In the 1960s foreign policy idealogues pushed the idea of unprovoked intervention in a foreign country in order to - via proxy - fight another ideology they considered evil. They didn’t fight themselves, of course, but sent an entire generation to die in their stead, refusing to ackowledge reality until the nation said “no more”.
You think people would learn from their mistakes, but it happened again. Again America has been engaged in a war of choice that not only has led to misery and destabalization, but has also allowed our true enemies to operate globally with a free hand. Never again. Don’t be conned by the Cons.
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A lot of conservatives like to pooh-pooh international opinion. “Who cares what the French think?” they say, “what does it matter what our allies say about us?”. And aesthetically it may not matter at all. But especially in the post-Cold War era, America is the leader of the world. What we say matters, what we do reverberates across the globe. We are not on an island of our own.
Americans have clearly recognized that under George W. Bush, our nation lacks respect. That means if we want to do anything, forget building coalitions of the willing or otherwise. This arrogance predated the 9/11 and the Iraq War, but those two events along with a whipped opposition party gave the right a free hand to trash our good name. Now when our chief diplomat meets others around the world, our word is useless.
The words of the United States ought to mean something. It isn’t all bluster and acting like a petulant child. Under presidents of all parties, we’ve been the “shining beacon on the hill”. That’s gone now. I just hope it can come back someday.
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This is only going to make sense if you live/work in the Metro DC/MD/VA area, but I too seriously hate the new woman’s voice on the Metro.
“Dingy-dingy STAND BACK, DOORS CLOSING”
Shut. Up.
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For years we’ve discussed the crazies who form the backbone of the Republican party. The anti-choice crusaders who get excited about abortion clinic bombings and would like nothing more than to replace the constitution with the Bible. We’ve heard much about how glad they are to have one of their own in the White House, the supposedly born-again George Bush.
But in this most recent incidence of violence in the middle east, does it seem to anyone that the religious right is a little too eager? A little too… excited at the prospect of judgement day being near?
In a July 22 commentary posted on WorldNetDaily.com titled “On the threshold of Armageddon?” Rev. Jerry Falwell, founder and chairman of the Moral Majority Coalition, wrote: “It is apparent, in light of the rebirth of the state of Israel, that the present-day events in the Holy Land may very well serve as a prelude or forerunner to the future Battle of Armageddon and the glorious return of Jesus Christ.”
I’m curious. Is it possible that Bush is of this belief as well? He’s always done a good job of hiding the crazy side of his supposed fundamentalism, preferring to speak in code of “the culture of life” while refusing to actually stand side by side with his fellow abortion prohibitionists. But it would be nice for some reporter to dig into this. Does the president have a messianic view of the current situation in the middle east? Or is his base just crazy?
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If you listened to the Republicans and the MSM you’d think every year was the “Year of the Black Republican”, because according to them someday sometime soon the party of Willie Horton is going to have somebody (anybody) to parade around in elected office besides J.C. Watts.
Of course, dovetailing with the Republican attempts to invalidate or deny the votes of black Americans, the GOP couldn’t get the black vote if they were handing out free money. Black Americans are simply not going to reward the party of Katrina, sluggish employment growth, and Trent “I Wish The Segregationists Had Won” Lott with their votes.
That’s why you have the spectacle of Maryland’s Michael Steele shucking and jiving because while he likes the dollah dollah bills the GOP blesses him with, he knows that he’s dead in the water if anyone puts two and two together about his Republicanism. Hence the attempt at a (sloppy) extreme makeover.
In Ohio, Ken Blackwell - the handpicked candidate of the religious right crazies - is down 20 points to Ted Strickland.
If this trend keeps up, I’m asking the GOP for another “Year of the Black Republican” two years from now. We Democrats would really appreciate it.
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You didn’t need Oliver to tell you that, but here you go.
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Andrew Sullivan and one of his readers have come to the brilliant conclusion that the reason liberal blogs aren’t pounding out opinions on the Israeli-Lebananon (latest) crisis is that liberals support terror group Hezbollah and/or are anti-semitic. Ever hear anything so dumb? I didn’t think so. The conservative mindset on this and other issues is never capable of anything more complex than “Israel = Good”. As such, the only way they are ever capable of commenting on the story is to defend Israel the way they defend the Bush administration, without regard to any sort of actual facts. I don’t speak for the online left, but the story is clearly more complex than that.
Israel clearly has a right to defend itself, but the question is does the right to such defense come at the expense of innocent bystanders whose only sin is being in Lebanon? At what point does understandable defense turn into blind retaliation?
And it is true, as Duncan points out, that the ongoing media orgy over “Day X of the Middle East Crisis” absolutely ignores the fact that today is Day 1,224 of The War In Iraq In Which American Soldiers Are Dying.
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Gibbs eyes Super Bowl return
With Saunders in tow, Gibbs is able to focus on what he does best: Select the players he wants, motivate them and mold them into a unit. Besides, his old offense really wasn’t doing that well. It took nearly a year back from retirement for him to realize his attack was antiquated, and last year’s run ended with tepid performances in the playoffs against Tampa Bay and Seattle.
Most importantly, the lighter load offers Gibbs the stamina to accomplish his main goal. Gibbs did not leave NASCAR for the NFL just to prove he can make the playoffs again - he wants a fourth Super Bowl ring.
Saunders and Bugel recalled a recent offseason speech in which Gibbs told the team: “Winning is good, but we’re here to win it all.”
“Ten-and-six is unacceptable,” said Bugel, referring to last year’s record. “Just getting to the playoffs, that’s ho-hum. One great thing about Joe Gibbs is when he looks around and thinks he has a good football team, he won’t be ashamed to talk about what his goals are.”
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It’s been admitted now that the Post story from this morning is Michael Steele, attempting to hide his conservative Republican credentials in order to be seen as different from his party, the Republicans.
“He realizes that he can’t win being a conservative Republican in Maryland in 2006,” said Maryland Democratic Party spokesman Arthur Harris. “He’s out of touch with the majority of Marylanders.”
In a statement, Democratic Party Chairman Terry Lierman pointed out that Steele, despite distancing himself from Bush, has held fundraisers with numerious Republican luminaries, including the President himself, Vice President Cheney, Bush adviser Karl Rove and Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman.
Nationally, Democrats eagerly pointed to Steele as an example of Republicans running away from Bush in the mid-term elections.
A Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee news release dubbed Steele “a premier member of Republicans Anonymous” and highlighted the fact that Steele’s campaign Web site does not mention he is a Republican.
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I hear what some people say when they don’t feel President Clinton was progressive enough in his eight years… but frankly, Clinton got crap support from the left during his presidency. It wasn’t until he faced impeachment that House Dems rallied around him.
Sure, I’m an avowed Clintonista but even from an objective point of view the only two-term Democratic president in a generation who balanced the budget, reformed welfare and actually caught terrorists on his watch is worthy of praise.
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Republican candidate running in a “close” senate race in one of the most Democratic states in America. The person was afraid to put his name out there (way to stand by your convictions) but odds are it is Maryland’s own Michael Steele.
He spoke of his party affiliation as though it were a congenital defect rather than a choice. “It’s an impediment. It’s a hurdle I have to overcome,” he said. “I’ve got an ‘R’ here, a scarlet letter.”
That left the candidate in a difficult spot. “For me to pretend I’m not a Republican would be a lie,” he reasoned. But to run as a proud Republican? “That’s going to be tough, it’s going to be tough to do,” he said. “If this race is about Republicans and Democrats, I lose.”
Again, this is (likely) Michael Steele, Republican running behind Democrats Ben Cardin and Kweisi Mfume.
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Chief Zee, known to Redskins fans and NFL fans around is in need of some help.
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Time enough to save up and buy me a 14 Disk Superman DVD Box Set. You know, for kids.
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A more appropriate word for these vile people, I cannot think of.
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National Review seems to make a conservative statement about the possible nomination of the adulterous and shady Giuliani…
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Sen. Obama will be at Sen. Harkin’s annual steak fry… in Iowa.
If memory serves me well, there’s an important political event that happens every 4 years in Iowa.
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From the Center for Strategic and International Studies
The number of civilian deaths is way up. No one knows the real total, either for recent killings or the overall death rate. It seems likely, however, that past estimates of total deaths of 30,000 to 40,000 are now at least 10,000-20,000 too low because they rely far too heavily on Iraqi morgue and Ministry of Health data, and media reports. These figures do not cover outlying areas where reporting is far less accurate or comprehensive, disappearances and kidnappings where the body is never recovered, and hidden body dumps in the desert.
The recent estimates of killing have the same limitations, but the UN is certainly far too conservative in estimating that they were 3,149 in June and 14,338 in the first six months of 2006. The counts are too Baghdad-centric, and seem to cover only deaths actually formally reported. They do not cover all deaths even in outlying areas in Baghdad Province, and reporting on other areas is far less comprehensive. Like far too many attack counts, they exaggerate the degree to which civil violence and the insurrection focus on Baghdad, while other areas are peaceful.
Body counts are also only one measure of violence, and anecdotal evidence indicates that sharp rises are taking place in other forms of sectarian and ethnic conflict. These include the kidnappings and disappearances mentioned earlier. They also include massive numbers of wounded, and what data are available indicate that the number of seriously wounded sharply exceeds the number killed. Extortion, crime, intimidation, and blackmail are sometimes simply crime, but are often tied to ethnic and sectarian tension. Protection schemes and payoffs for security are often the rule and not the exception.
Soft ethnic cleansing is reshaping not only Baghdad, a city of at least five million, but many other cities and towns. Forcing families to move their homes, give up their businesses, and to do so without any payment at a time when most are bankrupt is just as divisive as violence. So are the constant series of attacks on professionals, businessmen, doctors, teachers, and other parts of the educated and secular core of Iraqi society. Many leave the country, others relocate to places where they cannot work or participate in civil society.
There’s more at the link.
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ABC News: Bush Acknowledges Racism Still Exists
“I understand that racism still lingers in America,” Bush told the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. “It’s a lot easier to change a law than to change a human heart. And I understand that many African-Americans distrust my political party.”
That line generated boisterous applause and cheers from the thousands in the audience, which generally gave the president a polite, reserved reception.
You don’t say?
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Nice. Like everything else from the right, another fake.
The controversial video of the burning World Trade Center towers in a television campaign ad for Ohio Sen. Mike DeWine is doctored, U.S. News has learned. The television spot, which has been lambasted by critics as a political exploitation of the Sept. 11, attacks Democrat challenger Rep. Sherrod Brown for being weak on national security.
On the air in major Ohio markets since last Friday, the ad shows the towers, with the south building billowing smoke, which gradually drifts upward. In the video, the north tower, which was struck first on September 11, is undamaged.
“This particular image is impossible,” says W. Gene Corley, a stuctural engineer who led FEMA’s building performance study on the World Trade Center after the 9/11 attacks. Corley reviewed the ad atwww.brownvotes.com for U.S. News. “The north tower was hit first [so] the south tower could not be burning without the North Tower burning.” Corley also says, “the smoke is all wrong.” The day of the attacks, the plumes of ash were drifting to the southeast. “The smoke on 9/11 was never in a halo like that,” Corley says.
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Don’t send Cynthia McKinney back to Washington. My cousin lives in McKinney’s district. Embarrased is too soft a word to describe the sentiment.
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Shorter Bill Kristol: “You know that cluster**** we call Iraq? Let’s do it again because my legacy is being Dan Quayle’s do-boy and I deserve more!”
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The pathetic excuse for a president uses his constitutional powers to do the bidding of the extremist “religious” right and issues a veto of the stem cell bill, consigning many Americans to pain and death. But hey, the conservative mullahs wanted it done, so whaddya gonna do?
U.S. President George W. Bush used his first veto on Wednesday to block legislation to expand embryonic stem-cell research, putting him at odds with top scientists and most Americans, including some in his own Republican Party.
“It crosses a moral boundary that our decent society needs to respect so I vetoed it,” Bush said.
The U.S. Senate approved the legislation on Tuesday. The legislation, which had also been passed by the House of Representatives, now returns to the House chamber but it does not appear to have the two-thirds majority needed to overturn the veto. It was Bush’s first veto since taking office more than five years ago.
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