Jump to content

Politics'R'US


djs111

Recommended Posts

If anyone besides myself is irritated by the big banks and other financial institutions, Senator Bernie Sanders, Independent of VT has a petition which proposes that those organizations that are too big to fail can be broken up by the Treasury Department. The link to sign it is here:

http://sanders.senate.gov/petition/?uid=c5...8b-a25980cb4e0c

Link to comment
Share on other sites

"The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation." - Sen. Barack Obama, December 20, 2007

George Bush has been routinely criticized for his action in Iraq and none more than by our current President and yet he appears to be following the same path...so when will we...

1. See the press start compiling body counts.

2. See him be branded a War Criminal.

3. Be vilified in the press for going to war for oil.

Curious..but those of you who voted for Barack Obama and were so vocal about how he was going to change the world..what do you think now?

Kim

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Curious..but those of you who voted for Barack Obama and were so vocal about how he was going to change the world..what do you think now?

Kim

That's easy. I love him. He's the best President of the United States since JFK.

I understand your question, because I monitor all of Roger Ailes' creations, such as Fox News and Rush Limbaugh, and I understand that they are doing everything in their power to discredit, dishonor, dismiss, and defeat their own, and our, President of the United States. Talk about tit for tat, anyone who dared suggest George W. Bush wasn't the personal agent of God Almighty was accused of being anti-American. Some people were visited by the FBI for mentioning that they didn't agree with the Iraq War, so I don't really think comparisons are valid.

I heard Limbaugh talk today about how Democrats are in lockstep and cannot stray from the party message. I laughed hard. But I can only take so much before I am sad, even despondent, thinking of the unsuspecting innocent people who are being duped by the "Flip It" propoganda that Roger Ailes has so deftly employed since creating the "New Nixon" in 1968. I've been on to Ailes and his minions (Karl Rove) for a long time. Whatever the actual truth is, flip it. Whatever evils the "Liberal-Commie-Pinko-Secularists" are accused of, and I mean whatever evil deeds, sinister motives, or grand schemes, then just flip it - and when flipped you can view how the Ailes machine works. It's self-loathing on a national scale. How do the likes of Ailes and Rove and Limbaugh get away with it? People rely on sources that tell them what they already believe, or are inclined to believe. Then they not only get what they were looking for, the pot is sweetened and they get all sorts of new crazinesses dropped in. That, and some people just want and need to be lied to to support their own biases and convictions, even and especially if they are inaccurate, or debatable. It's no wonder that there are so many people who ascribe to the right-wing philosophies when the Framers of Lies accuse those dastardly "libruls" of cooking up the Machiavellian schemes they themselves have baked up. It's a Through The Looking Glass operation. White is Black. Up is Down. Such is the handiwork of Ailes, Rove, and their fellow-traveler Fascists.

I don't hear anyone on the Republican end actually talking about real issues in a "fair and balanced" manner. It's all crap-lies, gotchas, and tedious bullshit about Obama, and nothing about PEOPLE. The Republicans accuse Democrats of borrowing money, of creating debt, of all these things that THEY actually did. Who blew up the debt in this country? Who was the drunken sailor in reality? It was Ronald W. Reagan to begin with. That is not debatable. He blew up the national debt on defense spending - and on a lot of military systems, fighter jets, tanks and concepts that were a total waste of money. The CIA was aware in the late 70's that the Soviet Union had no more than 10-15 years of existence left before that system completely unraveled. It was a sick game being played, and the American people were the last to know. Some don't know yet.

I can't even imagine what you believe about President Obama. I don't agree with some of the things he's done -- because he's been way too compromising with Republicans, who don't give back. But all the birther crap is insane. The claims that he's a secret Muslim are steeped in ignorance. I'm talking toothless hillbilly ignorance. I've read emails sent to me from people who don't know me, that claim that Obama is anti-Eagle Scouts, anti-veterans, everything up to and including being the Anti-Christ. Even that he's not smart, that he's some bumbling goofball groping in the dark without a clue, in over his head, destroying the country, etc. Just about everyone who's ever written objectively about him has said that most times he's probably the smartest guy in the room, and especially so when he goes to Congress.

All the while, Republicans listen to corporate lackeys and misinformed cheerleaders. Republicans have worked full-time since Obama took office trying to ensure that he won't be re-elected, and they are working with "all means necessary" drive. Republicans used to say that the Soviet Union believed that the ends justified the means, and that's what made them evil. But now, Republicans have employed that very philosophy. Ironic?

I predict that Obama will be re-elected handily. You can fool some of the people all of the time, and you can fool all of the people some of the time, but you can't fool all of the people all of the time. P.T. Barnum also said, there's a sucker born every minute. But sometimes suckers wise up and say, hey, let me look at those cards, let me look behind that curtain, let me google this so-called "fact" and see if it's true, without just relying on sympathetic sources. There are a lot of corporatists who run as Democrats in Blue States and run as Republicans in Red States. And if the populace changes, they change parties with them. That's a quick way to identify a corporate whore. They are OWNED and must perpetuate their influence by any means necessary. I find many more of these types on the far right. But then, sadly, is there any right other than the far right? And the further to the right they move (and continue to move), the further left the center becomes. At this rate, pretty soon the center right will be the far left. Hasn't that happened already? There's a line that's crossed on the road to extremism and it's called Fascism, a/k/a Corporatism and Authoritarianism. Oligarchy. And it's the enemy of freedom and liberty. The huge debt from the Vietnam War, the Cold War and other military adventures wasn't balanced from 1968 under LBJ until Clinton's second term, but it was still balanced when George W. Bush took office. But the right blames Obama for the national debt. I'm not surprised the Republicans spin it that way. I'm surprised there are so many uninformed people who believe such fabrication. But I know myself of some people who have lost their minds because a black man is president. When they talk about "wanting their country back" - they want their white country back. I wonder where these people grew up, and especially the ones who claim they love Jesus.

The loony right is busying itself with a doomed fantasy conspiracy that Obama faked his birth certificate. That he's not a natural born American. He's not a REAL president. Code: He's not a white president. And just how racist do you have to be to believe such hideous claptrap? I think it's a new level of low. Just to try to consider it as reasonable is a fail -- as if Obama's 18-year old mother would have decided to leave home in Honolulu and have her first child in Kenya, where civil war was raging and she knew no one, and that the State of Hawaii would have lied in certifying his birth in a Honolulu hospital -- or that two Honolulu newspapers were prescient enough to have assumed this conspiracy 45 years in advance by printing birth notices. Did they know he'd need to cover up a Kenyan birth to become president the week after he was born? A full 43% of Republicans believe this bullshit. Why? Because it's being fed to them and they want so badly to believe any and every ugly thing said about their "political enemy." If America ever falls, it will be because of such rank ignorance. See Mike Huckabee.

Now about the "inconsistencies" --

George W. Bush has admitted to war crimes. He admitted to ordering torture -- in his own book. He canceled a trip to Switzerland recently because he was being threatened with arrest for war crimes. He had the gall to try to go to Geneva, of all places! The whole wide world thinks he's a war criminal. I'm pissed that Obama let him off the hook. Bush and Cheney and Rumsfeld are all war criminals, and will be forever known as such in history, wherever truth is honored.

Body count? Do you mean the thousands of Americans who died for the lies of George W. Bush and Dick Cheney? The hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who died? That count? I had two sons in the military at the time, and one still in, and they both think the war in Iraq was one of the biggest mistakes, if not THE biggest, in American history. And it's the reason for our multi-trillion debt - while revenues were slashed at record levels to benefit the rich and powerful. Where did all that money, a trillion plus, go to? To the military industrial complex, for one. See Eisenhower's Farewell Address.

I've never understood why people elect Republicans to run the government when the Republicans brag about how much they hate government. They don't want it to work! They want to be elected to destroy it. To destroy safety nets, and programs for human needs, and the safeguarding of human rights -- all in the name of saving taxpayer dollars. But they are only working for those few billionare taxpayers, who have a singular purpose of eliminating the Estate Tax above all other things. Benjamin Franklin said that taxing the estates of the wealthy is the only way to insure that America does not institutionalize an aristocratic class. It's probably too late. I have rich Republican friends. They refer to working people as little men - such as "I'm having a little man come in to install some new fixtures. "I'm going to get a little man to paint the dining room." They all use this "little man" lingo amongst themselves at the country club. And they talk about Democrats being elitists. Ha!

Yes, it's an extreme mess that this country is in. If we could go back into a time machine and keep Jimmy Carter in office ..... but, he was rejected and denied a second term by a big moral majority coalition. And I've got to hand it to them, they were smart enough, ruthless enough, and wicked enough to capture control of the fundamentalist churches, and they used abortion and gays to accomplish it. They had to do this because Jimmy Carter was a Sunday-School teaching, and very vocal Baptist layman, so they needed a wedge to elect a Republican who didn't go to church EVER. Now that really was some accomplishment. I think they are evil wolves in sheep's clothing, and apostates, but the people in the fundamentalist pews accept the authority of the church, whatever their church may be, and from whoever represents it. So the Republicans worked this hard. There's no telling how many preacher's daughters and Republican politicians' teenage daughters have had abortions, yet they are willing hypocrites for "the faith." Hypocrisy makes it a false faith. Since when did we decide that life begins at conception, or erection, or whatever the determinor is next year? How do we know that life doesn't begin until a breath is taken? Who decides this? A religious authority? Whose religious authority? And why would religious authority be adhered to in a country with religious freedom ... of and from. This should never have been a political issue. It's a red herring, a hook, and false flag. Before abortion was recognized as a right of women to choose or not choose, by the Supreme Court, there were back alleys and there were D and C's in the hospitals, and in late term cases, the well-to-do flew to Europe. There have always been abortions, and none but the desperate go there. It's so sad that this is used as a political tool by politicians who want to strip WIC funds that feed undernourished babies. Again, the hypocrisy is deadly. And I won't go into the number of self-loathing, closeted gay Republicans, who walk in the footsteps of J. Edgar Hoover, and vote against any and every law in support of the rights of gay citizens, for their own power.

Oh, I almost forgot, that quote about the use of force ... it was an interview from the Boston Globe, and the question was:

Q: In what circumstances, if any, would the president have constitutional authority to bomb Iran without seeking a use-of-force authorization from Congress?

A: The President does not have power under the Constitution to unilaterally authorize a military attack in a situation that does not involve stopping an actual or imminent threat to the nation.

As Commander-in-Chief, the President does have a duty to protect and defend the United States. In instances of self-defense, the President would be within his constitutional authority to act before advising Congress or seeking its consent. History has shown us time and again, however, that military action is most successful when it is authorized and supported by the Legislative branch. It is always preferable to have the informed consent of Congress prior to any military action.

Since the President has stressed that this is a humanitarian action and not a war, and that we are part of a coalition, led by NATO, requested by Europe, sanctioned by the United Nations, invited by the Arab League, and of limited duration, and that regime change is not part of the mission -- there was a sense of duty to protect and defend the innocents that were in danger of being slaughtered in massive numbers. The tanks were rolling. But .... what does this have to do with bombing Iran? If we ever bomb Iran we sure as hell better get a Congressional buy-in because that assuredly would be war. Bush couldn't get one, and I don't think Obama wants one. However, if it ever comes to that, that won't be a humanitarian mission.

And the "war for oil" -- it wasn't JUST for oil, but oil was a player. Remember, Cheney was doing business with Iraq, with SADDAM, when he was running Halliburton in the 90's. While they were hostile to the United States after Desert Storm. That was part of their spoils of war plan.

Under Cheney, Halliburton Helped Saddam Hussein Siphon Billions from UN Oil-for-Food Program

By Jason Leopold

10/12/04 -- When the Iraqi Survey Group released its long awaited report last week that said Iraq eliminated its weapons programs in the 1990s, President George W. Bush quickly changed his stance on reasons he authorized an invasion of Iraq. While he campaigned for a second term in office, Bush justified the war by saying that that Saddam Hussein was manipulating the United Nation's oil-for-food program, siphoning off billions of dollars from the venture that he intended to use to fund a weapons program.

The report on Iraq's non-existent weapons of mass destruction, prepared by Charles Duelfer, a former U.N. weapons inspector and head of the Iraqi Survey Group, said Saddam Hussein used revenue from the oil-for-food program and "created a web of front companies and used shadowy deals with foreign governments, corporations, and officials to amass $11 billion in illicit revenue <http://www.registerguard.com/news/2004/10/07/a2.nat.oilfood.1007.html> in the decade before the US-led invasion last year," reports The New York Times.

"Through secret government-to-government trade agreements, Saddam Hussein's government earned more than $7.5 billion," the report says. "At the same time, by demanding kickbacks from foreign companies that received oil or that supplied consumer goods, Iraq received at least $2 billion more to spend on weapons or on Saddam's extravagant palaces."

The oil-for-food program was supervised by the U.N. and ran from 1996 until the war started in Iraq last year. It was designed to alleviate the effects sanctions had on Iraqi citizens by allowing limited quantities of oil to be sold to buy food and medicine.

But the one company that helped Saddam exploit the oil-for-food program in the mid-1990s that wasn't identified in Duelfer's report was Halliburton, and the person at the helm of Halliburton at the time of the scheme was Vice President Dick Cheney. Halliburton and its subsidiaries were one of several American and foreign oil supply companies that helped Iraq increase its crude exports from $4 billion in 1997 to nearly $18 billion in 2000 by skirting U.S. laws and selling Iraq spare parts so it could repair its oil fields and pump more oil. Since the oil-for-food program began, Iraq has sold $40 billion worth of oil. U.S. and European officials have long argued that the increase in Iraq's oil production also expanded Saddam's ability to use some of that money for weapons, luxury goods and palaces. Security Council diplomats estimate that Iraq was skimming off as much as 10 percent of the proceeds from the oil-for-food program thanks to companies like Halliburton and former executives such as Cheney.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article7053.htm

Oh, and the world is changing quite rapidly, and for the better in Northern African and the Middle East, especially. And for the better right here in the USA even though the Corporatists have us all in a stranglehold at the moment. But, if we don't get serious about the climate crisis, none of it will matter anyway. Oh, but we can't because Republicans think that the climate crisis is a hoax. They think it's a hoax because it would cost their big money boys great sums of money that they could donate to keep their "friends" in office ... the corporate takeover enablers, or they could buy up some competitors and create new monopolies. Anyone who thinks government is the problem hasn't taken a good look at the worldwide financial crisis, or read any history about the Gilded Age. Anyone who thinks that Obama is the problem, is neither well-read nor well-informed.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keepingfaith, thanks for all the factual information, and also for expressing your opinions so intelligently. Refreshing to read when so many just talk with out any knowledge of what is actually going on, and just watch Fox news which does such a good job of telling viewers what to think so that they do not have to think for themselves.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I am quite disgusted with politics. Yes, I voted for Obama, hoping that we could have some change in government but it's still about the money. I don't think you could have the ear of any politician without slipping an envelope with a large donation into his/her pocket. We have set ourselves up into a vicious cycle. To get what they propose they have to get elected. To get elected they have to have money.

Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have offered to pay more taxes, who are the greedy souls who can't have enough money? It's been said that wealthy individuals when given a tax break, just save the money or perhaps use it to influence politicians of both parties. I'm not niave but having prepared taxes for most of my career, I've seen the greedy and the down right poor. For the last five years I've done free tax returns for the elderly and lower income people. I can't get one person to check off the box to allocate $3.00 of their tax money to the Presidential Election Campaign Fund, despite it, supposedly, helping candidates who accept limits on political contributions.

In 2008, I actively worked in several campaigns, it can be quite the eye opener. I have to go into work today or I'd offer up some more of my ragged opinions. I have friends on both sides of the political spectrum and try to keep an open mind when, on the very rare occasion, we discuss political events.

I do believe we are doing the right thing in Libya. We can't stand by and watch that evil dictator, and I don't believe that anyone thinks he is anything but that, kill his citizens and steal more money from humanitarian efforts. Just remember Lockerbee and how how cheered on the evil man who was convicted of killing many of our citizens in that terrorist event.

keepingfaith, you are an excellent writer. I agree with most of what you said and would quake in my shoes if I should ever have to argue politics with you. :cryingwlaughter:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

What I don't understand why is Obama being lauded for going into Libya to oust a dictator when George Bush has been vilified for doing the same thing in Iraq? Obama promised to have us out of Iraq in 18 months, instead he has gotten us into another war.

I have no faith in any politicians right now whether they be Democrat or Republican because it all about money and "You scratch my back. I'' scratch yours"; catering to special interests and lining their pockets. I don't there are any politicians out there who truly care about the American people.

The economy still sucks...I live in Illinois which is a Democratic state and our Democratic governor continues to raise taxes. I started full-time at my job last May and I was thrilled because I would be making more money...silly me...since then my salary has actually gone down because of the taxes and I am sick of it..but not much we can do about it because the Republicans in this state don't have much say so and it is only going to get worse.

Rahm Emanual is now Mayor of Chicago...Mayor Daley's brother is now going to Washington..you don't think there were some back room deals going on there...Obama is from Chicago..nuff said. Illinois has the most corrupt politics in the union and Obama comes from that..excuse me if I have doubts about his motives, etc.

I admire George Bush, I admire him even more after reading his book...he some of the most horrific events occur during his Presidency and handled them the best way he knew how and made decisions that he knew were going to be unpopular but made them anyway. He loves this country and did whatever he could to protect us and he did...since 911 until he left office he kept us from another terrorist attack.

And yes I listen to Rush Limbaugh...do I always agree with hin..no..he can spin with the best of them..no different than anyone else in the press whether on the right or the left...its all about pushing an agenda and getting people to believe what you are selling and the Democrats are just as good at that as the Republicans.

Obama winning again handily...I doubt that...his approval rating is going down..the election last November pretty much proved that the American people are not happy the direction the country is going in...although at this time I haven't seen anyone on the Republican side that has me remotely excited...it will be an interesting election. I can say this..I won't be voting for Obama.

I am republican and damn proud of it and I get so sick of the republican bashing and hate in this country...yes there are some who are ultra-conservative and way over to the right religiously, but we are all not like that and hate that a broad brush is always applied to the republican party.

I am just glad we live in a country where we can have these discussions openly...my favorite quote "I may not agree with what you say, but I defend your right to say it" (paraphrased)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live in Texas, a state that was in the black, and actually had a surplus when George Bush became governor. He spent all the money, and left Texas in the red when he went off to spend all the money that Clinton left in the US treasury, when he balanced the budget. Alan Greenspan, a republican, appointed by a republican lauded Clinton for his fiscal responsiblity. Texas is now in such poor financial state that school teachers are being laid off and school programs are being cut. Just last week, a contingency of parents went to Austin to protest the education cuts. There is no way that I can be proud of George Bush who started this mess. It continues under Perry also a Republican. Education is important and should be a priority.

I do not see that I will ever have enough money for Republican policies to benefit me. I live in a mostly Republican community, which is considered upscale. Most of my friends are Republicans, yet most of them are living off of programs that Democrats established such as Social Security and Medicare. They are retired, and they love their benefits. These are benefits that Republicans have long sought to eliminate. I say, if one is going to do the talk, then one should do the walk. I get good retirement, do not live on Social Security, but I support it because before it came into being people who had worked all their lives were literally starving. Mostly everyone will eventually be on Medicare because after one reaches that age, one's insurance becomes the supplementary insurance in most cases.

As a person, George Bush appears to be a likeable guy. He is one of the good ole boys. I remember people in Texas saying they were going to vote for him because he was someone they felt they could have a beer with. That a good qualification for the highest office in the country? I have nothing against him personally, but I am not proud of anything he has done politically.

Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, turns my stomach, and I avoid listening to anything he has to say. By the way I got a recorded call this morning from Mike Huckabee wanting to put my name on a petition to recall ObamaCare. I called them back and told them "No way in hell is my name going to be on that petition!" While I was waiting for a live person, I had to listen to recorded drivel using scare tactics as to what would happen with what they call ObamaCare. I guess that they think everybody is stupid. I have no idea why they would call me, but I told them to put me on their no call list if they had one.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I live in Texas, a state that was in the black, and actually had a surplus when George Bush became governor. He spent all the money, and left Texas in the red when he went off to spend all the money that Clinton left in the US treasury, when he balanced the budget. Alan Greenspan, a republican, appointed by a republican lauded Clinton for his fiscal responsiblity. Texas is now in such poor financial state that school teachers are being laid off and school programs are being cut. Just last week, a contingency of parents went to Austin to protest the education cuts. There is no way that I can be proud of George Bush who started this mess. It continues under Perry also a Republican. Education is important and should be a priority.

I do not see that I will ever have enough money for Republican policies to benefit me. I live in a mostly Republican community, which is considered upscale. Most of my friends are Republicans, yet most of them are living off of programs that Democrats established such as Social Security and Medicare. They are retired, and they love their benefits. These are benefits that Republicans have long sought to eliminate. I say, if one is going to do the talk, then one should do the walk. I get good retirement, do not live on Social Security, but I support it because before it came into being people who had worked all their lives were literally starving. Mostly everyone will eventually be on Medicare because after one reaches that age, one's insurance becomes the supplementary insurance in most cases.

As a person, George Bush appears to be a likeable guy. He is one of the good ole boys. I remember people in Texas saying they were going to vote for him because he was someone they felt they could have a beer with. That a good qualification for the highest office in the country? I have nothing against him personally, but I am not proud of anything he has done politically.

Rush Limbaugh, on the other hand, turns my stomach, and I avoid listening to anything he has to say. By the way I got a recorded call this morning from Mike Huckabee wanting to put my name on a petition to recall ObamaCare. I called them back and told them "No way in hell is my name going to be on that petition!" While I was waiting for a live person, I had to listen to recorded drivel using scare tactics as to what would happen with what they call ObamaCare. I guess that they think everybody is stupid. I have no idea why they would call me, but I told them to put me on their no call list if they had one.

I could say the same thing about Obama..what qualified him for the highest office in the land..being a community organizer...a brief time as a senator? He had no experience that I could see.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I would ask what qualified Ronald Reagan to become the governor of California, and eventually the president? Was it acting in B rated movies; a movie star that had not even done community service? Granted, like George Bush he was a handsome man but does being a movie star a qualification for the presidency? At least Obama was out working in his community, dealing with real people in everyday circumstances before he was elected to the senate.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I would ask what qualified Ronald Reagan to become the governor of California, and eventually the president? Was it acting in B rated movies; a movie star that had not even done community service? Granted, like George Bush he was a handsome man but does being a movie star a qualification for the presidency? At least Obama was out working in his community, dealing with real people in everyday circumstances before he was elected to the senate.

What he actually did as a Community Organizer:

http://www.nationalreview.com/articles/225564/what-did-obama-do-community-organizer/byron-york?page=3

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I would ask what qualified Ronald Reagan to become the governor of California, and eventually the president? Was it acting in B rated movies; a movie star that had not even done community service? Granted, like George Bush he was a handsome man but does being a movie star a qualification for the presidency? At least Obama was out working in his community, dealing with real people in everyday circumstances before he was elected to the senate.

What he actually did as a Community Organizer:

http://www.nationalr...ron-york?page=3

Are you kidding me? Look at the source. These people are not reliable sources for anything. They have an agenda. There is a Tea Party Advertisement right in the middle of the page. Why on earth would anyone consider that to be a reliable factual source? Might as well go ask Donald Trump. If I was really interested in checking out Obama's community service, I would go to objective sources not to subjective sources. I do not need to check Obama out. He is cute enough to have been a movie star, maybe he should have taken that route to the White House?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I could say the same thing about Obama..what qualified him for the highest office in the land..being a community organizer...a brief time as a senator? He had no experience that I could see.

I don't know where you live, Kim, but I live about 15 minutes from where W. did his dis-service in the Texas Air National Guard (and desertrose lives closer than that). George W. Bush had quite a reputation in this city during those times.

I live about 3 minutes from where the Gulf Airport in League City was located, which was owned by one Salem bin Laden (older half-brother of Osama bin Laden) and the purchase was negotiated on his behalf by James R. Bath. James R. Bath was George W. Bush's buddy from their days in the Texas Air National Guard (they lost flight status together they were so close) and James Bath became an employee of Bush family ventures thereafter. In fact, Salam bin Laden was killed in an air crash in Schertz, Texas (childhood home of musician Steve Earle) in 1988. This is all to say that the Bush and bin Laden families were in business for at least 25 years prior to 9-11, and this is part of the reason Bush had all of the bin Laden family in the US spirited out on that infamous flight on 9-13 when every other aircraft in America was grounded.

There's quite a history of the Bush family that he probably didn't write about in his book. Did he mention Mickey Herskowitz? Mickey is a renowned writer in this area, and he was hired by Bush to ghostwrite his book before the 2000 election. Mickey Herskowitz, who was a Houston Chronicle writer for many years, and a completely trustworthy source, and a Republican, was aghast when Bush told him that the first thing he intended to do when he became president was to go to war in Iraq and finish off Saddam Hussein for trying to kill Poppy, and to therefore get his hands on Saddam's oil - Job #1. Of course, this information was off-limits for inclusion in the book, but he thought Herskowitz would be sympathetic. Herskowitz was shocked and pulled out of the project. Bush then got Karen Hughes to write his book. I'm sure she wrote his "memoirs" as well. He's not a bright guy. He went to college at Ivy League schools as a legacy admit. He was denied admission even to St. John's Prep School in Houston on academic grounds, and went to Poppy's alma mater Phillips Academy back East. He was thereafter denied admission to the University of Texas, and later to the UT Law School. That's why he went to Yale undergrad and Harvard grad school. The family had to buy him an education. He doesn't write, doesn't read, and seems not to comprehend much. What he is, is the grandson of a man who was nearly prosecuted as a war criminal for trading with the Nazis during WWII. Yes, his grandfather, Prescott Bush. Look it up. This family has more skeletons in the closet than you could ever imagine. But, you haven't heard about it because the Democrats really don't have a Rush Limbaugh or anyone of that ilk who specialize in character assassination. Could you just imagine if Barack Obama's grandfather had been trading with the Hitler machine during WWII? And, in addition, had long business dealings with the bin Laden family? Could you IMAGINE! Nixon was impeached for constitutional reasons -- crimes against the country. The Republicans impeached Clinton for a blow-job, and they spent untold millions at taxpayer expense to prove he had a blow job. Not even in the same league. Except that both Nixon and Ken Starr employed dirty tricks with lowlifes to accomplish their dirty deeds.

Barack Obama was a scholar, the smartest guy in his Harvard Law class and head of Law Review. He wrote his first book after graduation -- and he actually wrote it himself. He practiced law, taught constitutional law at the University of Chicago, was elected to the state assembly and then successfully ran for the US Senate. Whereupon he wrote an acclaimed book about the future of the country. And he wrote that one himself, too. But mostly, he was acknowledged as a thoughtful, intelligent man of considerable judgment, married to his first wife, with no hint of scandal in his life, and was generally accepted to be among the smartest people in this country being well-read, well-traveled, and well-respected. Someone who knew him well said that he's the kind of guy who's three moves ahead of you in a chess game.

The AP Poll out today has Obama at 53% favorable, and on the rise, in case you're interested.

But, I am an equal opportunity truth-teller. You should hear what I know about LBJ. I could write a book about him.

Rahm Emanual is now Mayor of Chicago...Mayor Daley's brother is now going to Washington..you don't think there were some back room deals going on there...Obama is from Chicago..nuff said. Illinois has the most corrupt politics in the union and Obama comes from that..excuse me if I have doubts about his motives, etc.

Rahm got a majority of the total vote. Are you insinuating he stole the election? Mayor Daley's brother used to work for Bill Clinton and Clinton pushed Obama to hire Bill Daley. They'd met all of twice, I heard. Since he was about 12 years old, Obama has lived in Hawaii, Los Angeles, New York, and Chicago. Just where is his background in corruption? The fact that he lived in Illinois? It's a good thing Abraham Lincoln isn't around these days. You'd disqualify him.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I would ask what qualified Ronald Reagan to become the governor of California, and eventually the president? Was it acting in B rated movies; a movie star that had not even done community service? Granted, like George Bush he was a handsome man but does being a movie star a qualification for the presidency? At least Obama was out working in his community, dealing with real people in everyday circumstances before he was elected to the senate.

What he actually did as a Community Organizer:

http://www.nationalr...ron-york?page=3

Are you kidding me? Look at the source. These people are not reliable sources for anything. They have an agenda. There is a Tea Party Advertisement right in the middle of the page. Why on earth would anyone consider that to be a reliable factual source? Might as well go ask Donald Trump. If I was really interested in checking out Obama's community service, I would go to objective sources not to subjective sources. I do not need to check Obama out. He is cute enough to have been a movie star, maybe he should have taken that route to the White House?

Did you actually read the article or just look at the ads? I read the whole thing and thought it was very well done; I didn't know much about what Obama had done and he obviously did make a difference in some people's lives...what I didn't know was how young he was at the time...and if the only criteria you use to vote on elected officials is if they are "cute" well, that is pretty sad. And I would never characterize Obama as cute.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

And I would ask what qualified Ronald Reagan to become the governor of California, and eventually the president? Was it acting in B rated movies; a movie star that had not even done community service? Granted, like George Bush he was a handsome man but does being a movie star a qualification for the presidency? At least Obama was out working in his community, dealing with real people in everyday circumstances before he was elected to the senate.

What he actually did as a Community Organizer:

http://www.nationalr...ron-york?page=3

Are you kidding me? Look at the source. These people are not reliable sources for anything. They have an agenda. There is a Tea Party Advertisement right in the middle of the page. Why on earth would anyone consider that to be a reliable factual source? Might as well go ask Donald Trump. If I was really interested in checking out Obama's community service, I would go to objective sources not to subjective sources. I do not need to check Obama out. He is cute enough to have been a movie star, maybe he should have taken that route to the White House?

Did you actually read the article or just look at the ads? I read the whole thing and thought it was very well done; I didn't know much about what Obama had done and he obviously did make a difference in some people's lives...what I didn't know was how young he was at the time...and if the only criteria you use to vote on elected officials is if they are "cute" well, that is pretty sad. And I would never characterize Obama as cute.

I think you missed my point which was that Bush and Reagan had no substance but were just pretty boys. That is certainly not the criteria I use for voting. I was precinct chair, precinct judge, for 25 years. I had to know Texas election law backwards and forward. I also was a delegate several times to state conventions. I was campaign manager for the first woman elected judge to a municipal court in my city. She went on to become a district judge, then a federal magistrate (which is an appointed position,not an elected one) All my adult life I have been very active in politics until now. I had to quit when my husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness. I would not have wasted 25 years of my life if I was going to vote on "cuteness."

And yes, I do think Obama is a good looking man, but his intelligence and the fact that he can express himself verbally are far more important attributes. Everyone has different tastes when it comes to cute, so its ok that you do not characterize Obama as cute.

And yes, I did read the article. I just did not have the same reaction to it that you did.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much for claiming to be "pro-life" in Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott Orders Immediate Cuts to Programs for the Disabled

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.

Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients' safety.

"lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people."

An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursing homes — typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves.

But the governor said the Agency for Persons with Disabilities' ongoing budget deficit — currently at $170 million — had reached a critical point and needed to be addressed immediately.

The cuts go into effect Friday and last at least through the fiscal year, which ends June 30. Lawmakers are currently debating what will happen after that.

Providers had not been informed of the cuts.

"No one has gotten any notice," said Linda Cumbie, an Orlando social worker who coordinates services that clients need to live outside of a nursing home — which would be a more expensive arrangement for the state. "We have to find out through the newspapers."

Cumbie said funds for the disabled already had been pared back to skeletal levels. She personally is holding a carwash and bake sale to help out one young disabled client so he can attend a daily workshop program.

Katie Porta, president of Quest Inc., which operates a series of group homes and programs for those with disabilities, said provider rates in Florida already rank in the bottom 10 percent for all states.

"We are almost to the point of impossibility in providing for our clients' basic health and safety needs," she said. "I just fear for our people."

She wasn't the only one. Alan McIntosh, a 57-year-old Orlando man with cerebral palsy, relies on an aide to do just about anything requiring movement. "I don't know what he [Gov. Scott] is thinking," McIntosh said. "As it is, I'm just trying to survive."

More at

Orlando Sentinel Article

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So much for claiming to be "pro-life" in Florida.

Gov. Rick Scott Orders Immediate Cuts to Programs for the Disabled

Florida Gov. Rick Scott ordered deep cuts Thursday to programs that serve tens of thousands of residents with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, autism and other developmental disabilities.

Though a range of state services face cuts from this year's Legislature, the governor invoked his emergency powers to order the state Agency for Persons with Disabilities to immediately roll back payments to group homes and social workers by 15 percent — an amount providers say could put them out of business and threaten their clients' safety.

"lt's not like, 'Gee, does this mean I have to skip a vacation this year?'" said Amy Van Bergen, executive director of the Down Syndrome Association of Central Florida. "Potentially, these cuts have life and death implications for these people."

An estimated 30,000 Floridians with severe developmental disabilities receive services that help them live outside of nursing homes — typically with family or in small group homes. Aides help them eat, bathe, take medication and otherwise care for themselves.

But the governor said the Agency for Persons with Disabilities' ongoing budget deficit — currently at $170 million — had reached a critical point and needed to be addressed immediately.

The cuts go into effect Friday and last at least through the fiscal year, which ends June 30. Lawmakers are currently debating what will happen after that.

Providers had not been informed of the cuts.

"No one has gotten any notice," said Linda Cumbie, an Orlando social worker who coordinates services that clients need to live outside of a nursing home — which would be a more expensive arrangement for the state. "We have to find out through the newspapers."

Cumbie said funds for the disabled already had been pared back to skeletal levels. She personally is holding a carwash and bake sale to help out one young disabled client so he can attend a daily workshop program.

Katie Porta, president of Quest Inc., which operates a series of group homes and programs for those with disabilities, said provider rates in Florida already rank in the bottom 10 percent for all states.

"We are almost to the point of impossibility in providing for our clients' basic health and safety needs," she said. "I just fear for our people."

She wasn't the only one. Alan McIntosh, a 57-year-old Orlando man with cerebral palsy, relies on an aide to do just about anything requiring movement. "I don't know what he [Gov. Scott] is thinking," McIntosh said. "As it is, I'm just trying to survive."

More at

Orlando Sentinel Article

I have always been puzzled about the title this group picked for itself. It is very inconsistent. Does being pro-life end the minute a human being enters this world? Most Pro-Lifers are the same people who are against programs that help people who need help. Go figure?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always been puzzled about the title this group picked for itself. It is very inconsistent. Does being pro-life end the minute a human being enters this world? Most Pro-Lifers are the same people who are against programs that help people who need help. Go figure?

I agree. It's definitely a misnomer because I find that most people who consider themselves pro-life are also pro-death penalty, and oppose aid for children living in poverty. Pro-lifers are now among the same people cheering for cutting off Meals on Wheels, WIC, Headstart, and health insurance for the poor in the US Congress, while protecting $4 billion in tax subsidies to the oil industry and tax cuts to billionaires. I wonder why people think it will create jobs to give more money to people who inherited their wealth and don't run companies at all. They aren't businessmen, they are yachtsmen.

By their fruits you shall know them.

It's always puzzled me why members of the Christian community support the death penalty when Jesus himself was an innocent victim of capital punishment. We know about people being executed here in Texas who were later found to be innocent. And in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, he was acknowledged to have been wrongly convicted, yet the governor would not stay his execution because he was found guilty before he was proved innocent. These people are being murdered in MY name and in the name of every other citizen of this state. It's unconscionable and uncivilized. And it's certainly pro-death when it is supported in spite of killing a few innocent citizens, as if that's an acceptable price to be paid. I applaud the states who are banning it. George W. Bush actually laughed and made mocking jokes about executing people while he was governor of this state. Just another reason he's repugnant to me. I am tolerant of everyone except the intolerant. As to the intolerant, they are the scourge of the world and to be strenuously opposed. Someone once said that tolerance is a virtue, but passive tolerance is a vice. I agree.

On another subject, I have to applaud President Obama for how he has so deftly hamstrung his health care opponents with the directive a few weeks ago that individual states are free to devise and implement their own plans, if they meet standard criteria:

If your state can create a plan that covers as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does - without increasing the deficit - you can implement that plan. And we'll work with you to do it."

Vermont is taking him up on it - and they are expected to enact a single-payer system that will exceed the minimum standards and ultimately save money. The governors who claim that the Affordable Care Act is a federal power-grab, and unconstitutional, well, they are free to do their own thing, if they can do it more economically and maintain standards of coverage to a commensurate number of people. I'm eagerly awaiting Gov. Perry's response here in Texas.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always been puzzled about the title this group picked for itself. It is very inconsistent. Does being pro-life end the minute a human being enters this world? Most Pro-Lifers are the same people who are against programs that help people who need help. Go figure?

I agree. It's definitely a misnomer because I find that most people who consider themselves pro-life are also pro-death penalty, and oppose aid for children living in poverty. Pro-lifers are now among the same people cheering for cutting off Meals on Wheels, WIC, Headstart, and health insurance for the poor in the US Congress, while protecting $4 billion in tax subsidies to the oil industry and tax cuts to billionaires. I wonder why people think it will create jobs to give more money to people who inherited their wealth and don't run companies at all. They aren't businessmen, they are yachtsmen.

By their fruits you shall know them.

It's always puzzled me why members of the Christian community support the death penalty when Jesus himself was an innocent victim of capital punishment. We know about people being executed here in Texas who were later found to be innocent. And in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, he was acknowledged to have been wrongly convicted, yet the governor would not stay his execution because he was found guilty before he was proved innocent. These people are being murdered in MY name and in the name of every other citizen of this state. It's unconscionable and uncivilized. And it's certainly pro-death when it is supported in spite of killing a few innocent citizens, as if that's an acceptable price to be paid. I applaud the states who are banning it. George W. Bush actually laughed and made mocking jokes about executing people while he was governor of this state. Just another reason he's repugnant to me. I am tolerant of everyone except the intolerant. As to the intolerant, they are the scourge of the world and to be strenuously opposed. Someone once said that tolerance is a virtue, but passive tolerance is a vice. I agree.

On another subject, I have to applaud President Obama for how he has so deftly hamstrung his health care opponents with the directive a few weeks ago that individual states are free to devise and implement their own plans, if they meet standard criteria:

If your state can create a plan that covers as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does - without increasing the deficit - you can implement that plan. And we'll work with you to do it."

Vermont is taking him up on it - and they are expected to enact a single-payer system that will exceed the minimum standards and ultimately save money. The governors who claim that the Affordable Care Act is a federal power-grab, and unconstitutional, well, they are free to do their own thing, if they can do it more economically and maintain standards of coverage to a commensurate number of people. I'm eagerly awaiting Gov. Perry's response here in Texas.

It will be interesting what Vermont comes up with. Maybe they will come up with a system that other states will want to emulate. Doesn't NY have a good health system for its residents? Or do I have the wrong state?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have always been puzzled about the title this group picked for itself. It is very inconsistent. Does being pro-life end the minute a human being enters this world? Most Pro-Lifers are the same people who are against programs that help people who need help. Go figure?

I agree. It's definitely a misnomer because I find that most people who consider themselves pro-life are also pro-death penalty, and oppose aid for children living in poverty. Pro-lifers are now among the same people cheering for cutting off Meals on Wheels, WIC, Headstart, and health insurance for the poor in the US Congress, while protecting $4 billion in tax subsidies to the oil industry and tax cuts to billionaires. I wonder why people think it will create jobs to give more money to people who inherited their wealth and don't run companies at all. They aren't businessmen, they are yachtsmen.

By their fruits you shall know them.

It's always puzzled me why members of the Christian community support the death penalty when Jesus himself was an innocent victim of capital punishment. We know about people being executed here in Texas who were later found to be innocent. And in the case of Cameron Todd Willingham, he was acknowledged to have been wrongly convicted, yet the governor would not stay his execution because he was found guilty before he was proved innocent. These people are being murdered in MY name and in the name of every other citizen of this state. It's unconscionable and uncivilized. And it's certainly pro-death when it is supported in spite of killing a few innocent citizens, as if that's an acceptable price to be paid. I applaud the states who are banning it. George W. Bush actually laughed and made mocking jokes about executing people while he was governor of this state. Just another reason he's repugnant to me. I am tolerant of everyone except the intolerant. As to the intolerant, they are the scourge of the world and to be strenuously opposed. Someone once said that tolerance is a virtue, but passive tolerance is a vice. I agree.

On another subject, I have to applaud President Obama for how he has so deftly hamstrung his health care opponents with the directive a few weeks ago that individual states are free to devise and implement their own plans, if they meet standard criteria:

If your state can create a plan that covers as many people as affordably and comprehensively as the Affordable Care Act does - without increasing the deficit - you can implement that plan. And we'll work with you to do it."

Vermont is taking him up on it - and they are expected to enact a single-payer system that will exceed the minimum standards and ultimately save money. The governors who claim that the Affordable Care Act is a federal power-grab, and unconstitutional, well, they are free to do their own thing, if they can do it more economically and maintain standards of coverage to a commensurate number of people. I'm eagerly awaiting Gov. Perry's response here in Texas.

It will be interesting what Vermont comes up with. Maybe they will come up with a system that other states will want to emulate. Doesn't NY have a good health system for its residents? Or do I have the wrong state?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Couldn't resist this humorous little mash-up, which does have a point ... :

ObamaMash-Up.jpg

But for serious pictures of Sunday afternoon and evening:

Watching the raid in real time:

GettingBinLaden.jpg

In the situation room after the raid:

Aftertheraid.jpg

Calling the ex-presidents, Bush and Clinton:

informingtheex-presidents.jpg

Writing the address to the nation:

writingthespeechtothenation.jpg

The national security team listening to the President speak in the East Room, the President speaking, and then saying goodnight:

nationalsecurityteamintheEastRoom.jpg

ObamaintheEastRoom.jpg

SayingGoodnight.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

http://www.businessinsider.com/bin-laden-death-torture-waterboarding-obama-2011-5

I heard another report this morning that Khalid Shaikh Mohammed denied he knew a courier he was asked about so that's why they were interested in him. Waterboarding and other torture techniques didn't do a damn thing except scar the American soul and give us a well deserved bad rap all over the world.

My son has taught interrogation techniques, among other things, in the military for several years, and he has told me that information garnered from torture or harsh techniques is useless because people will say anything to get it to stop. They will say whatever you want to hear, and make it up if that's what they think you want. He says the best intel comes from creating a trust relationship between the interrogator and the prisoner, where the prisoner gets something positive from speaking the truth -- a cookie, a cigarette, whatever works. Even in hard core cases where the prisoner will never divulge information, they still won't do it under torture, they will lie every time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Keeping, Thanks for all the pictures. I am so proud of our Commander in Chief! I love that my girl, Hilary, was a part of this coup. I would have gone back to my working 24/7 days for a candidate if she had won the nomination. But I guess its good that I did not have to, because I am probably too old to do that anymore?

Obama did good.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think the reason Hillary looks so apprehensive in that picture taken during the raid, is that from what I've read today, she was one of the ones voting against the ground raid. There were three options at Thursday's meeting -- send in ground forces to capture or retrieve the body, blow up the place from the air with a couple of bunker busting bombs, or wait for proof that Bin Laden was actually there.

The article basically says that the operational people were for the ground raid, and everybody else divided up between the other two options because they believed a ground raid was fraught with risk. Obama made the decision overnight and called everyone in on Friday to announce that he had decided to go with the ground raid and put it in motion immediately. He directed that an additional helicopter be included in case of malfunctions, and then it was out of his hands and JSOC took over.

Obama was worried that too many people knew about the pending operation and the location of the compound to delay taking action. He nixed the air attack because it would have killed everyone in the house and there would never have been proof that Bin Laden was there. Not even the military would have known. We now know there were something like 23 children in the house, and 9 women, I believe, who are in the custody of the Pakistanis and being returned to their country(ies) of origin.

I think Obama was up for the 3am call.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...