s all you do, talk. You don’t make any contribution to the Iraq war, you don’t shoulder any sacrifice. The only contribution you make to the Iraq war is a negative one. Money that could be spent buying equipment for our soldiers has to go instead to finance handouts to keep you from starving.
You can sit endlessly making up disparaging stories about people who disagree with you. But those stories are just made up. On the other hand, we know numerous facts about you. We know you are a liar, we know you are a coward, we know you are not a loyal American. We know you don’t care about protecting America or preventing terrorism. We know you are a lazy, ignorant, shiftless, worthless freeloader who depends for survival on handouts finaced by the taxes paid by liberals.
If success in the Iraq war is really important to you, go do something about it. Right now, according to John Warner, we’re drifing sideways. Shoulder your share of the burden, and maybe that will be just the added weight we need to start making progress.
Or, you can just continue to sit on your sofa, living off of handouts that my taxes pay for, and making up imaginary scenarios that keep you from facing the fact that you are a freeloader and a failure.
Hillary is to the democrats what Tommy West was to Clemson, a throw back to try to recreate a golden era. I think she has as much of a chance as Coach West. I wouldn’t vote for her.
Obama is the new shining star.
Talking about Al Franken, here’s a story which has gotten huge amounts of media time since yesterday (not!). Now if this were, oh say, Rush Limbaugh, we wouldn’t hear the end of it for weeks. Heck, it would probably make them forget all about Foley, even! But hey, this is just Al Franken so who cares, right? After all, it’s just the usual Dem corruption in action once again.
Charge: Charity Funds Diverted To Air America
Authorities Say Money Meant For Boys And Girls Club Went To Liberal Radio Network ‘Air America’
(CBS/AP/DOI) NEW YORK Two former executives at a government-funded youth organization whose finances were scrutinized after it diverted money to the liberal radio network Air America were charged Thursday with misappropriating $1.2 million of the non-profit’s funds.
Charles Rosen, a former executive director at the Gloria Wise Community Center, and his former assistant director, Jeffrey Aulenbach, face charges of grand larceny and obstructing governmental administration. Rosen was also charged with forgery.
New York City’s Department of Investigation, which investigated the nonprofit for two years, said the men improperly took more than $290,000 from the organization for their personal use, on top of their already unusually large salaries.
The money — described in the non-profit’s books as business expenses — went to pay for home renovations and furnishings and new cars, among other things, according to a Department of Investigation report released Thursday. …..
Lexwolf, the reason the media doesnt jump on liberal corruption is because its not news. The exception is when a liberal actually acts honestly, governs fairly, and accepts election results by US citizens without whining and crying about stolen elections. Although we did have at least one honest liberal, Jimmy Carter, but he made up for his sincerity and honesty in naivety and stupidity.
Mary, can you begin to cut and paste something more original than that stupid coward, lazy, etc. etc. hogwash? Expand your vocabulary and use something orginal for a change. Show off some of that repressed liberal IQ.
Dave, her current repertoire is probably the most/best she can do. As you know, they took a good part of her IQ points and transferred them to us so that we wouldn’t be totally shiftless and would at least be able to figure out how to use all the handouts. Typical socialism – now we’re all equally shiftless and subsisting on handouts.
Dave, I’ll be glad to write at great length praising you for shouldering a share of the burden created by the war you advocate – as soon as you do it.
But so long as you don’t do anything other than sit taking handouts, what is there to write about, other than the fact that you constantly talk about how important the Iraq war is, yet don’t contribute to it in any way.
Lex, your link is to WCBS, a pretty big outlet. The reason the story isn’t getting more play is that there’s this other story that is sort of sucking all the oxygen out of the room. It’s too bad, because the news that the Bush Administration ignored explicit warnings of an impending al Qaeda attack isn’t getting as much play as it should.
I think the story is sort of thought of as a local story. The fact that Air America had a corrupt employee, whom they fired, and improperly received money, which they paid back, may be the most important story you’ve ever heard. But I think that a lot of parents of teenagers are interested in this other story that’s getting prominent play, and many Americans are also interested in the fact that the Iraq war is spiraling toward disaster even faster than previously, and that Iraq is also being lost.
Then, there’s the fact that Tenet warned Rice on July 10 that an al Qaeda attack was imminent, and did nothing.
The press is working their way toward the Air America story, it’s just that there’s a lot of other stuff to work through.
Yep, and in 10 or 20 years, dozens of historians will write books trying to explain the collapse of the Democrat Party after Hillary’s landslide loss in 2008. Somebody somewhere will get around to mentioning this incident as one of the factors contributing to the collapse. In the meantime you can safely ignore it until it’s time for it to bite you in the rear end.
Oh, and I’m sure that if Limbaugh ever has a corrupt employee whom he then fires after repaying the stolen money, that surely will be the end of that story as well, right? (Funny how with lefties it’s always some lowlevel “rogue” employee(s) while for the GOP any scandal always is alleged to reach right up to the top. Wonder why?)
P.S. nobody is interested in the Foley story anymore except some far Left partisans who hope that this will protect them against the shellacking they will receive in 30 days. Most Dems who still are somehow connected to reality have realized that Foley is a dead end that will only backfire on them. It might have worked if the Dems were morally and ethically irreproachable but everybody knows the Dems for the moral degenerates that they are and realizes that the Dems are only trying to deflect attention from their own many shortcomings.
Heh. The Dems really, really, really support our troops….just as soon as they can figure which those troops are!
I Love Canadian Troops, Too!
Sen. Joseph Lieberman, running as an independent, has a 53 percent to 33 percent lead on Democratic anti-war challenger Ned Lamont. Lieberman, a three-term Democratic incumbent, lost the party primary in August after Lamont attacked his support for the Iraq war.
Interesting how the leftists on this blog were hootin and hollerin for LaMont and how he proved how much America is against the Iraq war and the referendum on Bush, etc. etc. The real truth is NO ONE LIKES the fact we are at war in Iraq, but Americans with common sense, and a sense of patriotism, understand that war is a dirty business of kill or be killed. So even the libs in blue state CT have common sense and patriotism. Hurrah for them. What is going to be fun is watching the loser Dems cringe in agony while Liebermann, who the Dems attacked with anti-Semitic slants, openly side on some, not all, issues with Bush and the GOP. Thank God for common sense in CT. Question, where do the independents sit in the Senate? Do they have a middle aisle?
but Americans with common sense, and a sense of patriotism, understand that war is a dirty business of kill or be killed. – Dave
That’s why many of us want CREDIBLE justification for going to war. Many of us do NOT take the death of our troops cavalierly – tossing hawkish buzz words around like this is some sort of football game e.g. “Bring it on”.
The flimsy analysis of what’s happening in Connecticut shows great hypocrisy. Graham and McCain put country over party and are assailed by many pubs on this blog, yet Liberman is championed for the same actions.
The analysis is flimsy because Connecticut voters don’t view this race purely as a referendum on war. Liberman is winning largely because of who he is and his overall performance. Connecticut is on the left of the political spectrum of states. Joe will be sitting right among the democrats voting as he always has.
Nice try using that race to bolster a terribly weak stance on the war.
DNC Still Can’t Find An American Soldier To Support
The Democratic Party website has been changed since the discovery that they used a picture of a Canadian soldier on the page that proclaimed their support for “our troops”. Apparently, though, they still can’t find a picture of an American soldier to support:…..
It’s time for a scorecard on three important issues facing the American people next month, ethics, security and the economy.
Ethics. The GOP has 2 huge ethical scandal, Jack Abramoff and the Mark Foley coverup. The Dems had very little to do with either mess.
On ethics – the Democrats are better for America
Security. The GOP is making us less safe by pursuing a failed and misguided quagmire in Iraq. The Dems may have some culbability but it’s the GOP in charge and they are failing us.
On security its the Democrats who have the better record.
Economy. In spite of some good economic news of late the economy largely favors the rich. Poverty and lack of health insurance show how much the GOPs greed is hurting middle and working class America. And the future looks troubling as well with huge budget deficits and increasing consumer debt.
On the economy the Democrats are better for most Americans.
So its Dems – 3; GOP – 0.
Jack Abramoff was involved in the Clinton-Babbitt scandal, where $1,100,000,000 disappeared from the savings accounts of children on Indian reservations, yet Janet Reno found no wrongdoing, and no idea where the money went.
The tiny rollback of the Clinton tax increases on the middle class are the only thing which brought the economy out of the Clinton Recesssion of 2000. Stock prices just hit an all-time high. Engineer wages fell 25% under Clinton. Getting rid of H1-B workers would restore them to where they should be and cause a surge in the economy.
Bud, Now Foley is a “huge” scandal. No, he is the media frenzy driven scandal of the week. Before it was Libby, Delay, but Foley isnt sticking with voters. Try again
Then we have security. Albright and Clinton supposedly worked a treaty where we paid the N. Koreans billions of dollars to NOT develop nuclear. Again, they were duped by the NKs. Now the world faces another maniac with Nukes. Great example of the Dem failure on security.
Keep believing the economy is not good if you want. YOu needed to live through what Jimmah Carter did to us economy wise. That is when he told us we all suffered from malaise. Worst president in modern history.
Bush’s approval rating in the latest Newsweek poll was an all-time low 33%. I believe the Foley cover-up scandal, along with the other “scandals of the week” are finally having an effect. People no longer regard the GOP as the party of high ethics. They never were of course but thanks to the media enablers many folks bought into that. The election will tell us who’s right on this. GO DEMS!!
Thanks to George W. Bush’s incompetence we can now welcome a new member of the nuclear club, North Korean. The GOP is not only the party of atrocious moral character they are also the party that is clueless in how to make us secure. After nearly 6 years of Republican rule we now have all 3 “Axis of Evil” nations far more dangerous than before.
Dave, why is it that all these supposed Clinton failures wind up having bad results when Bush is president? What are you saying, that Clinton was president from 1993 to 2001, and then he left office, and no one was president after that?
The fact is that Clinton negotiated a deal with North Korea, which they adhered to while he was president, and which kept them from going forward on nuclear weapons development. Then Bush came into office and started making hollow threats against North Korea. North Korea declared their intention to resume processing plutonium, and Bush declared HIS intention to do nothing about it other than to make hollow threats.
North Korea now has nuclear weapons, and probably exploded one. This is Bush’s respondibility. Bush was president during the last 5-1/2 years, and his failures and mistakes led directly to the situation in which we find ourselves.
You blame Clinton because you don’t care about the safety and welfare of America; you only care about reflexively blaming Clinton and making excuses for Bush.
But the fact that North Korea resumed processing plutonium is Bush’s fault, not Clinton’s fault.
Just as the fact that you are a lazy, shiftless, uneducated, dependent loser is not Clinton’s fault, or the fault of liberals, but your fault.
Bud and Mary, the only known way to stop NK from fully developing a nuclear offensive weapon is to obliterate their nuclear sites. The constraint in doing that are people exactly like you two, people who want guaranteed cradle to grave security but dont have the guts to do what we have to do to ensure that. I was hoping that W’s press conference this morning was to tell us that the Stealth bombers just took out the NK nuclear sites. If he had, you two would be whining right now about pre-emptive strikes, blah blah blah. When will you ever learn, when will you ever learn?
Dave, let’s recap all the obvious reasons your knee-jerk idea is incredibly bad. All complicated problems have a simple, but wrong, solution. This is no exception. Of course much of the reason why we’re in such a predicament is our president’s failed diplomacy efforts. But here we are, so what to do? But first, your obliteration idea is awful, here’s why.
First. It’s too late. North Korea already has at least 5 and probably more nuclear devices already. They also have short range missiles capabable of hitting most of South Korea and possibly Japan.
Second. You’re flat wrong in declaring “the only way to stop NK from fulling developing a nuclear weapon is to obliterate their nuclear sites. Given the difficulty in taking these sites out with conventional munitions we would almost certainly fail, at least in part. NK has a very advanced anti-aircraft defense system. We may just be wasting our time. Of course we could use nukes. Do you really want to go there?
Third. Relations with the world community, already strained, would take a hit. The oil producing nations, especially Iran, would become quite anxious and would probably retaliate with a cutoff in oil supplies. And you thought $3/gallon gas was tough?
Fourth. Assume we are successful in taking out NK’s weapons facilities and existing bombs. Then what? Do we invade NK? Been there, done that. The Chinese are unlikely to sit idly by and let us attempt that again. All that got us in 1950 was 35,000 soldiers killed. If we don’t invade, NK will simply rebuilt, possibly with assistance from China or Pakistan.
Dave what you’re proposing is a fools errand. Many thousands of people will die, our economy will suffer and the heart and soul of America would be lost forever. Sadly, Mary and I don’t have the power to constrain the hapless Decider. Even he has enough sense to practice a bit of restraint in this very dangerous situation. Or at least I hope so.
But if I could make some decision here’s what I’d do. Negotiate. It’s not a very dramatic approach, and may not work. But it’s really all we have. Whether 2 party or 6 party it doesn’t matter. But perhap it would at least buy us some time. No panacea though. We’ve let this go too far already. But perhaps we can lower the tension some and hopefully work our way back from the abyss. The times are very dangerous. One misstep and millions could die.
Dave, first, who is it that wants cradle to grave security? Me, who finances the handouts you depend on, or you, who are too worthless to survive without a constant stream of handouts?
Second, again with your talk about how everything depends on “guts” while you sit on your sofa. Again, courage does not consist of A WILLINGNESS TO SIT ON YOUR SOFA WAITING FOR HANDOUTS WHILE URGING COURSES OF ACTIONS THAT PLACE OTHERS IN DANGER. That’s cowardice, not courage.
And it isn’t excessive martial spirit that caused Bush to allow the North Koreans to develop nuclear weapons. It’s laziness and fecklessness. Bush (like you) is big on talk, but not so big on doing anything to protect the United States. For the last five years Bush has been blowing smoke about North Korea, while making it clear that he wasn’t able or willing to take any affirmative action to stop them from doing anything they wanted to do.
So surprise, surprise, North Korea ignored Bush’s hollow threats. And Bush’s preference for talk over action is quite in character.
If he had paid attention to the numerous warnings that were coming in during the summer of 2001, he could have stopped the September 11 attacks.
But he didn’t.
If he had pursued bin Laden vigrously, he could have caught him.
But he didn’t.
If he had taken positive steps to rebuild Afghanistan, he would have kept it from sliding back into the hands of the Taliban.
But he didn’t.
The obstacles that Bush faced had nothing to do with outside influences, they came from his own lack of character. Similarly, the obstacles that have made you a failure have nothing to do with actions by liberals (who have, after all, paid the taxes that keep you from starving).
They have to do with your own character flaws, the laziness and shiftlessness that keeps you sitting on your sofa his sofa talking about how much courage you have because of the “strong, resolute” way you sit on your sofa.
Bud, Now Foley is a “huge” scandal. No, he is the media frenzy driven scandal of the week. – Dave
Covering up a 50 year old congressman hitting on MINORS who were in the care of congress TRUSTED by parents is just a run of the mill, media driven scandal. This perspective reflects the family values of the party of Dave and Lex.
I find it very sad that these two continue to put party over protecting youth.
Go ahead guys and defend your party and Foley by trashing Clinton and other democrats – that certainly justifies hitting on MINORS.
Mary, no one needs your taxes, and I doubt you donate anything to charity. Your complaining isn’t making you feel any better, so stop it. Go perform some real social work, and you will feel a little better about yourself for honest reasons.
Lee, you know and I know that South Carolina serves no economic function other than as a repository for federal subsidies and handouts. South Carolinians receive $1.38 in federal handouts for every $1.00 they pay in federal taxes.
Think about it. What would happen to the rest of the United States if South Carolina suddenly vanished? Would there be great economic dislocations? Would famine sweep the land? Or would there suddenly be more money available for public services and infrastructure rebuilding, due to the removal of the need to support a population unable to survive on the product of its own industry and initiative?
Randy, you are epitomizing the problem with the Dem party of today. Theywant Mark Foley 24 hours a day while NK sets off a nuclear bomb. The American public is interested in NK, and MF is history, gone, to the trash heap. Forget about him and spend your efforts on the WOT and North Korea, i.e. national security issues.
Mary John Lott Rosh – is that all can do is to repeat, repeat your cut and paste silliness? You are getting old quick.
Dave, don’t worry. Everyone’s starting to focus on W’s failed “Axis of Evil” approach to protecting our country.
So Dave’s approach is to deal with one issue at a time. I guess congress and W will spend their entire day focusing on NK only. I guess the parents who are just now discovering THEIR child was approached by Foley will wash their hands of the matter because of NK. I guess the whole freaking country will stand still, ignoring ALL CRIMES because of NK.
Sounds reasonable.
You’re right Dave, CONGRESSMAN Foley hitting on a MINOR is no big deal. Will the republicans be putting that into their platform with their other family values?
No one has defended Foley, you Randy is fixated on Foley as a diversion in every thread.
If Mary Rosh is so angry at having her tax dollars help poor blacks in South Carolina, what changes would she like to see to end it? On whom would she not mind spending her tax dollars?
We all need to become better at muli-tasking in order to keep up with all the GOP failures. From scandal to incompetence to just plain evil this bunch keeps your head spinning. I expect in a day or two we’ll have new GOP scandal to help push the Foley pedophile cover-up off the front page.
Dave, when there’s something new to write about, then I will write something new.
For example, if you actually get UP OFF your sofa and demonstrate some ACTUAL courage, I will write about that.
But so long as you continue to make claims of personal courage whose sole manifestation of courage is the fortitude and resolution with which you sit on your sofa, I will continue to point out that a willingness to sit on your sofa doesn’t constitute courage.
Exactly what was your service to our country, Mary, which qualifies you to dismiss everyone who has an point which you are unable to address?
bud, contrary to Dave’s wishful assertions, the Foley matter will be around as the investigation continues and the election draws near. Conservatives care and dems are playing it up. Freaking Hastert has a press conference every day to clarify his latest position as more republican congressmen come out with more damning information.
Randy, the Dem assault has turned into bona fide gay bashing. Who woulda thunk that?
Dave Dave Dave, he was hitting on MINORS. Why do you insist on protecting him?
Randy, 18 year olds are not minors. They are legally adults.
As predicted, a new Republican scandal to help dilute all the previous scandals. Senator Arlen Specter – REPUBLICAN senator from Pennsylvania – is apparently getting in on the scandal orgy of the GOP. From the USA Today:
WASHINGTON — The FBI is investigating whether a member of Sen. Arlen Specter’s staff broke the law by helping her husband, a lobbyist, secure almost $50 million in Pentagon spending for his clients, the senator acknowledged Tuesday.
So now we have:
Abramoffgate
Plamegate
Pedophilegate
Money Laundergate (Delay)
Cunninghamgate (forgot what he did)
Katrinagate
Add the various “gates” to the incompetent foreign policy, unfair domestic agenda and we have what amounts to the biggest failure of the federal government in the nation’s history. GOP, you’re doing a heckuva a job.
Adding “gate” doesn’t work, when the target of your smear is proven to have no involvement.
We can lump them all under the title of
DemocratLieGate
The GOP has quite the delimma on it’s hands with the Foley pedophile cover up scandal. Essentially they either have to (1) Concede that Hastert’s office was informed of the Foley IMs and e-mails and did nothing, or (2) Concede that high ranking Republicans are liars. What a mess the party of “family values” has gotten itself into. All the voters need to remember is this: The party that promised to clean up Washington has failed miserably to keep that promise. We know with 100% certainty that they are either defending a pedophile or they are liars.
Talking in generalities about a “cover up” is nothing more than a smear campaign.
Name the actual persons who covered up for Foley, when, where, how and why. Then you can begin an honest discussion.
Chinagate
– 17 close associates of Bill Clinton and Al Gore are convicted of taking $20,000,000 in illegal “campaign contributions”.
– Several more flee the country.
– Several disappear.
– 2 die in “accidents”.
Exposing a sexual predator is not “gay bashing”.Pedophilia is an almost uncurable illness and it’s a crime.You’re protecting other children from being scarred for life.This sick man should have been arrested,not allowed to enter “rehab”.
Bill, you got that right. And would you agree that if a male who is having sex with a juvenile boy is a pedophile, then the first truth is that that male is a homosexual first and a pedophile second. Some queers dont move to pedophilia but its a short move it appears.
No,Pedophiles often abuse children of both sexes.They usually have never developed a true sexuality.Very few “queers” are pedophiles.
That is,unfortunately,a common myth.
If you abuse someone of the same sex, that makes you a homosexual predator, whether you have victims of the opposite gender or not.
Some Dept of Justice studies show homosexuals to be arrested for sexual assault at rates as high as 28 times those for heterosexuals.
“Strictly speaking,pedophilia is the sexual molestation of a pre-pubescent child of either sex,” but the overriding problem is the abuse of older children from 12 to 18. “More than 90 percent of the cases involve the clerical molestation of teen-age young men.” – Rev. Charles Fiore, a Catholic priest who has battled sexual predators in the clergy since the mid-1960s.
More than 80 percent of priests victims since 1950 were male, report says
By Kevin Cullen, Boston Globe Staff, 2/28/2004
WASHINGTON — More than 80 percent of minors under the age of 18 who were sexually abused by Roman Catholic priests in the United States since 1950 were male, a report released yesterday found, raising questions about what role homosexuality played in the crisis and whether the Catholic Church will try to limit or prevent gay men from joining the priesthood.
Neither homosexual priests nor celibacy were root causes of the clergy sexual abuse crisis, said Robert S. Bennett, the Washington lawyer who headed the research committee of the National Review Board that prepared a report detailing the “causes and context” of the crisis. But, he added, “an understanding of the crisis is not possible without reference to these issues.”
“Survey data from submarines, discos, and prisons show that anywhere from 9 to 23 percent of males say they have a desire to become gay,” Da Vinci said in a recent interview. “I think we have shown that these same men, if they commit themselves to an intensive course of therapy, can become happy homosexuals.”
Dr Rafe Da Vinci
Survey a bunch of drunk partiers at a bar and you can get a lot of skewed data.
Bill, I needed a good laugh and you did it. Submarines, discos, and prisons. What a survey. The subs and the prisons I may concede. After about a year with no human contact that fat guy in the cell next door may begin to look attractive. But the disco, look out for the disco duck. hahahahahha Does anyone else remember that scene in I think “Little Big Man” where Richard Harris has been snowed in all winter with this big fat squaw and he says to her (she didnt speak English), “It’s time to get off this mountain, you are starting to look good to me”.. Wow, what a hoot…
the first truth is that that male is a homosexual first and a pedophile second. – Dave
Dave, you take a poll of republicans about Mark Foley or another gay male who hits on minors. Ask them which they worry about more. THE ISSUE is that he HIT ON MINORS. You said 18 year olds were not minors. Read the reports. He hit on MINORS as well.
How can you condone such behavior? How does this not bother you? His actions are sick enough without others defending and even supporting him.
Randy, Foley is gone, purged, history. Why does the GOP throw their trash out but the Democrats live with theirs? Jefferson, Kennedy, Frank, Reid, Clinton, Torricelli, etc. etc. etc.
Why does the GOP throw their trash out – Dave
ABC news outted Foley. The republican LEADERSHIP kept him around for years after knowing that he hit on MINORS. It took LEGAL action to purge Ney, Taft, Cunningham, Delay, etc. etc. etc.
“History”? Hardly, there is an on going criminal investigation. Your Speaker keeps having press conferences on the issue. It’s not gone because he resigned or because Dave says it’s a nonissue. Clinton’s not here but you keep bringing him up. Can we say Double Standard?
How can you accept what Foley did, Dave? You have yet to condemn his actions and you even defend him.
Dave doesn’t defend Foley. That is your lie.
Foley is gone. So far, there is no evidence that anyone but some staffers suspected Foley, and had no evidence.
Let’s remove Barney Frank, Jefferson, Hillary and others caught in scandals.
Randy’s correct. The evidence is becoming overwhelming that Hastert’s office and probably Hastert himself knew Foley was a bit off and should have conducted an investigation. The only other explaination is that several high-ranking Republicans are serial liars. So which is it Dave and Lee, cover-up or lying?
Hastert got rid of Foley a few days after being shown the evidence. That seems pretty fast to me.
Especially considering that Jefferson and Harry Reid are still in office months after being caught with bribe money.
Lee, Hastert didn’t get rid of Foley at all, even several YEARS after being shown the evidence. Foley resigned as soon as he was alerted that the news was going to air on ABC; his resignation had nothing to do with anything Hastert said to him.
As to Jefferson, the Republicans took considerable offense at the FBI search of his office. The Democrats did everything they could to get rid of him.
Reid hasn’t been caught with bribe money, nor has he taken bribes.
Anyway, why do you care about all this? The Iraq war teeters on the edge of a knife. The U.S. government is stretched to its limit. In order for us to win in Iraq, YOU are going to have to throw yourself into the fight. We are counting on that quantum of additional strength that you can contribute, in order to turn the tide.
So you have two choices:
Take up the burden of the fight in Iraq propelling us to victory,
OR
Continue to manifest courage only by the steadfastness and resolution with which you sit on your sofa, thereby insuring our defeat.
The choice is yours.
Show me the evidence of exactly what Hastert knew and when. All the news networks say it was just last days before Hastert got rid of Foley.
Some aide to Foley covering it up is not Hastert’s fault.
What is your excuse for not expelling Harry Reid and Jefferson?
WASHINGTON (AP) — The House ethics committee Thursday questioned the one-time chief of staff to ex-Rep. Mark Foley, who challenged Speaker Dennis Hastert’s account of his office’s first notification of Foley’s conduct toward male pages.
Kirk Fordham gave crucial testimony behind closed doors as investigators sought to learn who is telling the truth. Fordham said he gave the information to Hastert chief of staff Scott Palmer in 2002 or 2003, but Palmer has disputed Fordham’s account. Hastert’s office said his staff was first told about Foley last fall.
He said, she said, he-she said. Where is the physical evidence of who told who what and when?
Foley is trying to blame everyone else – alcohol, drugs, child abuse, Hastert’s staff – for his depravity. He should join the Democratic Party. They would put him back in office.
Heh. If Foley had been a Dem, he never would have had to resign. Instead he would now be celebrated and all the Dems would be defending him against all the evil homophobes and bigots. And he would be reelected!
Oh well, I guess Al Franken will be looking for a new gig now.
AP: Air America Radio Files Chapter 11
Harry Reid apparently used a common ruse of Democrats to buy property with almost nothing down, then sell it at a huge profit to a lobbyist.
His properties are being found all over the US, with buyers in the DC area.
Smells bad…
Dingy Harry’s own statement prior to being caught with his hand in the cookie jar.
“Americans have been shocked and even disgusted by revelations of corruption in our current system by Republican lobbyists, senior Bush Administration officials, members of Congress, and former congressional staff,” Reid said in March. “The scandals have shown that some outsiders and insiders believed they could act with impunity.”
SEN. FRIST: It is a blind trust as defined by the statute of the United States of America and by our Senate ethics rules. It is a blind trust.
MR. RUSSERT: But it’s different when you, you told CNBC, “It should be understood I put this into a blind trust. So far as I know. I own no HCA stock. …It’s a blind trust. Totally blind. I have no control.” That’s not accurate.
SEN. FRIST: You know, I could’ve been more precise in my words.
Other GOP boys in the news:
Ney Pleads Guilty
Cunningham Begins Sentence
Randy, let’s agree to end this this way. The Dems planned to make bigtime hay out of the CofC (not College of Charleston) but instead the CofC came home to roost right in the Dems nest. So, go on to the next subject which I know wont be national security. Terry McCauliffe said recently the Dems lose and will lose if the focus is on national security. So whats next for you, Global Warming.. Oh no, a cold front is coming in..
The only front coming are storm clouds for the republicans – the near universal 24 day outlook.
National security? Like NK and Iran poking sticks in our eye while Iraq spirals out of control?
I am most concerned with the corruption and the abuses. Yes, Reid and Jefferson are guilty. But the biggest problem is the GOP.
Again, I find it sad that blind partisans put party above patriotism. You still haven’t condemned Foley. Why is that Dave?
Anyone who supports a Clinton has no business complaining about any corruption.
Randy, you should read Mark Steyn’s latest. He writes that while the Axis of Evil stirs up trouble throughout the world, and for the first time since WW2, an American is charged with treason, the liberal media is obsessed with the pinhead of the week, Mark Foley. You fit right in with that liberal media and cannot get the pinhead out of your mind. Start thinking about the big issues for a change.
A congressman hitting on a MINOR is a big deal to me. You condemn Jolie for “whoring around” but you want to give Foley a pass. Ask the parents of the pages if it’s an issue to ignore.
We don’t ignore transgressions because there are worse ones out there, unless you want the police to ignore you when someone breaks into your house because there’s a murder to solve.
Asinine argument.
Randy, where was Foley ever given a pass? He was discarded immediately with the daily trash takeout. The GOP initiated the investigation of him. Au contraire, do you hear Pelosi or Hillary calling for an investigation of the stench ridden Reid, Dingy Harry? You keep blogging on and on about Foley getting a pass and I posted that I want him publicly flogged. Do you realize if Foley had not resigned from Congress but instead announced he was switching to the Democrat party, he would have been received with open arms. Then, he would be a gay victim, not a predatory gay. The American public is not stupid and they see the politicians who practice San Francisco style values.
Randy prefers to tilt at the straw men of his own creation, rather than discuss real facts about real issues.
>a href=http://polipundit.com/index.php?p=15438>Today, Glowing Liberal Praise For The Dead Rapist Is On Parade
Yesterday, with much disgust, I wrote of the old media’s glowing praise of the passing of the rapist Gary Studds, who the Democrat Caucus refused to expel, “With CNN, A Democrats Act Of Rape Is Called An “Error of Judgement.”
Yesterday, it was simply CNN with “fond memories.” Today, Google News, has 426 “fond memories” and growing. Some of the glowing headlines are “Gerry Studds; Gay Pioneer in Congress” by the Washington Post where they call rape “sexual misconduct” or National Public Radio with “Rep. Studds, a Congressional Pioneer, Dead at 69.”
Remember, unlike disgusting Foley who sent “lewd” instant messages, Studds “plied the 17-year-old boy with alcohol before initiating sex and unsuccessfully solicited sex from two other male pages.”
Today, if Studds repeated his actions on any college campus with a student over 18, he would have been charged with rape…..
Lovely:
“Gerry’s leadership changed Massachusetts forever and we’ll never forget him. His work on behalf of our fishing industry and the protection of our waters has guided the fishing industry into the future and ensured that generations to come will have the opportunity to love and learn from the sea. He was a steward of the oceans.”
_ U.S. Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass….
Today, Glowing Liberal Praise For The Dead Rapist Is On Parade
Teddy Kennedy, the human whale, commenting on the pedophile queer as some kind of honored public servant. How fitting.
The republicans did JACK about Foley until ABC NEWS outted him Dave. Read the news. Other republican congressmen and top aides have contradicted Hastert – explicitly.
You keep bringing up Reid. How do you skip over Frist – practically the same situation…BIASED!
Teddy Kennedy, the human whale, commenting on the pedophile queer as some kind of honored public servant. – Dave
Nice comment for a Christian.
What did Frist do? I’m assuming it’s nothing recent or important because otherwise, given that Frist is GOP, we wouldn’t have heard the end of it yet.
Oh Randy, I’m still waiting for you to condemn Studds, and to explain to us how his despicable actions are so much less serious than Foley’s. After all, he was nevertheless reelected 5 times and is now receiving glowing eulogies from your Dems! What gives?
Lexwolf – Randy is parroting the mantra of the liberal mainstream media. A Republican accused of anything is immediately guilty. On the other hand, the Democrat standards for being ethical or moral are so low that they can honor a Studds or a Kennedy and not feel guilty about it.
I have specifically condemned Clinton, Reid, Jefferson. What Studds did was dispicable.
What republican have you condemned, Lex and Dave? Try to reply without mentioning “Clinton”.
Even worse, you guys condone a 50 year old man hitting on MINORS – sending sexually explicit messages. Explain that. How is a sicko like that “honorable”?
Read the news: Taft GUILTY, Ney GUILTY, Cunningham GUILTY! Foley admits GUILT! What recent democrat in the past year is GUILTY? Identify him or her and I’ll condemn them too.
“You keep bringing up Reid. How do you skip over Frist – practically the same situation”
Randy, you’re mistaken, it isn’t the same situation at all. Reid owned some land, I think in partnership with a friend. At one the land was transferred to a limited liability company owned by himself and his friend. The LLC was set up only to hold the land, and had no other assets.
The LLC eventually sold the land, by which time, the value of Reid’s share had increased from $400,000 to $1.1 million. Reid took out his share of the proceeds of the sale.
So what happened was that Reid took his share of the profit realized by an LLC set up to hold an asset that he owned. Reid disclosed his ownership of the land at all times.
To put it simply, Reid bought some land, sold, it, and collected the profits. The reason no Democrat is calling for an investigation of Reid’s action is that HE DID NOTHING WRONG. The reason Dave is constantly harping on it is partly, of course, based on his desire to throw up smokescreens to obscure Republican corruption, but the primary reason is simply that Dave is crazy and stupid.
What about the other 18 pages of real estate deals involving Harry Reid, still being compiled by a real estate broker who is searching public records in every state?
What about Mrs. Tom Daschle being the highest paid lobbyist in Washington while her husband was Senator?
Or Mrs. Tom Foley running the House Post Office which cashed hundreds of bad checks for his pals?
One thing at a time, Lee. First, let’s explore why conservative losers and freeloaders like you are blowing a gasket over Harry Reid’s real estate transaction WHERE HE DID NOTHING WRONG. Let’s get to the bottom of that first. Is it because you’re:
Dishonest?
Lazy?
Stupid?
Dishonest and lazy?
Dishonest and stupid?
Lazy and stupid?
Or dishonest, lazy, and stupid?
On the peaceful side;
I discovered who the artist for the song in the Mutual Liberty commercial, Responsibility. It’s the one with a chain of people doing good deeds. The group is Hem, and the song is Half Acre. It’s an amazingly beautiful song. The commercial is posted on Youtube.
What’s interesting about the Reid situation is how utterly benign it really is. Not only were there no major laws broken, (there may be some minor tax issues that are so small that the IRS is not even going to investigate), but the profits are in line with similiar real estate ventures from the late 90s early 2000s. No significant laws broken. No extrodinary profits earned. Just a good business deal. This is perhaps the biggest non-issue ever. The neo-cons are showing thier desparation.
Taking bribes is “benign”?
Lee, there wasn’t any bribe. I explained above what happened. What is the reason that you failed to acknowledge my explanation? Is it that you’re:
Dishonest?
Lazy?
Stupid?
Dishonest and lazy?
Dishonest and stupid?
Lazy and stupid?
Or dishonest, lazy, and stupid?
“The group is Hem, and the song is Half Acre.”
Appears on the album “Birds, Beasts, and Flowers”. I found it on Rhapsody.
Everyone should check out Rhapsody. If you sign up, you can get 25 free plays per month without paying anything. For $10 per month, you can play as much as you want, and for $15 per month, you can download tracks to a PlaysforSure portable player.
Napster has a good library too, but I don’t like it as much because I don’t know how to stream songs without downloading them first (maybe you can’t).
Mary, your “explanation” is a fabrication.
Honest politicians don’t buy real estate from and sell real estate to lobbyists. They don’t use shills to and phony corporations to hide their ownership, and they don’t lie about it on their financial disclosure forms.
Harry Reid is not honest.
Not that Democrats care about honesty.
Lee, again, Reid didn’t take any bribes and he didn’t conceal his ownership of the land. He bought some land and sold it, and during the time of his ownership of the land, he used an LLC to hold it. He always disclosed his ownership of the land on his disclosure forms.
Why do you fail to acknowledge this? Is it because you’re:
Dishonest?
Lazy?
Stupid?
Dishonest and lazy?
Dishonest and stupid?
Lazy and stupid?
Or dishonest, lazy, and stupid?
Sheesh, now wonder South Carolina is so backward and unproductive that they have to receive $1.38 in federal handouts for every $1.00 they “pay” in federal taxes.
I heard Senator Demint on the radio today and he is quite the neo-con. The revisionist history from this crowd is remarkable. He claimed that we invaded Iraq only after Saddam ordered the inspectors out. He also said that no one could have predicted the insurgency. The truth is, of course very different. If we don’t get some degree of competence into congress we’re doomed to continue with the failed policies of the last 6 years.
I have a theory as to why the insurgency in Iraq has gotten much, much worse over the past 6 months. The U.S. has done a great job of training Iraqi troops in 2006. But this has actually worked against us. Many of these newly trained soldiers are simply not loyal to the Iraqi government. Instead, many have deserted the army and are now actively a part of the insurgency. We’re actually responsible for training insurgents! And doing a darn good job of it apparently.
Mary, I have Rhapsody. This is an excellent service.
I discovered Iron and Wine from the soundtrack of a movie and by looking them up on Rhapsody.
How Dare You Attack Me, And By The Way, Here Are A Couple More Disclosures
Harry Reid went on offense yesterday … of a sort. Claiming that his failure to properly disclose his partnership with Jay Brown — an attorney with ties to a zoning-commission bribery case and reported links to organized crime — amounted to a Republican plot to make him look dishonest, Reid filed amended disclosures five years after the fact to note the transfer of his properties into his and Brown’s LLCs. His big offensive ground to a halt, though, when he revealed two other land transactions that had never been disclosed, and another mini-scandal erupted involving his use of campaign funds:
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid has been using campaign donations instead of his personal money to pay Christmas bonuses for the support staff at the Ritz-Carlton, where he lives in an upscale condominium. Federal election law bars candidates from converting political donations for personal use.
Questioned about the expenditures by the Associated Press, Mr. Reid’s office said yesterday that he was personally reimbursing his campaign for $3,300 in donations he had directed to the staff holiday fund at his residence.
Mr. Reid also announced he was amending his ethics reports to Congress to more fully account for a Las Vegas land deal, highlighted in an AP story last week, that allowed him to collect $1.1 million in 2004 for property he hadn’t personally owned in three years.
In that matter, the senator hadn’t disclosed to Congress that he first sold land to a friend’s limited liability company back in 2001 and took an ownership stake in the company. He collected the seven-figure payout when the company sold the land again in 2004 to others.
Let’s get this straight. Reid’s failure to follow the Senate rules on disclosure in 2001, when he sat on the Ethics Committee, somehow got set up by the Republicans. Reid’s connection to an attorney involved in a bribery case that directly related to zoning decisions in Clark County, where they both owned property, was a Rovian plot set in motion in 1998. And now Reid’s new disclosures of property in an area where he has taken an intense legislative interest somehow relates to Republicans, when no one even mentioned the parcels in question — because Reid failed to disclose them during his entire time as Senate Minority Leader, while he has castigated Republicans for alleged ethical lapses.
The only reason he’s coming clean is because the AP caught him breaking the rules earlier, and it pointed out the extensive connections between Reid, Nevada land developers, and the legislation he has championed that has benefitted all of them.
As far as the Christmas bonuses go, it pales in significance to Reid’s land deals and rule breaking on personal finances, but they still have some significance as an indicator of Reid’s indifference to the rules. No one much cared how the money wound up in the hands of the hotel staff, so the “clerical error” explanation makes some sense. In Reid’s organization, the rules don’t apply, and this rule means a lot less to the taxpayers than Reid’s manipulation of federal land deals…..
If Harry Reid didn’t conceal his transactions and ownership, why is he filing new papers with the FEC to cure his “lawyers’ mistakes”?
Why is he repaying the money he illegal spent on gifts out of his campaign funds?
Why did 17 of Al Gore’s and Hillary’s staffers go to jail for doing the same thing in 1996?
The Reid allegations sound very similar to White Water. And that proved to be a dead-end for the Republicans. I think Senator Frist has similar problems with real estate transactions. In any event, even if Reid does eventually get indicted, the Republicans are still far and away the party with more ethical lapses over the last 2 years.
Whitewater sent a number of Democrats to prison. Bill and Hillary escaped because Bill fired the every U.S. prosecutor his first day in office, and Hillary misplaced her records, letting the statute of limitations run out.
The investigation uncovered other crimes, which put one of her law partners and 3 business partners in jail. Another, Vince Foster, was found shot to death after he picked up a plane ticket to return home to Arkansas.
Correction. Frist’s ethical lapses involved insider trading. Here’s a brief summary of his problems.
http://www.beyonddelay.org/summaries/frist.php
Sorry Lee, but the facts simply don’t support you on the White Water investigation. The Clinton’s were investigated by a very partisan Republican, Ken Starr, who eventually conceeded their was no evidence of any violations of law by the Clintons in the White Water incident. This investigation cost the tax payers millions. Bill Clinton was impeached for perjury in an event entirely unrelated to White Water.
And of course we have Curt Weldon:
Rep. Curt Weldon (R-PA)
Curt Weldon is a tenth-term member of Congress, representing the 7th district of Pennsylvania. His ethics issues stem from using his position to financially benefit his children and a family friend.
It’s clear that the GOP has countless ethical problems, far outnumbering the Dems, during this election cycle. For the neo-con partisan lemmings to try and use ethics as a campaign issue EVER again is laughable. And the voters are not buying it this time around.
Then there’s the push-polling fiasco. There is a rumor (yes, just a rumor at this point), that the GOP has been using push-polling to try and paint the Dems as a bunch of Cut-and-Runners. Strange how that term is not being used very often of late. The speculation is that GOP push-pollers have been calling likely voters and asking if they would prefer a candidate that wants to finish the job in Iraq or one who wants to cut and run. Apparently this tactic was pulled when a majority of likely voters actually said they wanted to cut and run.
Bud, if someone doesnt want to finish the job in Iraq then what are they? Quitters, Losers, Cut and Runners, pick one.
How about pragmatists.
IRAQ: School attendance rates drop drastically
18 Oct 2006 13:40:48 GMT
Source: IRIN
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Background
Iraq in turmoil
More BAGHDAD, 18 October (IRIN) – Thousands of students have been forced to stay at home due to escalating violence across the country. Attendance rates for the new school year, which started on 20 Dave, we’ve already lost Iraq. From Reuters, here’s more proof:
Attendance rates for the new school year, which started on 20 September, are a record low, according to the Ministry of Education.
Recently released statistics from the Ministry indicate that only 30 percent of Iraq’s 3.5 million students are currently attending classes. This compares to approximately 75 percent of students attending classes the previous year, according to UK-based NGO Save the Children.
And still more from Reuters:
Slovakia to pull troops from Iraq in February
Another member of the coolition of the bribed and coerced is leaving the foal. Only a blind fool could fail to see how utterly hopeless this whole endevour has become. A completely new approach is needed.
“There is a rumor (yes, just a rumor at this point), that the GOP has been using push-polling to try and paint the Dems as a bunch of Cut-and-Runners.”
Heh. I highly doubt that anyone needs a push-poll to come to that obviously accurate conclusion.
WHITEWATER CONVICTIONS
According to an Independent Counsel report on the web site of C-Span [
http://www.c-span.org/report/Final%20ICreport/appe.pdf ] Kenneth
Starr was appointed on August 5, 1994. During Mr Starr’s tenure,
convictions were obtained from the following individuals:
Robert Palmer
Web Hubbell
Christopher Wade
Neal Ainley
Stephen Smith
Larry Kuca
Jim Guy Tucker
James McDougal
Susan McDougal
William Marks Sr
John Haley
Thus, it would appear that the individuals whose convictions were
obtained by a prosecutor other than Mr Starr were:
David Hale
Eugene Fitzhugh
Charles Matthews
John Latham
It’s worth noting that Susan McDougal, Robert Palmer, Stephen Smith and Christopher Wade received pardons from President Clinton on 1/20/01.
Vince Foster was found shot to death on his lunch break.
Bill Clinton negotiated a plea bargain in November 2000 and paid $900,000 in fines.
For more information on Whitewater, see the House Special Committee
Report, available in HTML on the web site of whatreallyhappened.com :
http://www.whatreallyhappened.com/RANCHO/POLITICS/WW/white.html
Dave, YOU don’t want to “finish the job” in Iraq. Once again, courage does not consist of a willingness to sit on your sofa living off of handouts while advocating sacrifices and danger to others. The fact that you are willing for others to die does not make you a brave or worthwhile American. You are still a cowardly, freeloading loser who doesn’t care about America.
If something is the wrong thing to do, it’s the wrong thing to do, and it should be stopped. The fact that something was started doesn’t require that it be continued if it becomes (or was in the first place) unwise or untenable.
Conspicuosly absent from Lee’s list are BILL CLINTON and HILLARY CLINTON. Given the extrodinary amount of resources devoted to this investigation I would say this episode is closed and the Clinton’s, by definition, are innocent. After all, our system of justice says that a person is innocent until proven guilty.
The Clintons may not have been found guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law but that is more an indication of their skill in covering their tracks and obstructing investigations than that they are not guilty.
There was plenty of evidence to make it pretty obvious to most people that they were indeed engaging in illegal and unethical activities. Unfortunately there wasn’t enough beyond-a-reasonable-doubt evidence to send them to jail, helped no doubt by the willingness of Susan McDougal to go to jail herself rather than testify against Clinton. No wonder he pardoned her – he owed her BIGTIME!
Bud, Clinton was disbarred and can never, ever appear before the US Supreme Court again. No punishments huh? Why do you think he is now walking around with that huge chip on his shoulder?
Hillary should have gone to jail with Web Hubbell for tampering with evidence.
Bill Clinton negotiated a plea bargain in November 2000 and paid $900,000 in fines.
Lex wrote volumes to condemn Reid, but supports Foley, Cunningham, Ney et.al. There’s a shinning example of hypocrisy – party over country.
The troll wrote volumes to condemn Foley (who according to the FBI never actually did anything with under-18 pages except write emails and IMs), but supports Reid, Jefferson, and Berger. There’s a shining example of hypocrisy over country.
Wonder what he thinks about this latest shining example of the Dem culture of corruption:
NY Democrat lines his pockets with 2.2 MILLION:
October 18, 2006 – Labor leader and Queens state As semblyman Brian McLaughlin lined his pockets with more than $2.2 million by ripping off the state, his union, his political club, his campaign, contractors and even a Little League program, prosecutors charged yesterday.
McLaughlin, president of the New York City Central Labor Council, was hit with 44 charges, including racketeering,mail and bank fraud, embezzlement, money-laundering and labor bribery. A federal indictment charges him with receiving $400,000 in payments and other items from companies that employed Electrical Workers Union members he represented. ….
Wow Lex, a New York City Central Labor Councilman did something bad. I’m shocked. Scrapping the bottom the barrel to find a Dem with corruption issues.
If your point is there are corrupt politicians of all persuasions you’ve made it. But that is not what many recent elections have been about. No. It’s the GOP that’s been rubbing this ethics issue in our faces for the past 12 years. Frankly, the GOP has always been more corrupt but somehow they did a better job of selling the gullible public on the idea that they were the so-called party of family values. Well it just ain’t so. Foley, Cunningham, Delay, Libby, Weldon, Bauer, Ney and many, many others in the GOP makes it crystal clear that ethics are a big problem for the majority party. And the voters are finally figuring that out.
Dog bites man.
Democrat steals money.
Democrat supporters don’t care.
The troll wrote volumes to condemn Foley (who according to the FBI never actually did anything with under-18 pages except write emails and IMs) – Lex
You don’t know the law very well. Let me explain a little detail you’re missing. Soliciting sex with minors via the internet is AGAINST THE LAW. But Lexie doesn’t mind because it was a republican who did this – what’s another scandal in the Guilty Old Party?
And, this guy who supports a sexual predator claims to know what’s best for the youth of our state.
“Soliciting sex with minors via the internet is AGAINST THE LAW.”
Link to that law. Show where it defines minors. Show that Foley emailed such minors. So far, apparently the FBI hasn’t found anything illegal even after interviewing 40 pages already. Are you better qualified than the FBI?
Or how about this latest example of the Dem Culture Of Corruption – surely we can expect you to write volumes condemning this predator!
Sutton Denies Page’s Accusation
He is on the ballot for re-election in three weeks, but a South Dakota state senator’s career is in jeopardy because of an accusation that’s been brewing for eight months.
The father of an 18-year-old male page says Democrat Dan Sutton sexually groped the young man while the two roomed together during the legislative session.
Lex, give it up. Randy is just making it up, as usual.
Nancy Pelosi and other Democrats have openly supported radical homosexual groups who advocate legalizing child molestation.
You don’t see the Democrat apologists here even admitting to those facts, much less explaining their support for their leaders.
Lex, why are you still defending Foley??? It doesn’t help your cause to continue obfuscating the facts in this case. The so-called party of family values is up to it’s neck in ethical misbehavior. But in a sordid sort of way this may actually help the GOP. It distracts the public from the truly awful catastrophe in Iraq. Now the Decider has conceded his policies have failed by comparing the current sectarian violence in Iraq to the Tet offensive in 1968.
Why do Democrats continue to lie about the GOP “defending Foley”?
Why do they ignore their own party supporting NAMBLA?
Bud, Lex and Dave are demonstrating the classic double standard. What they condemn in the democratic party they condone in the GOP. Dave and Lex are willing to support a child predator simply because he’s a republican.
Ironically, Lex claims to know what is best for the children of our state. He never could answer where all his private schools would get the teachers for all the new students. Maybe he has Foley in mind, who apparently will be looking for job and meets Lex’s standards.
Randy, stop with your lies about me, Lex, Dave, and anyone else supporting Congressman Foley. We condemn Foley more than you Democrats do.
Grow up and discuss the topics as an adult, or go away.
Until I see you condemn NAMBLA and the Democrats like Pelosi and Barney Frank who support “decriminalizing” child molestation, I can’t take your criticism of Foley seriously.
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