I especially love Britt Hume’s cogent commentary.
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So…Goldy…Fox News is Fair and Balanced after all, eh what?
Great orators don’t often come out on top – Ask Abraham Lincoln who lost the 1858 Illinois Senate race to Stephen A. Douglas.
The Piper
I wonder if the guy really wants the job..
Hmmm, perhaps the wheels are coming off the McCain campaign already.
Roy Exum is the heir of the Newspaper dynasty Chattanooga Free-Press, which printed a morning edition in that city for the better part of a century. Roy went to work for the family business. It’s position is pretty far to the right. If I remember correctly from my teenage years growing up in the town, it even defended Nixon right up to the day of his resignation due to the Watergate affair. And Roy Exum last year favorably recounted his grandfather calling Al Gore “The most dangerous man in America”, an opinion he apparantly shared or adopted. Anyway, you get the idea.
Well, the paper apparantly fell to the problems of most two-newspaper towns, and eventually there was some sort of buyout/merger which I missed. It was merged with the Chattanooga Times, and now the original Free-Press only exists in an online edition called The Chattanoogan.
So in trying to keep up with the news from my old hometown, today I find the following editorial, entitled A Pickup Truck!
In the editorial, this died-in-the-wool lifetime Republican newspaper heir is lamenting the fact that McCain’s stategy to “energize” the Republican faithful is, in McCain’s own words: “I’m trying to find a pick-up truck.”
Exum responded:
“…As I read the account, the needle on my gauge drifted to the left and, as it did, I found myself understanding why many Republicans are still scratching their heads over a candidate whose “pickup truck” line will surely rankle many of them…
Maybe it is good for a laugh on the Washington Beltway, where the likes of McCain are known for their silk stockings, but the Republican nominee might well be advised to take a harder look at a pickup truck and those who drive them. They are increasingly fed up with those who think our country’s biggest problems are our leadership, foreign diplomacy and taking off your shoes before you board an airplane.
No, the ones I know – the ones who have tailgates – worry about health insurance, the type of education their kids are getting at school, and how they are going to keep from joining the alarming ranks of those whose houses are teetering into foreclosure.
Those who drive trucks are angry over the cost of a gallon – be it gasoline or milk – and they are angry with the bureaucrats who have helped cause the difference it takes at the filling station or the grocery store compared to only six months ago. You see, not many who drive pickups get food stamps and still leave the house before dawn each day. They work all day for a living.
For John McCain to say it will take a pickup truck to energize Tennessee while Bill Frist, Zach Wamp and Fred Thompson loll around on his bus, eating his candy and acting like “favorite sons” is tantamount to disaster among honest, hard-working people….”
Considering the source of these comments, it appears to me that the Republicans are in for a bigger thrashing than most of us believe come November. Sure, Exum will probably swallow the bitter pill and come out in favor of McCain eventually, since he couldn’t stomach another Democrat in the White House. But his comments reveal the extreme disatisfaction among what the Republicans have considered to be their base since the Reagan administration – the white southern working folks.
They have seen that the Republican emperor indeed has not clothes, despite the pronouncements of a few party propogandists to the contrary.
That doesn’t mean that we can sit on our tushes. The Democrats will really have to deliver. They will have to resist the temptation to load up on pork spending in order to catch up with the Republicans. They will have to be fiscally prudent, even while figuring out a way to pay for the Republican failure to invest in public infrastructure, repair or roads and bridges, pay for the war, pay for the Bush tax cuts, etc. They will have to be scrupilously honest, because after the Bush years, they will be held to a higher standard. But I know we can do this, starting with putting the right Democrats in charge.
1
Pooper,
Even a boken clock is right twice a day. This one was so obvious that even Faux news not dare spin it any other way. Well O’Liely might in the No Spin Zone.
Nice try, Pooper.
Pooper is 100% there – regardless of truth or fact – to push the GOP talking points.
Get used to it traitor – say it out loud – PRESIDENT Obama. Bow down now bitch and take what’s coming to you and yours.
3 Good Lord! It seems Exum is mutating into Joe Bageant.
By the way – St. Paul – 20,000 to see President Obama – Kenner, LA – 240 to see FlipFlop McCain. WOW! The GOP is simply demoralized to the point that I ALMOST feel sorry for them. HE HE!
7:
There were another 12,000 outside in St Paul who could not get in but stayed and listened.
In LA. Not so much.
If Pooper thinks that Steven Douglas and Abe Lincoln has any relevance to today, he is truly one fry shy of the Happy Meal.
In this day and age of viral video and perception being everything, his candidate is sunk. We are tired of a president who is not presidential. And that is the “truthiness” of the matter. You can check it out on “the google”.
Yesterday, Obama looked presidential. McCain, well, not so much. He looked more like an overwhelmed old man (which he is) who wanted to slug his speech writer and then take nap after drinking his warm milk and Metamucil.
I hope John McCain lets himself get talked into more rallies like last night’s. Holy shnikes, what a bone headed decision. However, McCain, standing on his own strengths, could give Obama a run. Especially if he cowtows to the Clinton herd mentality, that somehow her lack of loyalty to the party’s presumptive nominee since February should give her the second slot.
Watch for McCain to nominate a woman. Olympia Snowe anyone? That would be a game changer.
Good grief, that was difficult to watch.
He looked like some mildewed Howdy Doody with Alzheimer’s Disease. But let’s not forget that W. can’t give a speech either and he has been a plague on our country for eight years. Next time around watch for the big lump on the back of his jacket where Rove is feeding him pointers.
I loved Keith Olbermann’s comment regarding Obama clinching the nomination: “I’d like to interview Abraham Lincholn.”
Yeah, I bet. What would the first Republican President say, who ironically freed the slaves, that the Democrats were the first major political party to elect an African-American their Presidential nominee?
Remarkably, McCain was the best of the Republican candidates. Not only do the Rs have no bench strength, they ain’t got no bench at all. That blue map of the country is sure gonna look good . . .
@13…PL…
So…if BHO is so good, why did he have to call HRC only to get her voice mail twice last night? Top dog candidate Barack got pushed off the front page yesterday by HRC sticking her fingers in his eye.
If he can’t lay the wood to her and get her to concede, how will he be able to deal with duplicitous thugs in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, and other places?
He may be a hot to go orator, but does he know how to use brass knuckles, which is what he’ll need if he wants to be President.
The Piper
Piper – “He may be a hot to go orator, but does he know how to use brass knuckles, which is what he’ll need if he wants to be President.”
Right – Because if there is one thing we’ve learned over the past 7 years is that being an arrogant brass knuckle bully that can’t put together a complete sentence in proper english works SOOOOO well.
For all the wing-nuts who
thoughthoped and prayed this drawn out Democratic battle would some how hurt Sen. Obama you’re only fooling yourself.By going the distance Sen. Obama is now fully battle-tested, a victorious gladiator in the political arena. Defeating Hillary AND Bill Clinton and the entire Clinton Political Machine was no small feat. In fact, no Republican running for the presidency has matched what Sen. Obama has accomplished.
Yeah, he got nicked, punched and had the proverbial Kitchen Sink thrown at him, but he is in no way mortally wounded.
What you see are Sen. Obama’s battle scars. Scars earned from being the proven victor. His sword now sharpened to a razor’s edge and his shield at the ready, he is ready to go forth and vanquish the last best hope for the modern day conservative movement; John McCain.
All thanks to Hillary Clinton who made him prove his mettle every single inch of the way. Without her tenacity, Sen. Obama would not have gained the skills necessary to defeat Sen. McCain.
It was painful to watch Sen. McCain suffer through his speech. It was, frankly, embarrassing.
It was a mistake to try and make news on Sen. Obama’s night, it was a moment of monumental American history in the making. Did McCain and his advisors really think that this was the best strategic decision? Shows poor judgment on Sen. McCain’s part.
Challenging Sen. Obama to 10 town hall meeting will be the death knell of Sen. John McCain. A real American hero in his own right, but his place in American history will be the man who lost to the first African-American president.
Pooper,
Where did you get that? Cite your source. Dumbass.
What a fucking idiot you continue to prove yourself to be. IF Obama had wanted to talk to HRC there would have been contact. What Republican website did you cull this drivel from?
And you better hope that Obama does not take McSame up on the town hall idea. McCain will look old, slow and incompetent next to him. Huge mistake. But on the plus side McSame will get to speak to more that 250 people.
By the way, what is your spin on the small crowd that gathered for McSame last night?
As far as HRC being rude, well the best response is exactly what he did……ignore it.
Piper: “If he can’t lay the wood to her and get her to concede, how will he be able to deal with duplicitous thugs in Iran, Syria, North Korea, Venezuela, and other places?”
Hillary is not Iran, Syria, or North Korea (Venezuela does not fit in your grouping). Laying wood to her is not going to get the desired result, that of promoting party unity and having her assistance in the fall. Diplomacy requires more than just “laying wood.” It requires nuance, reading the opponent, and flexibility. One size does not fit all, despite the contrary bleatings of the Bushites. I suspect Obama has a strategy for dealing with Hillary, one prong of which surely involves treating her with respect (or at least feigning respect). If Hillary fails to return his telephone calls at this time, that reflects poorly on her, not on him. Tell you what–would you like to bet a fine libation on the election outcome?
GBS @ 12: “What would Abraham Lincoln think…?”
Unfortunately, while Abraham Lincoln was ahead of his time in many areas, he was still a product of his time in others. While he considered slavery repugnant, he also proposed that all the freed slaves be sent back to Africa (presumably by force?). He also was in favor of compensating slave owners for the loss of their slaves. Until the Emancipation Proclamation in late 1862, he insisted that the war was not about freeing the slaves, but was instead about saving the Union, and if he had to make a choice, he would chose the Union over emancipation.
But those attitudes were considered rather enlightened (liberal) at the time, and there IS evidence that his views towards the races tended to evolve over the war years.
GBS @ 16: Yep, they better hope they’ve got something better than trying to tar him with comments OTHER people have made. They have even resorted to trying to “tie” him to guest speakers there, at services he never attended!
No wonder the Fox commentaters are left ranting about “How come we don’t here more about the Write scandal? How come people aren’t more outraged?”
Because there is nothing there. Zip. It’s been fully considered and it’s over. If that’s the best they’ve got, then it’s going to be a LOOONG summer for the Republicans.
@1
At the end of the day the owner of Fox News (like most media owners) is interested in money and power. It’s pretty obvious who’s going to be in power for the next little while (check out the list of Republican Congressmen who aren’t bothering to run for re-election) and where the money will be flowing from and to. From day one Obama’s shown a willlingness to freeze Fox out, so of course they’re playing nice.
RHP
I’m under no illusion that freeing the slaves was Lincoln’s top priority. I was amused at the biting irony the moral high road the Republicans claim vs. their actions.
I think that’s the underlying message Olbermann was trying to make as well.
@18…PL…
No bets, but I’ll buy you a fine libation any time if you’ll buy one for me in return.
I had an extraordinary vodka martini (Gibson actually – I hate olives, but love onions) in Spokane Thursday night at the GOP Convention. New steakhouse called Churchill’s on Post up from the Davenport. Outstanding beef, too.
Hugo Chavez, who has just demanded all his citizens rat on each other, is right in there with the others.
And that BHO’s life is currently being made miserable by HRC isn’t endearing either to either, and it’s prompting some to criticize BHO for not being able to claim his victory without dealing with the Clinton’s. That this bodes ill for BHO vis a vis the IBTT&S (International Brotherhood of Thugs, Terrorists, and Scumbags) is the thesis of NPR commentator Mara Eliason.
While he has to be nuanced and subtle in public, he better be ruthless and tough behind the scenes or he’ll get rolled. This isn’t a game with Marquess of Queensbury rules – it barely has rules at all.
Where shall we libate?
The Piper
GBS @ 22: Sorry, I didn’t mean to argue with you. History is a bit of a hobby for me, and I can’t help myself. I do understand the point that was being made.
Piper:
You’ve left this comment go unanswered and I’d like you to answer:
40. GBS spews:
Piper @ 33 wrote:
“And what would all of you know of honor? Honor is making it on your own – Honor is never asking the government for a penny, but always being willing to offer a hand up, not a handout – Honor is being fiercely independent and insisting that the only thing you are entitled to is what you earn yourself – Honor is never demanding a result, only asking for an opportunity.”
If you substitute the word “self-reliant” where you’ve used honor you would be spot on.
Honor, has nothing to do with these things you’ve mentioned. Honor is not something you measure in dollars and cents, whether you gave a handout or a hand up, honor is not about being independent, but rather interdependent, honor is never what “you earn for yourself” but rather what you give to others of yourself, honor places no demands on you or gives you an opportunity, you simply give honor the results.
As I’ve said before, when your write your mind is on parade for all to see. And what I see here is a man who never served our nation’s military, who knows nothing of honor.
Especially, the kind of honor that is battle tested when you look to the man on your left and then to the man on your right and at that moment you realize. . . . (when you can finish this sentence/thought with conviction you’ll understand what real honor means and you’ll realize it’s not about money.)
You’re great with the words, but short on substance.
RHP
I didn’t mean to imply you were arguing with me. Only that if you and I don’t clairify our points the wing-nuts run rampant with it.
I enjoy history myself, particularly the Revolutionary period.
I always enjoy learning from you. Your Momma done you right!!
Good one Piper: If John McCain is Abraham Lincoln – then maybe he will stop the civil war in Iraq?
McCain can’t speak well, he looks stilted when he smiles and he makes gaffe after gaffe. this is going to be fun watching him self-destruct and trying to adjust his meds to get just the right smile.
If even fox news realizes he is a horrible speaker, then he is toast. His latest mishap/lie/senior moment, he lied about TWO votes on Hurricane Katrina:
http://tpmelectioncentral.talk.....my_key.php
Talk about your low-hanging fruit – McCain will lose the election on his own. I expect his numbers to start dropping and his speeches and “mistakes” multiply.
The debates will be intersting – will McCain actually listen to the question and how accurate will he be judged afterwards?
Let’s see, McCain has flubbed:
Troop strength in Iraq
sunnis vs shia in Iran
Hurricane Katrina votes
his voting record with Bush
all the lobbyists with major roles in his campaign
Give the guy a few more weeks of general election scrutiny and he will hand the white house to Obama.
@25: GBS
Very nice and very eloquent description of real honor. Honor is something that is earned, like respect, from others due to selfless acts. Thank you, GBS, for setting the record straight.
@14: Looks like he laid the wood on old Lieberman – he will probably be shutting his fat trap for the rest of the campaign – or else.
Obama knows who to press and who not to press – Bush knows nothing of diplomacy.
I love how he negotiated with the bad guys in North Korea and got a worse deal than Clinton did – after saying he would not negotiate. That is negotiating from weakness and weakness is where we are, thanks to Bush. Begging the Saudis for oil doesn’t work as well as getting off our dependency on foreign oil – and we need government to LEAD not to follow for that.
Piper @ 23
Is libate a verb? I should know that. I don’t know Eastside watering holes. Suggest something (by email).
Chavez was democratically elected. He just lost a plebiscite near and dear to him by popular election in December or so. Such a loss is not the usual indicia of an autocrat. North Korea, Syria, and Iran he ain’t. I have been disappointed in his attempts to consolidate power, suppress opposition, and basically exalt himself. On the other hand, Latin America is not the US of A, and Venezuelans’ lot in life has improved under his administration.
With regard to Obama’s ability to deal with Hillary, the NYT article that just came out suggests he did what he needed to do. Velvet glove on a fist of steel.
@25…GBS…
Honor is never being dependent upon another – never asking for what is not yours by right of your own work, effort, or property right – honor is never being on the public dole – honor is making your own way in the world – honor is respecting the rights and property of others and never demanding from them in order to make up for what you’re unwilling to provide for yourself.
It’s not honorable to take other people’s property to underwrite your ideas of social justice – you like a program so much, pay for it yourself.
An honorable person is a generous person – but ONLY with what he personally owns, never with the property of another.
Honor always demands of you your best – nothing less, ever.
Honor is never compromising on your principles for expediency, personal profit or gain, or to deride another.
“He has honor if he holds himself to an ideal of conduct though it is inconvenient, unprofitable, or dangerous to do so.” Walter Lippman – you call yourself “honorable” as you hide among like-mindeds as you dump on me who comes here and willingly takes on all comers in defense of my beliefs.
It’s not at all honorable to continually be critical of someone and smear that person anonymously by hiding behind some indecipherable moniker. This doesn’t apply to all the HA Happy Hooligans, some of whom have become friends of mine, but it sure applies to you.
So…name, address, and phone number…mine are readily available – where are yours?
The Piper
@30…PL…
And Mussolini made the trains run on time. Merely making things better means nothing – has he made his people more free? Safeguarded and expanded their liberties? These are the questions that come first to me.
A verb is as a verb does. I don’t know Eastside watering holes either, but I’m sure that we could work together above politics to identify some and partner in a bi-partisan way as good Americans should.
I’ll be in touch off the blog…
The Piper
@25 A post by a person who clearly understands the meaning of honor, written to a person who clearly doesn’t.
@31 For you, it’s all about your wallet, isn’t it? Like the guy said, you reveal much. And like I said before, you’re one shelfish SOB.
. Steve spews:
@31 For you, it’s all about your wallet, isn’t it? Like the guy said, you reveal much. And like I said before, you’re one shelfish SOB.
06/04/2008 at 5:55 pm
No it not about his wallet. Conservatives have more compassion in their little pinky then a liberal has in their entire body. Just look up who gives to charity. We just don’t believe in guvmint because guvmint never works.. well in the case of the Military it does. roof roof.
“It’s not at all honorable to continually be critical of someone and smear that person anonymously by hiding behind some indecipherable moniker. This doesn’t apply to all the HA Happy Hooligans, some of whom have become friends of mine, but it sure applies to you.”
You going on about that address crap again? Honor is identifying one’s self on a blog? Yesterday you said that’s what courage is all about. Honor and courage. And that’s what you come up with, blog ID?? Well, when you haven’t a hatrack, I reckon someone like you has to hang your hat somewhere. Blog ID it is.
Paying more taxes is not compassionate nor charitable. Gvmint is at its best when its limited.
@35 “We just don’t believe in guvmint because guvmint never works.. well in the case of the Military it does. roof roof.”
Well, you’re half right, at least. I’ll concede that Republican-run “guvmint” never works. Would you agree that this is because they don’t believe it can work? Like they say, a negative attitude will produce a negative result.
Hmm, how about bending over and doing that dog bark for me, Rover.
@37 “Gvmint is at its best when its limited.”
Again, you almost have it right. Guvmint is at its best when Republican participation is limited. And come November, Republican participation will be very limited.
Sucks for you, Rover, doesn’t it?
@34…S…
Wallet? No – it’s all about personal freedom and liberty and the absolute right to keep what you earn and never ask for what you do not earn.
It’s about independance and being a giver, not a taker.
It’s about working to make the world a better place than you found it.
It’s about honoring the values of the nation – a very JFK thing.
It’s about respecting the rights of others to make their own way and never ask of them for anything I should provide myself.
It’s about traditional American values.
But these are alien to you, aren’t they?
The Piper
@40 You’re losing it, Dude. Not that I don’t mind watching. But I thought that I’d let you know.
“It’s about independance and being a giver, not a taker.” And so you support tax cuts for the rich and Social Security managed by Bear Sterns.
“It’s about working to make the world a better place than you found it.” Hey, nice job you did in Iraq, Bud.
“It’s about honoring the values of the nation – a very JFK thing.” The constitution is “just a goddamned piece of paper” Indeed, that sounds very Kennedyesque.
You’re one sad sack of shit, Piper.
Listening to that cum-drunk cunt Pooper lecture on honor is like listening to Cheney lecture on how to duck hunt!
If liberal guvmint worked there would be no republicans. It fails every time its tried. America isn’t great because of liberal policies, rather the absence of them. Every country in the world has proven that over and over again.
What a strange world you live in. The passage between day and night defined to a razors edge no doubt.
Wave the next time Jane’s planet passes by. We hope to have a Super Soaker of suffient power by then to hose you down. The relief to nostrils accross the solar system might inspire a new world wide holiday.
Piper @ 32: “And Mussolini made the trains run on time. Merely making things better means nothing – has he made his people more free?”
And Bush condones torture. Moreover, he is incapable of making the trains run on time. Chavez has lifted the poor in his nation. Freedom means nothing to the person who has nothing to eat. There is a subsistence level of human need that must be met before esoteric concepts like “liberty” can be addressed.
Changing subjects–I believe a strong opposition is a necessary component to a vibrant democracy. For that reason, I really don’t want the Republican Party to go the way of the Whigs. Not that I’d ever want that party in the majority again, however. I’m just talking about an articulate dissent–that is a good thing. If Ted Kennedy and Orrin Hatch could be friends, certainly you and I might find time to take a swig together. As you know, I am a devoted partisan. You are the same. The differences between us, however, fall short of those which separate Sunnis from Shiites.
It boils down to two choices:
1. McCain – the third term of GWB’s presidency.
2. Obama – Jimmy Carter’s second term.
I’ll be writing-in Ron Paul in November.
Can O-Blah-Blah legally be President??
You KLOWNS are in love with the law so chew on this–
Barack Obama is not legally a U.S. natural-born citizen according to the law on the books at the time of his birth, which falls between ‘ December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986’? Presidential office requires a natural-born citizen if the child was not born to two U.S. citizen parents, which of course is what exempts John McCain though he was born in the Panama Canal. US Law very clearly stipulates: ‘.If only one parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, that parent must have resided in the United States for at least ten years, at least five of which had to be after the age of 16.’ Barack Obama’s father was not a U.S. citizen and Obama’s mother was only 18 when Obama was born, which means though she had been a U.S. citizen for 10 years, (or citizen perhaps because of Hawai’i being a territory) the mother fails the test for being so for at least 5 years **prior to** Barack Obama’s birth, but *after* age 16. It doesn’t matter *after* . In essence, she was not old enough to qualify her son for automatic U.S. citizenship. At most, there were only 2 years elapsed since his mother turned 16 at the time of Barack Obama’s birth when she was 18 in Hawai’i. His mother would have needed to have been 16+5= 21 years old, at the time of Barack Obama’s birth for him to have been a natural-born citizen. As aforementioned, she was a young college student at the time and was not. Barack Obama was already 3 years old at that time his mother would have needed to have waited to have him as the only U.S. citizen parent. Obama instead should have been naturalized, but even then, that would still disqualify him from holding the office.
*** Naturalized citizens are ineligible to hold the office of President. *** Though Barack Obama was sent back to Hawaii at age 10, all the other info does not matter because his mother is the one who needed to have been a U.S. citizen for 10 years prior to his birth on August 4, 1961, with 5 of those years being after age 16. Further, Obama may have had to have remained in the country for some time to protect any citizenship he would have had, rather than living in Indonesia. Now you can see why Obama’s aides stopped his speech about how we technically have more than 50 states, because it would have led to this discovery. This is very clear cut and a blaring violation of U.S. election law.
When the actors who man the “news” desk at Fox Noise Channel speak the truth it MUST be blatantly obvious. They looked genuinely embarrassed about FlipFlop McCain’s performance compared to President Obama’s!
Wasn’t FlipFlop McCain born in Panama? That combined with his actions giving up the names and locations of troops in Viet Nam to avoid torture makes me certain he’s not eligible to sit in the White House!
ByeBye–
McCain was born to 2 US citizen parents.
Ohhh, and what branch of the military did O-blah-blah serve in???
NONE!!
Nice try at deflecting from the legal issue at hand….NO SALE!
Piper:
Every reason you espouse why Republicans are better is contrary to the political reality of today.
Smaller government? Republicans have created the largest government in history.
Fiscal responsibility? Bush & the Republicans borrowed $5 TRILLION dollars since 2001 that MUST be REPAID with INTEREST to countries like China, S. Korea and Japan. Reagan took us from being the largest lending nation on the planet in 1980 to the largest debtor nation on the planet by the end of his 2nd term. Bush 41 left us with a a record federal deficit (at the time now his retarded son set a new record.) President Clinton was the ONLY sitting president to ever reduce the national debt and wiped out the Republican created federal deficit and gave us a surplus larger than the previous deficit!!!!!!!!!!
Our military is in disrepair, Republicans continuously vote against veteran causes.
Our reputation around the world is shit. Even Tony Blair’s wife admitted they had a sick feeling in their gut when Bush was elected in 2000.
Every honest and objective person knows that Republicans cannot lead our military, our nation and surely cannot be the leaders of the free world, as Democrats have always demonstrated.
We won two wars in Europe and the Pacific, you guys can’t kill a 6’4″ Arab with a kidney machine in tow, and you’ve FAILED in Iraq. How many generals have said so much? Generals who’ve commanded in Iraq!!!
Yeah, I keep my identity to myself. And I will continue to do so. I don’t trust the bitter wing-nuts in this world. But, I’m willing to meet you for a bite of lunch just like I’ve done with Puddybud and PacMan.
I get to Seattle and Bellevue 3-4 times a week so it would be easy to set up.
Piper:
BTW, nothing about serving our nation or being a patriot is foreign to me. I’m tattooed red white and blue (literally) and American Bald Eagle flying high and proud with Old Glory clutched in his talons going forward with pride, just like the patch on a soldiers right shoulder – if you know what I mean.
When you swear your life and allegiance to our nation and the constitution and fulfill that pledge you’ll be on par with me and not vicariously through someone else. Know what I mean?
GBS–
Let me know if you & Piper set up a lunch.
I have lots of good friends that I disagree with politically.
For many years, I met these friends for breakfast nearly every day…..I was pretty much the only Conservative with the exception of a Goldwater Democrat. The only qualification in joining is us that you had to be able to talk and listen at the same time!!
We had plenty of knock down, drag out battles of words & ideas. Pretty much every time, we ended by shaking hands….NO MAN HUGGING THOUGH!!!!!!!!!!
GBS, I have followed your arguments for quite some time now. You are very similar to those friends. Lunch would be enjoyable.
Let’s see – Cynical’s position is that FlipFlop McCain somehow has more standing because he was a traitor who gave up names and troop strength numbers to the VC while President Obama didn’t serve. I’ll take a guy who didn’t serve over a traitor any day.
And service is no benchmark for your side Cynical. You’re okay with many prominent GOP politicians like VP WHATADICK Cheney who didn’t serve. Can’t have it both ways. And there is no legal issue. President Obama is a US citizen. Talk about deflection.
Your ONLY hope here is to get the best candidate kicked off the ticket for some BS reason because you know in your heart FlipFlop McCain could NEVER EVER win on the issues.
Man it must suck to be a republican these days.
@51…GBS…
I had a detailed response to your post, including taking you up on your invite, but because I included two links to news items, it got hosed.
An aside to Goldy – this is getting to be a chronic problem for those who wish to buttress arguments with data – any way around it???
– Our military is not in disrepair. Stretched thin sometimes and working harder and more dangerously than we would like, but soldiers and Marines believe they’re up to the task, and they both bristle at and are offended by allegations that they are in disrepair.
Read Michael Yon’s blog to hear what they say.
– During WW II, we never caught that paper hangin’ SOB either. The war isn’t about killing a man, it’s about destroying an ideology and movement, which will entail the killing of many, many men.
Still, the effort to capture or kill you-know-who continues. Unfortunately, those who complain the loudest about unsuccessful efforts to date have the least to offer in terms of alternatives and the price we’d have to pay to exercise them.
Interesting that Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, the mastermind behind 9/11 and man probably more responsible for it than Osama bin Laden, has been in custody for several years and is now on trial before a military commission where he is begging for martyrdom. Happy to comply.
– What Cherie Blair thinks of the Bush Administration is irrelevent. We spend too much time worrying about what others think of us, and they spend no time at all worrying about what we think of them.
Since when should the policies and security of the U.S. be subject to popularity polls? And if things are that bad, why the election of pro-American governments in France and Italy?
– From Reuters 6/1/08 I read that, while it’s still a tough fight, U.S. troop deaths are at their lowest level since the war began, Iraqi oil production is at its highest level since the war began, overall violence in Iraq is at a four-year low, and credit is given the surge for these results.
Generals who fail does not mean the U.S. is a failure. It took Lincoln a few years and several generals before he found U.S. Grant, and now in David Petraeus it looks as though we have a winner.
– Every honest and objective person, etc., does not so believe. How can you say that when you haven’t met and asked every honest and objective person? Such a claim is presumptuous on your part.
– Certainly, I think that many in the GOP have turned their back on its core values in an attempt to pander to voters. Activists, of which I’m one, call them RINOs – Republicans in Name Only – and we hold them in contempt. There are too many in elective office, of that you can be sure.
Democrats controlled the purse strings during the administration of Ronaldus Magnus Reaganus, and they drove domestic spending, which he sought to hold the line on or cut, through the roof even as they fought him on other, more important priorities that history has since vindicated him on.
– From the U.K. – Telegraph.co.uk 6/2/08 – I read that the Taliban are on the brink of defeat.
Curious as to why this bit of news and the earlier referenced good news from Iraq hasn’t received much play from the MSM, especially NBC and MSNBC, let alone among the HA Happy Hooligans?
Again, happy to take you up on your offer – coffee or a cheap lunch (Since I work out of my home, I have no big corporate expense account) at your convenience. You can find my email address on my website.
Having disagreements doesn’t require being disagreable.
The Piper