The Democratic National Committee excoriated John McCain because he said on “David Letterman,” in regards to the 3000+ soldiers who have died in Iraq, “Americans are very frustrated and they have every right to be. We’ve wasted a lot of our most precious treasure, which is American lives.” They asserted that MCain had insulted “our brave troops.” McCain subsequently apologized, believing that “sacrificed” would be the better word.
McCain should have told the DNC to sod off. But since he obviously didn’t want to risk an extended imbroglio, he said he used the wrong word. Okay, I’ll do it for him: Sod off, DNC. McCain’s gut instinct was correct, and furthermore the DNC knows it.
To say that young lives have been wasted isn’t to diminish their sacrifice or to demean them. It isn’t to say that they themselves threw away their lives in an empty pursuit. It’s to say that those who were entrusted *with* their lives, to not put them in harm’s way unless absolutely necessary, shirked their responsibility. They’ve done as crap a job at safeguarding our troops as they did safeguarding the Constitution. McCain’s comment was clearly not aimed at the troops; it was aimed at those who sent our troops into a war where they were assured we would be greeted as liberators and be out in no more than six months…while simultaneously destroying our international reputation at a time when, thanks to worldwide sympathy due to 9/11, we could have transformed that tragedy into some sort of true international coalition to fight terrorism.
Wasted opportunity. Wasted lives. The DNC should be ashamed of trying to spin McCain’s word choice into political opportunity and push him into using one that is less loaded…and less accurate. “Sacrifice” implies nobility, but there was nothing noble in the administration’s actions, nothing noble in lying to the American people, nothing noble in declaring “mission accomplished” while thousands more died.
But if “wasted” is off the table, then fine.
How about “squandered?”
PAD
⢠
I think Robert Preston’s best performance was as the gay roommate to Julie Andrews in Victor/Victoria.
Now THAT was a fun movie!
“As good a reason as any to never vote again.”
No, as good a reason as any to vote for people, not parties.
“People with an Elfquest tattoo?
Rick, I would submit that perhaps you know uncomfortably too much about our esteemed host. :)”
See, whereas I submit that Rick reads “Newsarama.com,” where my acquiring the tattoo was covered in detail.
PAD
Plus, it’s not like the tattoo’s on Peter’s butt or anything like that. It’s on his left bicep. We’re not talking intimate details or anything. đ
Okay, that last post should have ended with, “We’re not talking about intimate details or anything like that.”
Apparently the antibiotics haven’t kicked in and this sinus infection I have is still kicking my ášš. I guess I’d better go back to bed.
‘Night, all.
Bill, most people’s sinus infections are in their HEADS….
“No American should be overly concerned with our international reputation.”
If this was being discussed on some pre-WWII radio show, that MIGHT be a viable option for discussion. However, the world is much smaller today, and anyone who thinks that this country can thumb their noses at the rest of the world doesn’t realize that now more than ever the world is an international community.
“Mr. Chandler doesnât need to be responded to. He wouldnât have the guts to step into a ring anyway.”
I really wasn’t go to waste good writing time responding to this, but yet again you’ve really gotten on my nerves. Do me a favor. Tell the next police officer you see, since I’m going on the assumption you don’t live anywhere near Jerry Chandler, and tell him that he wouldn’t have the guts to step in the ring. See what happens.
Rick Keating
Actually, it was the 17th amendment he opposes.
Yeah, but since we don’t actually have the right to vote for anybody anyways, the 27th is much more relevant to this discussion. đ
At least Mr. Preston had the good sense to leave and never darken our towels again.
darken our towels?
Dear Mr. David,
“To say that young lives have been wasted isn’t to diminish their sacrifice or to demean them.”
I have to say that you’re wrong, sir. Your statements and the statements of men like McCain and Obama do demean our troops, and dishearten them as well.
Okay, had to put this to the test. As it happens, there’s an Army E-4 (Specialist) sitting near me, using my XBox. His unit is due to deploy to Iraq in about three weeks. He says he doesn’t feel PAD’s comments demean or diminish anything, and the only thing he feels disheartened by is Bush’s recent declaration that “This war began on my watch, but it’s going to end on yours.”
So, Bobby, is he just another “coward” who’d be “too scared to get into the ring”?
Oh, about the “fan for twenty-five years” thing – maybe he’s using the same prescient vision that recently led the al-Qaeda official in US custody to confess to planning, in 2001, an attack on the Plaza Bank Building in Seattle – even though Plaza Bank wasn’t founded until 2006, well after this “gentleman’s” capture and incarceration, and in 2001, the building in question was still known as the Columbia Tower…
“…maybe he’s using the same prescient vision that recently led the al-Qaeda official in US custody to confess to planning, in 2001, an attack on the Plaza Bank Building in Seattle – even though Plaza Bank wasn’t founded until 2006, well after this “gentleman’s” capture and incarceration, and in 2001, the building in question was still known as the Columbia Tower…”
You ever see the BBC comedy, Thin Blue Line? If not, seek it out on DVD at a good rental place. Hëll, just buy it. There was an ep that nailed perfectly my thoughts on the news breaks about his need to confess to dámņëd near everything short of shooting Lincon.
R.J. Carter wrote: “Rick, I would submit that perhaps you know uncomfortably too much about our esteemed host. :)”
to which PAD replied, “See, whereas I submit that Rick reads “Newsarama.com,” where my acquiring the tattoo was covered in detail.”
Actually, I believe PAD discussed the matter in his CBG column and/or on this blog, the latter of which probably would have had a link to Newsarama. And those sources are where I learned about the tattoo, not because I’d trained his goldfish as a top notch spy.
That was for another reason.
No one ever suspects the goldfish. Which is as it should be.
Micha: the “darken our towels” line is from a Marx Bros. movie, but I don’t recall which one.
Rick
“…and tell him that he wouldn’t have the guts to step in the ring. See what happens.”
Why narrow his options. Open the gender up a bit. I have a friend who left us to go to State Police. She’s an ex-marine and stays in pretty good shape. I’ve seen her put a massive hurting on some really big guys before. And one of her friends at State, also a female, can toss her around the mat like a rag doll.
Either one of them could likely destroy our Bobby in under a minute. And you just know that being stomped flat by a girrrllll would mess with his ego something fierce.
“Micha: the “darken our towels” line is from a Marx Bros. movie, but I don’t recall which one.’
Duck Soup
Thanks Rick.
————
Mr.Preston expected to much from this blog. It was not enough for him that he could post what ever he wanted, no matter how stupid, insultive and pointless. He also expected PAD to take the time to argue with him, although most of his words were in the form of snide comments rather than coherent arguments. Also, althogh he found it easy to insult anybody and everybody, he was unable to withstand one sharp comment from PAD and a few from Jerry. Apparently he didn’t have the guts to enter the ring of honest debate about the issues. Under these circumstances he should leave it to Iowa Jim, Jerome Maida and Spiderrob to represent the conservative point of view. I don’t agree with them always, but at least they present actual arguments.
What, did I become a tree hugging hippy when I wasn’t looking? Well, that’s what happens when you hang out with the likes of Bill Myers.
FROM DUCK SOUP
Rufus T. Firefly: I’d be unworthy of the high trust that’s been placed in me if I didn’t do everything in my power to keep our beloved Freedonia in peace with the world. I’d be only too happy to meet with Ambassador Trentino, and offer him on behalf of my country the right hand of good fellowship. And I feel sure he will accept this gesture in the spirit of which it is offered. But suppose he doesn’t. A fine thing that’ll be. I hold out my hand and he refuses to accept. That’ll add a lot to my prestige, won’t it? Me, the head of a country, snubbed by a forgein ambassador. Who does he think he is, that he can come here, and make a sap of me in front of all my people? Think of it – I hold out my hand and that hyena refuses to accept. Why, the cheap ball-pushing swine, he’ll never get away with it I tell you, he’ll never get away with it.
[Trentino enters]
Rufus T. Firefly: So, you refuse to shake hands with me, eh?
[slaps Trentino with his glove]
Trentino: You Swine!…You Worm!…You Upstart!
[Firefly slaps him with his glove]
Trentino: Mrs. Teasdale. I’m afraid this regrettable occurrence may plunge our countries into war.
Mrs. Teasdale: Oh, this is terrible!
Trentino: I’ve said enough. I’m a man of few words.
Firefly: I’m a man of one word: Scram!
(Later)
Mrs. Teasdale: Your Excellency, the Ambassador’s here on a friendly visit. He’s had a change of heart.
Firefly: A lot of good that’ll do him. He’s still got the same face.
Trentino: I’m sorry we lost our tempers. I’m willing to forget if you are.
Firefly: Forget? You ask me to forget? A Firefly never forgets. Why, my ancestors would rise from their graves, and I’d only have to bury them again. Nothing doing. I’m going back and clean the crackers out of my bed. I’m expecting company.
Mrs. Teasdale: Please wait.
Firefly: Let go of me, you bully!
Mrs. Teasdale: Oh!
Trentino: I am willing to do anything to prevent this war.
Firefly: It’s too late. I’ve already paid a month’s rent on the battlefield.
(LATER)
Firefly: It was silly of me to lose my temper on account of that little thing you called me.
Trentino: Do you mean Worm?
Firefly: No, that wasn’t it.
Trentino: I know, Swine!
Firefly: …No, it was a seven letter word.
Trentino: Oh yes, Upstart?
Firefly: That’s it! Upstart.
[Firefly slaps Trentino across the face with his gloves.]
Trentino: This means WAR!
Firefly: Go, and never darken my towels again!
Possibly the greatest comedy ever made. It bombed big time on release.
Bobo’s gone? Hëll, I miss all the really good exorcisms! Oh well, if you can’t play nice with others, play with yourself.
Either way, given that the fecal matter continues to impact the fan in Iraq, and that troops are still dying in the name of ever changing definitions of “victory”, I don’t think the term “wasted” is totally inaccurate.
Anyone ,other than an active service member who has or will shortly deploy to Iraq, who takes offense to the use of the term wasted is blowing political smoke rings out their fundaments.
The idea that freely exchanged opinions, either for or against Bush War II, would somehow be enough to cause the failure of an already failed adventure is…confusing. I mean, aren’t these men and women fighting to protect the right to free exchange of opinions? Isn’t that part of the democracy that Bush and Co. want so desperately to bestow/beset on the region?
Posted by: Bill Mulligan at March 20, 2007 10:28 PM
“Possibly the greatest comedy ever made. It bombed big time on release.”
Too realistic.
Posted by: Manny at March 20, 2007 10:39 PM
“The idea that freely exchanged opinions, either for or against Bush War II, would somehow be enough to cause the failure.”
They have to blame somebody. Anf guess who is not on the top of the list.
Posted by Micha at March 20, 2007 11:02 PM
Posted by: Manny at March 20, 2007 10:39 PM
“The idea that freely exchanged opinions, either for or against Bush War II, would somehow be enough to cause the failure.”
They have to blame somebody. Anf guess who is not on the top of the list.
Uhhh….Smurfette? Is this multiple choice?
Posted by Bill Mulligan at March 20, 2007 10:28 PM
“What, did I become a tree hugging hippy when I wasn’t looking?”
No, we like you just the way you are..cuddly and curmudgeonly đ
Robert Preston: I have to say that you’re wrong, sir. Your statements and the statements of men like McCain and Obama do demean our troops, and dishearten them as well.
Luigi Novi: No, you simply donât like the fact that he expresses them. Hiding behind the troops by pretending that you have somehow been appointed to speak for them, as if youâre on âtheir sideâ and anyone who disagreed with you is not is little more than McCarthyism. The fact remains that criticizing the government for its treatment of the troops is not an insult to the troops themselves. Itâs simply your little way to convince yourself that trying to stifle dissent is somehow justified. That you failed to respond to the statements that Peter related from the troops that he himself spoke to underscores the poverty of your reasoning.
Peter David: They’ve done as crap a job at safeguarding our troops as they did safeguarding the Constitution.
Robert Preston: I am always amazed that people like you use the âsalad barâ approach to the Constitution. You will have a little more credibility on your approach to that document, when you support ALL of it, rather then the ones that make you feel warm and fluffy.
Luigi Novi: Okay. Which parts of it did Peter mention, and which parts did he fail to mention, that you feel would undercut the validity of his statements?
The truth is that Peter didnât mention any âpartsâ of the Constitution. He criticized the administration for not maintaining its integrity, a statement that is an apparent reference indeed to all of it, and not âpartsâ of it. This response of yours makes no sense. What does criticizing the administration for not safeguarding the Constitution have to do with mentioning parts of it, and not others? You tried this fallacy on the prior thread, and it didnât work there either.
Robert Preston: You would have been in line to stone or lynch âScooter” Libby if he had used the 5th amendment to try and weasel out of a perjury conviction.
Luigi Novi: Despite your apparent good faith insistence on the prior thread that you were interested in civil discussion, this statement by you shows that you are not. Telling people what they would or would not do, think or say, is not part of intelligent, coherent discussion. Itâs arrogant and condescending. This is an arbitrary assumption on your part based on nothing except preconceptions, and your repeatedly resorting to this in discussion reveals you as a bigot.
Robert Preston: No American should be overly concerned with our international reputation. Just like Mr. Myers stated on this very blog, âPut more simply: I don’t give a rat’s ášš about earning your respect because with your behavior, you’ve lost mine.â With the rest of the worldâs attitude on individual liberty, not to mention human rights, no American should take them seriously.
Luigi Novi: Billâs statement was a direct reference to your behavior on the prior thread, which was indeed undeserving of respect. I donât see any analogous behavior with the ârest of the worldâ, and indeed, one has to be a complete churl totally ignorant of the realities of international diplomacy and relations to think that other countriesâ views of us are to be so easily dismissed. Which parts of the world are you referring to that do not believe in human rights? The main power that is thought of when people mention the lowering of our status in the eyes of the rest of the world is Europe, and I donât see how they have questionable attitudes about individual liberty.
Robert Preston: Why didnât the beloved international community do anything about Darfur?
It did. The U.N. passed Security Counsel Resolution 1706 in order to resolve the conflict, which you can read about at: http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8821.doc.htm
Robert Preston: And the attack on the United States on September 11, 2001 was not a tragedy. The correct term is atrocity.
Luigi Novi: Both terms are valid. One is not âcorrectâ, nor the other âincorrectâ. You imply an Either/Or situation where none exists.
Robert Preston: You are not the kind of person who supports a strong and viable military anyway, that much is obvious.
Luigi Novi: You do not know what anyone here supports or believes, as these are rhetorical comments not based on anything coherent such as evidence or reason. Such flights of fancy are âobviousâ to you in the same way that a naked guy walking down the street is âobviouslyâ wearing new clothes, and in the same way that a windmill is âobviouslyâ a giant.
Robert Preston: I thought that your site was open to differing points of view, but obviously it isnât.
Luigi Novi: The problem is not whether the site is open to differing points of view, since lots of people here, myself included, have disagreed with Peter, who has responded politely. The problem is that you simply do not possess the tools to argue in a manner that is honest, civil, and intelligent. Like all the other trolls that have posted on this site, you have not only made statements that were not informed by logic, facts, evidence or reason, and that bore no correlation to the statements of others that you were ostensibly responding to, but have insulted the other people here, and then concluded that the site was somehow not open to other points of view when you were criticized for this behavior. That is your problem, not the siteâs.
Robert Preston: Mr. Chandler doesnât need to be responded to. He wouldnât have the guts to step into a ring anyway.
Luigi Novi: With this irrelevant comment, I think youâve pretty much proven that you are a childish troll, and are no longer worth giving the benefit of the doubt.
Youâre shrouded.
Robert Preston: You would have been in line to stone or lynch âScooter” Libby if he had used the 5th amendment to try and weasel out of a perjury conviction.
Luigi Novi: Despite your apparent good faith insistence on the prior thread that you were interested in civil discussion, this statement by you shows that you are not. Telling people what they would or would not do, think or say, is not part of intelligent, coherent discussion. Itâs arrogant and condescending. This is an arbitrary assumption on your part based on nothing except preconceptions, and your repeatedly resorting to this in discussion reveals you as a bigot.
It’s much more efficient to argue with one’s preconceived notion of a person than with the words and ideas of the actual person. It saves time on reading and thinking and getting to know people.
…which is also how we like our coffee.
Posted by: Micha at March 20, 2007 09:59 PM
Also, althogh he found it easy to insult anybody and everybody, he was unable to withstand one sharp comment from PAD and a few from Jerry.
Hey! I softened him up for everyone with my devastating barbs and zings in the “Supporting the Troops” thread! A little credit, here! đ
Just a little?
C’mon, just a crumb. My cold got even worse today and I had to miss another day of work. Give me somethin’ to make my day!
Fine. Be that way. đ
“Posted by: Bill Myers at March 21, 2007 08:46 AM
Posted by: Micha at March 20, 2007 09:59 PM
Also, althogh he found it easy to insult anybody and everybody, he was unable to withstand one sharp comment from PAD and a few from Jerry.
Hey! I softened him up for everyone with my devastating barbs and zings in the “Supporting the Troops” thread! A little credit, here! đ
Just a little?
C’mon, just a crumb. My cold got even worse today and I had to miss another day of work. Give me somethin’ to make my day!
Fine. Be that way. :P”
I didn’t want you accused of using biological weapons.
And I also wanted togive PAD the credit.
Hmm. This is scary. I actually agree with you. Not that the troops were wrongly put in harms way. But I do agree that if you see it that way, it is not demeaning to the sacrifice of the troops to put it that way.
What shocked me was that the DNC was upset by this. At first I though you were making a joke, and the end of your post would say it was really the RNC. But now I think you are serious. Which is incredible. I thought the RNC was a bunch of wimps at times, but I can’t believe the DNC would demand an apology. As you said, they should have been applauding McCain for actually agreeing with them.
I am no fan of McCain. I would vote for him over most Democrats, but only if I had no other alternative. His comments, I felt, were more about how the war was conducted. To apologize shows a lack of willingness to say what he means and mean what he says. But he is a politician, so what was I thinking.
Iowa Jim
Micha, it’s cool. I was only kidding. PAD is indeed the one who caused Bobby to crumble. My posts to him were at best of the “banging one’s head against a brick wall” variety.
Bill, don’t be like me–if this “cold” lasts longer than a week go to the doctor and get some antibiotics. These do nothing against the cold but will clean up the secondary bacterial infection that is probably responsible for any green stuff you might be leaking.
It took 3 weeks of tag team nagging from my wife and mother before I went. Whatta dope.
“Posted by: Bill Myers at March 21, 2007 09:23 AM
Micha, it’s cool. I was only kidding. PAD is indeed the one who caused Bobby to crumble. My posts to him were at best of the “banging one’s head against a brick wall” variety.”
I was kidding too. But seriously, I was going to respond to Mr. Preston myself after his first post, but your reply was so good I didn’t feel I could add anything further.
Just don’t tel that to PAD đ
Posted by: Iowa Jim at March 21, 2007 08:58 AM
“I am no fan of McCain. I would vote for him over most Democrats, but only if I had no other alternative. “
Why?
“I would vote for him over most Democrats, but only if I had no other alternative.”
All respect to you, Jim, but I have to ask–what if the Republican was the most vile, heinous, nasty individual who would even make me look like a good candidate, would you still vote Republican? I know you said “most,” so, maybe I’m off base here. But put another way, and this isn’t just for Iowa Jim, when going into a vote, are you more interested in which party you’re voting for or which person?
That’s one of the things I like about this board. Conversations like this. A shame, really, that all the conversations I hear at work involve strip clubs and who’s pìššìņg who off.
Before Bush ordered the surge, who else had been calling for an increase in troops?
To call for a troop surge as he did, then to cite the lives of soldiers wasted, is inconsistent if not batshit crazy.
You know, what distresses me more is not that the fact that the DNC is alarmed at the word “waste”… Heaven knows politicians waste time and money on a daily basis… I am alarmed that the people who want to lead this country don’t have the brass cohones to stand up and take the criticism on the chin. Too Bad if the DNC has a problem with McCain, Too Bad if Barack uses the “W” word…. SHÍT, CARTMAN used the “N” word 40 times and no-one bats an eye… C’mon, you guys. If you want to lead this country, LEAD IT! Don’t go balls up every time somebody has a problem with how you say something. IT’s a “waste” of our time…
I am always fascinated by the worldview of all the nations joining their hands together in some Disney-like fashion and singing âItâs A Small World After All.â
We live in a nation based on plurality that is something unique among the nations of the world. Iâm not holding our country out as a sterling example that other nations should follow, just making that point.
It seems, in a world in which the nation state is primarily an outgrowth of tribalism, naive of people to think it operates on some other more eloquent value system.
If might doesnât equal right, why arenât the Honduras or Bangladesh at the forefront of the geopolitical stage?
In the meantime, if history has confirmed one thing to me over the last century or so it is that people will focus more on their differences than on their similarities – whether it is based around shared ethnic origins, allegiance to a flag, religion or even political affiliation.
There is something of smugness in this, an air of superiority based around the identification of belonging to one group being better than the people belonging to another group. Think thatâs not the case? Quick, how fast can you identify yourself as either Republican or Democrat and then what are your thoughts about the opposing party?
Time in Iraq has not been as wasted as it would appear nor anywhere near as successful as was dreamed. As many Americans as have dies in Iraq, the death toll among Iraqis is vastly larger. Perhaps the one thing that is the most disheartening about the whole affair, more than the issue of whether or not it was right to send troops there to being with, is the feeling of a failed foreign policy or a rudderless ship of state drifting in a sea of failed initiatives and half hearted stratagems.
The decisions of the current administration will be felt long after GW is gone from office – not just in the Middle East either but here at home in the veterans who return from the conflict, wounded men and women who will carry the scars from this event with them for the rest of their lives, deepening debt created by a prolonged U.S. presence in Iraq without a clear cut and legitimate plan for the future. This debt that will not only affect us today (in programs which will fail to be funded) but, in the future as well (if the comments of Chairman Bernanke can be taken to heart).
Wasted? No, I wouldnât call it that. Squandered seems a better word.
Sean,
Since you tossed your question out to the peanut gallery, I vote for individuals, not political parties.
There’s a line in Gilbert and Sullivan’s HMS Pinafore that comes to mind when I think of people who vote on a straight party ticket- for any party: “I always voted at my party’s call, and I never thought of thinking for myself at all.”
Though I’m sure the party bosses would encourage such a mindset.
Rick
Posted by: mister_pj at March 21, 2007 01:00 PM
It seems, in a world in which the nation state is primarily an outgrowth of tribalism, naive of people to think it operates on some other more eloquent value system.
At one time, slavery was a widely accepted practice throughout the world. Today, the opposite is true: slavery has been outlawed in most nations and is recognized as a societal evil.
At one time, ridding the earth of “lesser” races and/or ethnicities was par for the course. Today we call it “genocide” and while we are not as good at stopping it as we should be, at least there is growing recognition that it is a morally unacceptable practice.
At one time, people were burned at the stake in this nation because they were deemed “witches.” Today, the wiccan belief system is considered protected under the U.S. Constitution.
At one time, whites could hang blacks with impunity. A few years ago some white men chained a black man to a pickup truck and dragged him to his death in Jasper, TX. The nation was outraged and three white men were tried and swiftly convicted of the crime.
My point? Things can and do change. This is a kinder, gentler world than it once was. It is not naive to believe that we can, little by little, make things better. It is in fact courageous to believe that… and necessary. The changes I mentioned above did not happen by accident. Had brave men and women not chosen to believe, and act on their beliefs, those changes wouldn’t have happened.
We have a moral obligation to believe in, and strive for, the possibility that the world can be better tomorrow than it is today.
Oh, and before someone points out how UNkind and NOT gentle the world still is… yeah, I get that. It’s a difference of degree. Just because we still have problems doesn’t mean we haven’t made progress. The only way to solve today’s problems, however, is to acknowledge and build on the progress we’ve already made.
if this “cold” lasts longer than a week go to the doctor and get some antibiotics
I’m not big on the whole “well, just get some antibiotics” stuff, seeing as how over prescribed antibiotics tend to be these days.
However, my wife and I fear that we may have been exposed to whopping cough last week, so we start to show cold symptoms in the next couple of weeks, I’ll be making an appointment ASAP. đ
Posted by: Craig J. Ries at March 21, 2007 02:08 PM
I’m not big on the whole “well, just get some antibiotics” stuff, seeing as how over prescribed antibiotics tend to be these days.
I agree. But after having this cold more than a week, and finding myself barely able to make it home from work Monday night because I was dizzy and unable to concentrate, and waking up Tuesday morning with a temp of 102, I thought maybe I should do something. So I went to the doc and got some antibiotics.
PAD, I promise this is the last post in which I whine about this cold. From here on in I’ll stay on topic and just upset people with my crackpot political views.
While I agree with pretty much everything that Bill said above, I have to disagree with one thing. “We” don’t have a moral obligation, nor do “we” have the ability to change the world.
I have the moral obligation. I have the ability to change the world.
Each one of us can say this about ourselves. We can say it TO ourselves. It ain’t easy to change, but once you start, it gets easier. If the world is to be changed, and the process has already begun, in must begin inside each one of us. The power of the individual will always be greater than the power of the group, but when the volume of the group is louder than the thought of the individual, the individual’s identity can be absorbed in the group. Someone spoke before about the protester in Tianamen Square who stood before the tank. It was ludicrous. The tank could’ve squished the guy like a bug.
But the message got across.
I am no fan of McCain. I would vote for him over most Democrats, but only if I had no other alternative. His comments, I felt, were more about how the war was conducted. To apologize shows a lack of willingness to say what he means and mean what he says. But he is a politician, so what was I thinking.
Out of curiousity, what current Democrats would you vote for ahead of McCain, and of the crop you wouldn’t vote for, what current Republicans would oblige you to vote for those Dems you would intially reject?
SHÍT, CARTMAN used the “N” word 40 times and no-one bats an eye
But, do you really want Cartman as leader of the free world?
I’m not big on voting along party lines. In the past, I have voted for candidates representing the full spectrum: Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, etc. Generally, I vote for whomever seems like the best qualified candidate for the job.
That said, it will be a long time before I vote for a Republican. After foisting this incompetent dolt on the country, the GOP needs to be punished and punished hard. It’s the only way they’ll learn. That doesn’t mean I’ll automatically vote for a democrat. If they do something equally stupid, like nominate Chillary, I’ll have to pick a third party candidate. Or maybe I’ll just do what I’ve done when my congressman has run unopposed: Write in my own name.
Tillman’s college roommate Staat deploying to Iraq
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/news/story?id=2806485
From the article:
“The way I look at it, we’re spreading freedom, and you have to support the troops and you have to support the war,” Staat, 29, told KITV in Honolulu on Tuesday as he prepared to leave from Hawaii. “You can’t just tell some Marine who just lost his buddy that we supported you but not the war, because in that case you’re basically saying that Marine, his buddy, just died for nothing. We’re one team.”
And you know what? Our soldiers are dying for nothing. So, I can’t agree with Jeremy Staat.
Pat Tillman, based on what has happened in Afghanistan in the last several years, died for nothing.
Our troops are being wasted. I don’t want my brother’s life to be wasted. It’s time to stop this stupidity and get the hëll out of Iraq.
And it’s also time to end this bs that we can’t support the troops without supporting a bs war.
“But, do you really want Cartman as leader of the free world?”
That did seem bad… until I thought about it and realized – God, that’s not THAT different from what we have now….
“But, do you really want Cartman as leader of the free world?”
Den, u really shouldn’t set people up with straight lines like that…. suprised PAD hasn’t jumped all over THAT one…
“But, do you really want Cartman as leader of the free world?”
Den, u really shouldn’t set people up with straight lines like that…. suprised PAD hasn’t jumped all over THAT one…”
Too easy. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
PAD
I figured if PAD didn’t take the bait, someone would. Glad to see Luke didn’t disappoint.
Posted by: mister_pj at March 21, 2007 01:00 PM
“I am always fascinated by the worldview of all the nations joining their hands together in some Disney-like fashion and singing âItâs A Small World After All.'”
No one here is saying that at all. I don’t expect that to ever happen. On the other hand, why go out of your way to tick off other countries and other world leaders. Why be a Bush and snub the people you need or will need just because you want to show what a dim bulb twit you are.
The more I think about it, the more I’m convinced our foreign policy has been taken over by Frank Burns.
There doesn’t seem to be any appreciation that sometimes, we might need cooperation from some of those “ferreners” out thar.
Out of curiousity, what current Democrats would you vote for ahead of McCain, and of the crop you wouldn’t vote for, what current Republicans would oblige you to vote for those Dems you would intially reject?
I personally would have pledged my support to Al Gore if today, when he said to congress that “Our planet has a fever” he had immediately added “and the only prescription is: More Cow-Bell!”