Friday, January 24, 2020

IN MEMORY OF MY BROTHER * CELEBRITIES GONE WILD

IN LOVING MEMORY OF PAUL

One day a couple of years after my brother's death, I was looking at a picture of him as a little boy, the age of 4, playing the piano. In the photo, his hands were on the keyboard, but his head was turned, smiling back at me as the flash went off. He wore a little bowtie and vest, his legs, unable to reach the floor, were dangling from the piano bench. A certain Jackson Browne played through my mind.

My heart was broken all over again staring at the picture. It’s one thing to lose a grown-up brother, and another to see a picture of that brother as a child, with all the potential there – a moment captured when we didn’t know his fragile life would end in tragedy. It’s a strange feeling to see a photograph of a deceased loved one as a child — in his innocence, before life got the best of him, before he lost his way. His life was over way too soon. In a weird way, he’s gone on and found out what none of us here can ever really know.

Everyday in the news I am astounded at how cavalierly the media reports mass shootings, murders and forensic files. Even the show CSI is too casual about it. So much death everywhere. We hardly stop to imagine the pain the families are going through. Until you’ve seen death up close, you cannot imagine it.

That day I left the room and left the picture on my desk as I went looking for some Kleenex to wipe my tears. As I reentered the room, I caught my own 3-year old son Jack picking up this picture off the floor. He didn’t know I was watching him, but I heard him say, “Poor little angel, poor little angel.” This was so eerie I still cannot believe it. Three days after Paul’s death, the toddler pointed at a photo of his uncle and said “Paul happy!”

Paul was always the fragile broken child in our family. I heard a therapist once say that in every family there is the broken person – the “designated problem.” We all seemed stronger than he was. When my brother was 8-years-old, his one and only friend, Carl, from another school — was taken out in the desert and shot to death by his father, who then turned the gun on himself and his youngest son as well. In those days, these kinds of killings were rare.

CELEBRITIES GONE WILD
Through the years, whenever I hear about celebrities-gone-wild like Britney Spears, Danny Devito, Paris Hilton, Michael Richards, Courtney Love, Robert Downey Jr. — I always thank God that I never had to go through such a public humiliation, and especially that I have never lost custody of my child. My crash and burn was a private one. Or at least I thought so at the time. It turns out I publicly embarrassed myself in quiet neighborhoods all over New York, Beirut, Monte Carlo, Milwaukee —okay the whole world — in those wild animal days. There was that time with Tom Hanks on tour to promote our ABC shows Bosom Buddies and Too Close For Comfort .... oops, not here, nevermind.. Then there was the trip to London when Princess Di's billionaire, Dodi Fayed, locked me in a bank vault that doubled as a hideaway above Harrod’s. All I remember was guzzling champagne while screaming “Let me out! I have an audition for Dance Fever tomorrow!”

The only place I may have been remotely dignified was in Beirut, when I visited the Marines on a USO tour to the Middle East. If you call losing your high heel out of a helicopter over the Dead Sea as dignified. Or screaming in the Athens airport thinking a bomb was going off, when in fact people were just just ducking to pick up their luggage.

My fall from grace was not as civilized as I remember it. I wasn’t breaking windows or wandering into houses and sleeping in stranger’s beds ... but I did just about everything else. EXCEPT WHAT BRITNEY SPEARS DID YESTERDAY!
Sheesh...!! What kind of role model is this for young mothers?

Now I know that great accomplishments are often the quieter moments of overcoming self, and not always broadcast on the news.

"When you get into a tight place and everything goes against you, till it seems as though you could not hang on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the place and time that the tide will turn." Harriet Beecher Stowe

From 2010:  A rather revealing article just came out SHOT GUN LYDIA CORNELL written by Michael Sutton, an amazing journalist (one who doesn't twist or sensationalize the truth. This is Part One of a 3-part story that will be a feature in a larger magazine on the stands. This was a little scary, as I've never revealed the whole wretched story before, but I guess now it's time... Part 2 deals with the trilogy of books I have coming out. Thanks.

Sunday, December 3 at 3 p.m. PST I'll be on  BARRY GORDON FROM LEFT FIELD one of the BEST live-call-in talk shows on radio! From the website: "On December 3, Barry and Ellen's guests will be several extraordinary American women: congresswoman Elizabeth Holtzman, former ambassador Swanee Hunt, daughter of legendary oil magnate H. L. Hunt, Arianna Huffington and actress/writer/activist Lydia Cornell."

All that plus your chance to call in and join in the conversation, at 1-800-809-0802. "Barry Gordon From Left Field" ... it's a whole new ballgame!

I have an article in the upcoming issue of PERSPECTIVE on LABOR (Dec. 6) and will have a monthly column in the Kokomo Perspective staring in January.

Let's support the men and women who are giving and sacrificing so much by contributing a little of our time to give them a nice surprise. Most of us have day jobs, but perhaps you are between projects. Scroll down for details.

  • PROJECT HOLLYWOODCARES.ORG
  • 498 comments:

    1. Congrats and thanks for the ammo. (Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.)

      ReplyDelete
    2. Fibbing Fascist said "I support the U.S. military. I don't support former military types or anyone else who rips the military or tries to weaken it by calling for the draft. In Mike's toy mind that somehow represents hypocrisy."

      Show me one example of where Clif EVER ripped the military you lying hippocrite he may have criticized Bush and Rummy and the failed policies they employed as have much of the courageous military themself.

      Your next statement "CLEARLY" illustrates your hippocrissy for all:

      FF said "Trying to claim that your opponent is anti-military, because he criticized a specific person who served in the military, is laughably absurd."

      So let me see O king of hippocrissy you say that trying to claim your oppenent is anti-military, because he criticized a specific person who served in the military, is laughably absurd........yet a mere 2 paragraphs earlier you critize Clif for doing the same thing......oops sorry the people Clif criticized were pretty much too gutless to serve during a war.

      So I take it YOU are against freedom of speech UNLESS it is what YOU want to hear and agrees with your political views by your standards only "YOU" get to criticize people aye foole you support double standards and hippocrissy and despise personal freedom you are a fool with no honor or integrity FF!

      ReplyDelete
    3. FF said "Serving in the military is honorable. However it does not represent an excuse for anything someone does after leaving the military. It didn't help mcveigh and it won't help kerry."

      Getting desperate and trying to change the subject aye old man. What does Mcveigh a terrorist and nut case and kerry a failed and flawed presidential candidate have to do with Rusty Wishing a soldier currently in Iraq and a Vet to be dead and calling them stupid saying he wants to screw their wives and beat them up etc........

      you are a desperate pathetic fool with NO honor or integrity and until you retract your hippocritical bogus statement and apologize I will have no respect for you and show you no respect any one who supports a veteran being slandered and slimed and is against freedom of speech is a fool and an enmemy of democracy........disagreeing with someone is one thing and thats fine but Wishing a soldier currently in Iraq and a Vet to be dead and calling them stupid saying he wants to screw their wives and beat them up etc is quite another.

      you lied and misrepresented the truth by implying Clif constantly criticizes the military when that isnt true, then youstate YOU have the right to do that which you falsely decry him for doing.

      ReplyDelete
    4. Worf said "So once a man has served his country, then your so called support, ceases?

      So this support is kind of a "what have you done for me lately" kind of thing?"

      FF's motto is let them die and decrease the surplus population so I can keep my tax cuts............he thinks like Rusty that the soldiers are only good for one thing and thats dying to enrich the elite but he's too gutless to admit it.

      ReplyDelete
    5. Maybe Freedom Fraud will run away with his tail between his legs for another few months like he does EVERY time he gets outed for the hippocrite and fraud he truly is!

      ReplyDelete
    6. Isnt about time for shackleturd to come in here and save you Ff by distracting with his slime slander and name calling which YOU support and and condone as long as its directed at those who dont think like you politically.

      YOU HAVE NO HONOR OR INTEGRITY FF YOU ONLY PRETEND TO!

      ReplyDelete
    7. Wanna know why so many companies are going private all of the sudden read this, it looks like all of the greedy CEO's and execs dont want to be told they cant grab and steal more of the pie at shareholder and worker expense.

      The coming crackdown on CEOs
      When Democrats take control of Congress in January, Rep. Barney Frank will set the agenda on policies that affect public companies. He's pushing for extraordinary reforms and supersized shareholder power -- including say over executive pay.

      Democrats want to bring democracy to the boardroom. And -- more bad news for CEOs -- to the corner office.

      After six years in which Republicans have run the show in Washington -- and during which CEO salaries have climbed 209% -- Democrats in Congress see executive-compensation reform as one way of flexing their populist muscles. Their goal is to give shareholders more say in how corporations are run and, more specifically, how top executives are paid.
      In what would be a major power shift inside corporations, Frank hopes to give shareholders an absolute right to reject bloated compensation -- everything from salaries, bonuses, options and huge pensions to private use of the corporate jet. Frank says change is sorely needed because boards are too often stacked with management cronies who fail at their assigned task of looking out for shareholders.

      "Boards of directors cannot be relied on because too many are themselves CEOs or they have been hand-picked by CEOs," says Frank, who spoke with me earlier this week. "Directors can do some things well. But being a check on CEOs is not one of them."

      http://articles.moneycentral
      .msn.com/Investing/CompanyFocus/
      TheComingCrackdownOnCEOs.aspx

      ReplyDelete
    8. I think the Fibbing Fascist smashed his keyboard again !

      ReplyDelete
    9. Worf said "I think CompUSA is having a special on keyboards.

      He should buy a case of them."

      Sounds like a plan then the hippocritical Foole can pat him self on the back and tell himself that he is a brave patriot supporting the economy.

      ReplyDelete
    10. Ever notice all the people that CLAIM to be brave and claim to be patriots are really neither.................truly brave and/or selfless people dont need to broadcast it and toot their own horn its obvious.

      its only the pretend psuedo wanna be brave keyboard commandos that think they are are brave tough guy patriots while hiding behind their keyboards lusting for war and death that feel the need to tell people how brave and tough they are.

      just look at GWB its the napolean complex that fool loves intimidating people and having people bow and cowtow to him but when it was his time to serve during a war he wasnt so brave he ACTS all tough but i bet the puss has never been in a fight in his life typical repug, all show and no go!

      ReplyDelete
    11. Anonymous12:15 PM

      Great article over at Shotgun. I can hardly wait for the next chapter of it. (I want to know what happened)

      When does it come out?

      ReplyDelete
    12. Repug hippocrissy knows no bounds, kinda like all the un married childless people like Coulter promoting marriage or family values or Mark Foley being an advocate for protecting children from sexual predators....................................or Fibbing Fascist "CLAIMING" to support our soldiers and vets and freedom of speech but really only supporting those soldiers currently serving who think like him and agree with him politically and those who dont...............he doesnt believe in their freedom of speech or in defending their honor or supporting them.

      TYPICAL REPUG HIPPOCRITES!

      ReplyDelete
    13. Hey Dolty Boy you can play with the FOOLES nose now son.....enjoy.

      ReplyDelete
    14. mikey, thanks for the boring, redundant, cut-and-paste, non-sequitur drivel from the previous thread. Give it up; ya lost boy; move on.

      ReplyDelete
    15. Did you just read it Worf, I said the same thing yesterday and asked anyone if they had read it.

      ITS A GREAT ARTICLE!! i'm looking forward to parts 2 and 3.

      ReplyDelete
    16. This describes the FOOLE to a TEE;

      A woman, in a hot air balloon, realized she was lost. She lowered her altitude, and spotted a man in a boat below. She shouted to him, "Excuse me. Can you help me? I promised a friend I would meet him an hour ago. But, I don't know where I am."

      The man consulted his portable GPS, and replied, "You're in a hot air balloon, approximately 30 feet above a ground elevation of 2346 feet above sea level. You are at 11 degrees, 14.97 minutes North latitude, and 100 degrees, 49.09 minutes West longitude.

      She rolled her eyes, and said, "You must be a Democrat."

      "I am," replied the man. "How did you know?"


      "Well," answered the balloonist, "everything you told me is technically correct. But, I have no idea what to do with your information. And, I am still lost. Frankly, you have not been much help to me."

      The man smiled, and responded, "You must be a Republican."

      "I am!" replied the balloonist. "How did you know?"

      "Well...," said the man, "You do not know where you are, or where you are going. You have risen to where you are, due to a large quantity of hot air. You made a promise that you have no idea how to keep. And, now you expect me to solve your problem. You are in exactly the same position you were in before we met. But somehow, now it's all my fault.

      ReplyDelete
    17. The Foole being the STUPID rewpug in the balloon that is, he is NOT smart enough to be anything but a stupid repug

      ReplyDelete
    18. No old man you lost and ran away with your tail between your legs AS USUAL and i'm not going to let off until you admit your hippocrissy and apologize to Clif.

      YOU HAVE NO HONOR OR INTEGRITY and you'll get NO RESPECT FROM ME TILL YOU MAN UP AND ADMIT YOU WERE WRONG.

      whats tha matter not to gutless and small minded to admit you were wrong are ya Fibbing Fascist?

      ReplyDelete
    19. kinda like when FF places more value and reverence in a piece of cloth known as the American Flag rather than the Freedom that piece of cloth symbolizes.

      or when GWB swears to defend, honor and uphold the Constitution then spits on all the freedoms and liberties the US Constitution symbolizes and refers to it as "a goddamn piece of paper".........so much for his oath to defend honor and uphold it Aye Hippocritical Fascist Fan?

      ReplyDelete
    20. BTW son you have YET to apologize for accepting a limpwristed halfassed apology JUST to you, and NOW all the troops and vets of this country, you are a HYPOCRITE no matter how somebody spells it FOOLE.

      ReplyDelete
    21. FF: What do you mean by "thanks for the ammo?"

      ReplyDelete
    22. And you just ANOTHER gutless repug who hid in the reserves to pad a resume, and CUT out as early as he could, YOU DID NOT SERVE A FULL 20 did you son, you never even intended to did you son?

      ReplyDelete
    23. The Foole being the STUPID rewpug in the balloon that is, he is NOT smart enough to be anything but a stupid repug
      -cliffy

      Hey Wunderboy, I realize you are kinda miffed from having your ass handed to you in every debate, but Jaysus how many more times are ya gonna post that stoopid joke?

      ReplyDelete
    24. I knew you talked out of both sides of your mouth like a typical repug pops..............you sir have no honor and you CLEARLY showed that last night when you didnt stand up for Clif or all soldiers honor............as long as rusty wasnt talking about YOU or your friends and family its ok to slime soldiers and our military......Marcus is over there putting his life on the line every day and Rusty called him stupid and wished him dead if that sack of shit ever did that in front of me it would be spitting teeth instead of what it usually spits and swallows, although for Rusty having no teeth might just get him a promotion and lead to career advancement with his Neo Con Masters.

      ReplyDelete
    25. BTW son did you really want medical service officer, which means hospital administrator in civilian life, or were you so far down on the list of Cadets in your class, that was all they had left?

      ReplyDelete
    26. Son you have NEVER handed me anything, but gutless if you really want to try, let me know son.

      ReplyDelete
    27. Anonymous12:25 PM

      FF, what ammo?

      You intend on using Lydia's past against her somehow?

      Good luck.

      We all partied in the 80's punk.

      Except for tight asses like you.

      ReplyDelete
    28. FF: What do you mean by "thanks for the ammo?"
      -Lydia Cornell

      Okay you caught me. I was trying to be first without having read the article. No ammo there. Ammo-less. But I'm sure cliffy, carl and mikey will oblige.

      ReplyDelete
    29. BTW foole did YOU ask for active duty, or did you ask to HIDE out in the reserves?

      In asked for active duty, and asked for EOD.

      ReplyDelete
    30. Come on son, DID you ask for active duty to serve your country?

      ReplyDelete
    31. Or did you really want to hide out in the reserves?

      ReplyDelete
    32. Damn cliffy how much longer are ya gonna milk your military service for kudos? What an insecure tyke.

      ReplyDelete
    33. Sure FF You got caught with your foot in your mouth so instead of being a man you run away like a gutless coward and fail to respond.

      I'm tired of your hippocrissy and cowardly support of pieces of human trash like rusty slandering our soldiers and vets and wishing them dead.

      you try to subtly cheer them on from the sidelines and deny them their voice and freedom of speech with your support of foul trolls and clear and blatent lies like your claim that clif slanders the military.

      You have no honor or integrity and you'll get NO respect from me till you act like a man not a lying troll and spewer of propaganda to deceive for political advantage.

      ReplyDelete
    34. I'm not milking anything son, just asking YOU a question you have yet to answer.

      Nice attempt at ignoring the question son.

      ReplyDelete
    35. Anonymous12:33 PM

      Freedom Fan said...
      Damn cliffy how much longer are ya gonna milk your military service for kudos? What an insecure tyke.


      What he's doing inbred, is pointing out your hypocrisy, and cowardice.

      Sorry it bothers you as much as it apparently does.

      ReplyDelete
    36. Why NOT just answer a simple question, DID you request active Duty on your accession packet son?

      ReplyDelete
    37. He's a hippocrite and a fool he wont answer he doesnt have the guts, he's not a man just a lying troll with no honor or integrity!

      ReplyDelete
    38. and did you get your FIRST choice for the branch you requested?

      I got both.

      ReplyDelete
    39. Anonymous12:34 PM

      13 years is a significant portion of a persons adult life.

      What did you do again?

      Oh yea. You went in on the weekends and played war games.

      ReplyDelete
    40. In fact son I will tell you the three branches I requested in order son

      1. Ordinance..EOD volunteer

      2. Medical evac Pilot.

      3. Engineer

      What were yours son?

      ReplyDelete
    41. Mikey thanks for the non-sensical attempts at ad hominem.

      You are a boring, repetitive, spelllinhgg-cchallenggedd, ankle-biting poodle-boy with a toy brain apparently stuck in an endless-loop.

      So nernee. nernee. nernee.

      ReplyDelete
    42. Mike, I had to delete that post because it took up too much space, being vertical.
      sorry.

      ReplyDelete
    43. Ok FF How do you like a perfect illustration of your hippocrissy being right at the top of the thread for all to see for a very long time.

      ENJOY Hippocritical Fan!

      ReplyDelete
    44. Mike, you can repost it horizontally.

      And thank you for your kind comments about the article. You too Worf.

      ReplyDelete
    45. Come on foole we would like to know if YOU asked for active duty, and if you asked for something besides medical service?

      ReplyDelete
    46. The spelling in this post makes me think the Army wanted you in the place you could do the least damage..

      The Foole said;

      You are a boring, repetitive, spelllinhgg-cchallenggedd, ankle-biting poodle-boy with a toy brain apparently stuck in an endless-loop.

      So nernee. nernee. nernee.

      ReplyDelete
    47. and in a medical service company surrounded by real doctors who out rank you reporting to the HOSPITAL commander would mean there were MANY higher ranking officers to keep you in check.

      ReplyDelete
    48. Why NOT just answer a simple question, DID you request active Duty on your accession packet son?
      -cliffy

      I ain't playing your silly game pops. It's irrelevant. What's relevant is what we do today.

      What did you do today? Proly ride around on your motorbike and blog all day while you claim "disability" and collect a government check like a lazy barnacle.

      ReplyDelete
    49. Gutless to the end eh son?

      ReplyDelete
    50. BTW son I did not claim disability, the army sent me to the hospital and the doctors declared it, remember the doctors, those were the officers who KNEW what they were doing telling you to get out of their way.

      ReplyDelete
    51. And I requested title 31 retraining from the VA, the doctors there have not signed off on it, but declared me in the 100% permanently disabled.

      It is doctors who make that determination son, NOT ME.

      ReplyDelete
    52. Anonymous12:51 PM

      And where were you FF in 1991? Why didn't you get into the fight?

      Hell even I tried to enlist in 1991. I believed in and wanted to serve in the Gulf war. I went down to the local recruiting office (I was out west at the time) and tried to enlist Army and then in the Marines, but I was just too old. They told me that they had enough people and they just weren't taking anyone over the cutoff age.

      But I did fill out the papers first, and I was ready to go. I had put all my affairs in order (didn't have many, a motorcycle and my rock climbing gear, LOL), and basically signed my life away. They just didn't want it.

      I believed in the first Gulf War. In fact, I was never so proud to be an American. We were liberating a country from an invading army, and the whole world followed our lead.


      Now FF will come in and insult me and all for posting that, but its nonetheless true. Its the only time other than when I was 17 that I tried to enlist. (when I was 17 I was a dropout, and in the late 70's they weren't taking dropouts, least not in my town).

      ReplyDelete
    53. But continue to indirectly slander vets who actually served their country in combat and do not agree with your ignorant political position of twisted Christian values and greed for you above others son.

      ReplyDelete
    54. Yea FOOLE you would have NOT finished your 20 year service to the country by 1990, so WHY were you NOT there son?

      Cut and ran from the reserves before a full 20 years eh son?

      ReplyDelete
    55. Anonymous12:54 PM

      Freedom Fan said...
      collect a government check like a lazy barnacle.


      The right wings respect for disabled Veterans is simply overwhelming.

      ReplyDelete
    56. Freedom Fan said...
      Why NOT just answer a simple question, DID you request active Duty on your accession packet son?
      -cliffy

      I ain't playing your silly game pops. It's irrelevant. What's relevant is what we do today.


      So it's relevant, then, that I kicked your butt all over cyberspace today.

      Glad to know I made a difference in your life!

      ReplyDelete
    57. Poor Prof. Chaos...

      Ran out of myths from 13 years ago, so now you have to go find some more current ones, huh?

      ReplyDelete
    58. Anonymous12:57 PM

      Let me expalin something to you FF.

      Our troops are in harms way. Right now, one of the most important and pertinant voices in this blog, is Clifs. He served in combat, disabled explosive devices, and has been to Iraq.

      Considering the nature of the blog, (i.e political discussions on the war in Iraq) no voice could be more important than those who have actually seen combat, and who have been to Iraq. Marcus is currently there, and you and your pals insult him too.

      It is clear who the real patriots are here, and you sir, are not among them.

      ReplyDelete
    59. Freedom Fan said...
      I support the U.S. military. I don't support former military types or anyone else who rips the military or tries to weaken it by calling for the draft.



      Are you calling the fighting force that won World War II "weak"? FawnBoy, you really put your foot in it this time.

      ReplyDelete
    60. Freedom Fan said...
      I see, so you really didn't spew a blatant lie, but rather you were attempting to trap "stupid FReepers". You are a clever fellow indeed.



      Excuse me, FawnBoy, but unlike you, I labelled it as "bullshit" right up front. It's not my fault you're too stupid to read properly.

      Since when is it MY reponsibility to protect you from yourself? Since when did YOU become a liberal?

      ReplyDelete
    61. clif said...
      The spelling in this post makes me think the Army wanted you in the place you could do the least damage..


      The White House?

      Dubya! It IS you! I knew there couldn't be two people this stupid in America!

      ReplyDelete
    62. The right wings respect for disabled Veterans is simply overwhelming.
      -worf

      Yes it is. However we have no respect for whining. In cliffy's case he has a doctor's note to coast the rest of his life with his snout in the government trough.

      If he is able to ride motorbikes and blog then he has marketable skills.

      I'm pretty sure he could qualify for some kinda job...proly paper hat-related.

      ReplyDelete
    63. Concerning the study citing the propensity for those with psychosis to vote or Support the current pResident: It only makes sense. A confused sense of right and wrong, self centered world view, paranoia. I think it's all coming together now.

      ReplyDelete
    64. Freedom Fan said...
      I'm pretty sure he could qualify for some kinda job...proly paper hat-related.


      Well, you did get fired from KFC yesterday, so there's at least one opening available.

      ReplyDelete
    65. Yes. A much higher percentage of college grads also vote Republican. What losers, eh?

      ReplyDelete
    66. I guess Cheney and Bush and Delay and Clinton and many others just avoided the draft because they didnt want to ruin the military with their service.
      That's far fetched but I'll buy it...NOT.

      ReplyDelete
    67. Anonymous1:06 PM

      Far from the Front Fan said...

      It's irrelevant. What's relevant is what we do today.


      I hope Marcus, and ever soldier currently serving in harms way sees this statement.

      Because this statement demonstrates the right wings clear lack of love or support for anyone serving in combat.

      To Dick Winters, and the members of the 506th who took the guns at Normandy. To the brave 3rd Armoured Division, who fought bloody tank battles all the way to Berlin. To every soldier who died on the shores of Iwo Jima.

      What you did in those days, has now been dubbed, "irrelevant", but the republican patriots of America, who fight the war in Iraq, from the comfort of their stateside armchairs.

      God bless these great new heroes.

      ReplyDelete
    68. Freedom Fan said...
      Yes. A much higher percentage of college grads also vote Republican. What losers, eh?


      So you're saying that people without college degrees are losers, FawnBoy? All 201,000,000 of them?

      By the way, college graduation rates in the US are lower than any other developed nation...

      ReplyDelete
    69. Worfeus the FOOLE can not answer my questions here with out him getting called out on his blatent choices.

      He can not admit he wanted to be in the reserves instead of asking for active duty.

      It makes him look just like Bush and Quayle, and not as brave as al Gore who went on active duty as a senators son, and served in Vietnam, John Kerry who did over a year in Vietnam, or Charlie Rangle who fought in the same war as my Dad, KOREA.

      Medical service is serving inside a hospital..safe far far from the fighting.

      after 4 years of ROTC he would know that, and especially telling is his refusal to tell u7s what he requested for a branch, because HE knows I can decipher what each branch does.

      Gung Ho types want Infantry, armour or attack helicopter.

      I wanted to play with explosives, hence EOD or Engineer, but added Medivac Pilot, because I was too old at the time for apache pilot.

      Learning to fly a helicopter, would have been fulfilling, especially knowing I was helping to save lives.

      ReplyDelete
    70. TomPaine said...
      I guess Cheney and Bush and Delay and Clinton and many others just avoided the draft because they didnt want to ruin the military with their service.


      Or they didn't want to integrate the armed forces, take your pick.

      ReplyDelete
    71. Since when is it MY reponsibility to protect you from yourself?
      -kkkarl

      Hey you were caught with your pants down, like your buddy slick willie, exposed in a transparent lie.

      Give it up boy. Go back to your lib echo chambers where you may have a chance.

      ReplyDelete
    72. Freedom Fan said...
      Since when is it MY reponsibility to protect you from yourself?
      -kkkarl

      Hey you were caught with your pants down, like your buddy slick willie, exposed in a transparent lie.


      Nope. I caught you in your own lie. YOU believed that I posted a legitimate story. That's not my problem, despite all your thumb sucking.

      Did it hurt, FawnBoy? There's more yet to come...

      ReplyDelete
    73. Freedom Fan said...
      I support the U.S. military. I don't support former military types or anyone else who rips the military or tries to weaken it by calling for the draft.



      Are you calling the fighting force that won World War II "weak"? FawnBoy, you really put your foot in it this time.

      ReplyDelete
    74. Freedom Fan said...
      Yes. A much higher percentage of college grads also vote Republican. What losers, eh?


      College degrees dont mean you're intelligent; just means you had enough money to go to college for four years and buy a piece of paper. Apparently a Yale Undergraduate degree and Harvard Business Graduate Degree doesn't help in logic and decision making.

      ReplyDelete
    75. So lemme see...we have FawnBoy here who believes that anyone who is not a college graduate and is too stupid to avoid the draft is a worthless piece of crap who ought not to voice an opinion on anything in America.

      Ain't life grand?

      ReplyDelete
    76. The Fawn as Carl calls him can NOT admit he ran from what Marcus..KNOWING a war was happening did, ask for active duty, knowing he could be called upon to GO.

      ReplyDelete
    77. Anonymous1:12 PM

      Of course he thinks anyone without a College degree is a loser.

      He is from the pompous upper crust class. Guys like him don't understnad blue collar, and don't know what its like not to have mummy and daddy to pay for them to engage in drinking games at Yale.

      Guys like him don't know what its like to start with nothing. They've always had plenty. Screw the rest of planet. Serfs, all of them.

      ReplyDelete
    78. The fawn does not want to admit he took the Bush-Quayle route to avoid all that.

      ReplyDelete
    79. Worf,

      I'm upper crust. I'm about as WASPy as they come. In fact, I'm probably MORE WASPy than the Bush family, what with the miscegenation that Jeb has pulled off...

      FawnBoy isn't even close to being an elite. He probably dips into capital to pay his taxes!

      ReplyDelete
    80. Anonymous1:15 PM

      Carl said...


      I'm upper crust. I'm about as WASPy as they come


      Really?

      Then I've got an investment deal I'd like to discuss with you...

      ReplyDelete
    81. Anonymous1:16 PM

      It involves some really great,,,er... marshland, in Florida.

      ReplyDelete
    82. BTW foole I served in the service BEFORE I went to college, just like Marcus did, THE GI bill paid for quite a bit of my education son, but you proly think vets should not get that either should they son, SINCE it was FDR who started it, and FOOLES like Reagan and Bush who attack it.

      Every Iraqi vet should be offered a college education for FREE even if YOU have to pay higher taxes for it son.

      ReplyDelete
    83. Worf,

      Talk to my investment flunky:

      George H. W. Bush
      c/o The Carlyle Group
      712 Fifth Avenue
      19th Floor
      New York, NY 10019

      The password is "Osama"

      ReplyDelete
    84. ALL the soldiers sailors airmen and Marines who served in that country or Afghanistan should be offered a chance to go to the college of their choice on every gutless repugs dime......


      In fact they should be offered their choice IN FRONT of the gutless chicken hawk repugs who hid out here safe in the good ole USA.

      ReplyDelete
    85. I hope Marcus, and ever soldier currently serving in harms way sees this statement.
      -worf

      Nice try worf. But I have already thanked Marcus for his courageous service to our country.

      What cliffy is doing is wasting the rest of his life, as he endlessly beats his chest about his military service, and whines and demeans those producers who generate the tax dollars which provide his lifeline.

      ReplyDelete
    86. There should BE a war on terra GI BILL, just like the WW2 vets had, just like the Korean vets had, Just like the Vietnam era vets had.

      If a soldier steps into a combat zone, he or she should have a free college education waiting for them when they return.

      ReplyDelete
    87. Freedom Fan said...
      I have already thanked Marcus for his courageous service to our country.


      While bachanding most of the men and women serving with him.

      ReplyDelete
    88. And IF you gutless have to pay HIGHER taxes because of that,

      TOO GOD DAMNED BAD SON.

      ReplyDelete
    89. Clif,

      With the all-volunteer army, many of them got a signing bonus and a promise of college tuition upon enlistment.

      I'd rather see them get health care for life, the kind of health care our President is provided with for his miserable existence: major medical, no deductible, and any specialist anytime he wants.

      ReplyDelete
    90. In fact the higher tax brackets which USE college to hide their children out in, and never really offered them for the service could JUST pay the way for two vets for every child who refused to serve.

      ReplyDelete
    91. Anonymous1:24 PM

      clif said...


      Every Iraqi vet should be offered a college education for FREE even if YOU have to pay higher taxes for it son.


      More than that. They should be paid for there service well. As much as the contractors are making, so when they come out, they have some real money saved to start a life (assuming that they're still alive).

      Ancient Rome thought the act of serving in the military by a Roman citizen to be so honorable, that they were set for life when a soldier retired. Homes, money, spoils, all theres. Because Rome understood that there was no Rome, without these men.

      But keep talking FF. Keep revealing the true nature of the republican, and their disdain for those whose lives they so take for granted.

      Demonstrate clearly how a solider who is suffering from PTSD, is just "WHINING".

      In fact, why don't you mosey on down to Walter Reed, pick out every soldier who is there for PTSD, and SLAP em.

      SLAP em like Patton did. Just tell them to "quit whining" and get a job.

      Please do.

      ReplyDelete
    92. Worf said...Demonstrate clearly how a solider who is suffering from PTSD, is just "WHINING".

      In fact, why don't you mosey on down to Walter Reed, pick out every soldier who is there for PTSD, and SLAP em.


      Especially the ones with no arms and no legs, who can't slap back.

      ReplyDelete
    93. Anonymous1:26 PM

      Freedom Fan said...


      Nice try worf. But I have already thanked Marcus for his courageous service to our country.



      Wow.

      You've "thanked" Marcus for his service.

      And you've "ALREADY" done that.

      Wow.

      You're a hero.

      Guess Marcus should be sending YOU a care package, huh?

      ReplyDelete
    94. Anonymous1:27 PM

      Hear that Marcus?

      You've been "THANKED" for your service.

      Don't you feel lucky?

      ReplyDelete
    95. Hey worf, don't you have a job or something to do? Oh that's right...this is it...you blog at taxpayer expense.

      ReplyDelete
    96. Anonymous1:34 PM

      Freedom Fan said...
      Hey worf, don't you have a job or something to do? Oh that's right...this is it...you blog at taxpayer expense.


      Ahh, so I AM getting to you?

      You always pull this bs out when you're getting your ass kicked.

      ReplyDelete
    97. Freedom Fan said...
      Hey worf, don't you have a job or something to do? Oh that's right...this is it...you blog at taxpayer expense.


      Gittin' a little testy there, son...maybe it's time to swap out the inner set of Depends...

      ReplyDelete
    98. Anonymous1:35 PM

      And BTW, not only do you NOT know what I do for a living, you don't know HOW I do it either.

      But I'll give you a little hint, even though its none of your f@$$kin business.

      I don't get paid by the hour.

      ReplyDelete
    99. flavius worfeus said...More than that. They should be paid for there service well. As much as the contractors are making, so when they come out, they have some real money saved to start a life (assuming that they're still alive).

      Protecting a support unit I live near some of these contractors. Everyday I hear from the soldiers whose jobs they're doing how pissed off they are over how much they make. They are doing the same thing, but they arent going out the gate on convoys risking getting blown to bits, but making 3-5 times as much as they do in salary. Unfortunately because of the dynamics of this war the civilian contractor is a necessity in order to have enough personnel to run day to day operations ie convoys to the units you support. It's either that or increase the size of the force by a couple of divisions in the army and a division in the MC.

      Pardon my shortness in the tooth but am I correct that if you got drafted during Nam you only had to do an 11 month tour in the combat zone and any combat tour after that was voluntary????

      ReplyDelete
    100. Tompaine,

      I believe that is correct. Your draft made you eligible for a one-year tour, including basic.

      ReplyDelete
    101. Tompaine,

      I believe that is correct. Your draft made you eligible for a one-year tour, including basic.

      That's crazy. I've got soldiers who are on their 30th month in Iraq out of the past 40.
      I have 5 soldiers that were supposed to get out of the military at the beginning of our deployment in January...guess where they are? That's why retention remains high. Not to mention the 30,000 and 40,000 dollar bonuses they throw at them for just 6 more years.

      ReplyDelete
    102. Reserve duty, which I believe most of the original deployed forces comprised, have a twenty year commitment, plus they come cheaper than actual Army enlistees.

      Which is why they were used by these cheap bastards: they thought they'd be in and out in no time.

      ReplyDelete
    103. Anonymous1:50 PM

      TomPaine said...


      Pardon my shortness in the tooth but am I correct that if you got drafted during Nam you only had to do an 11 month tour in the combat zone and any combat tour after that was voluntary????


      Well I was pretty young during the draft. They ended the draft in 1972 as I recall, and I was only about 14 at the time. I thought it was 2 years, 11 months combat, 13 stateside or something like that. I know my cousin enlisted because he figured he was going to get drafted and he wanted to pick what he got to do. He joined the Navy, and ended up serving overseas on the John F Kennedy (Aircraft Carrier). He was there when Bob Hope was on board.

      He did 4 years.

      My best friends older brother got drafted, and he ended up as a Medic, but he signed up for a second tour of duty and so I don't know how much of his tour was mandatory.

      ReplyDelete
    104. Anonymous1:52 PM

      TomPaine said...

      Everyday I hear from the soldiers whose jobs they're doing how pissed off they are over how much they make. They are doing the same thing, but they arent going out the gate on convoys risking getting blown to bits, but making 3-5 times as much as they do in salary.

      Its nuts!

      Just plain nuts.

      Its not like we don't have the money. We do.

      But men like Bush, Rummy, Cheney, etc, think that putting soldiers into combat, and THEN doing it on the CHEAP, is somehow a virtue.

      We have the money to pay the troops whatever we want.

      Anyone who says we don't is lying or a fool.

      Or both.

      ReplyDelete
    105. Anonymous1:55 PM

      TomPaine said...

      That's crazy. I've got soldiers who are on their 30th month in Iraq out of the past 40.


      Insane. Nuts. In Nam, the ONLY tour that was mandatory was the first.

      Why?

      Cause we were smart enough back then to know that if we start a war, we better also start a draft.

      ReplyDelete
    106. By the by, Lydia....re: Spears...

      Do you recall when Madonna announced how she was going to have a baby, we all sat there and wondered how her kids would deal with her when they were older, especially the boys?

      She turns out to be an OK, if a little flaky, mom. Yea, she still will have to explain a lot, but you know, once she had the kids, things calmed down.

      But Britney...I don't know. I just don't see her getting it. She's way too young to have two kids, and balance the whole career thing AND growing up that last bit.

      ReplyDelete
    107. Anonymous1:59 PM

      I am not even sure if this "compulsory" repeated tours are even legal. I don't know how much we expect you guys to take, but I wouldn't be surprised if you all started refusing to serve any further.

      Its time for replacements.

      No good man would force men to serve 2, 3, 4 and in some cases, even 5 tours in that hell hole you're in now. Particularly when we don't need to be there!

      The Iraqi's have had guns all their lives. They shot guns all their lives. And the fact that they can use them is made clear every day on TV.

      Anyone who thinks the Iraqi's need more training needs to call me about some really nice swampland in Florida.

      ReplyDelete
    108. Anonymous2:00 PM

      I can assure you that as soon as we leave, the Iraqi's will suddenly figure out how to take care of themselves.

      ReplyDelete
    109. Anonymous2:00 PM

      I can assure you that as soon as we leave, the Iraqi's will suddenly figure out how to take care of themselves.

      ReplyDelete
    110. Anonymous2:03 PM

      Sorry about the double post.

      Marcus. There is some good news.

      Even though on the surface Bush is talking "STAY THE COURSE", we are seeing signs that a pull out may be in the works.

      ReplyDelete
    111. WORF SAYS:

      I can assure you that as soon as we leave, the Iraqi's will suddenly figure out how to take care of themselves.

      ABSOLUTELY! The principal of detachment is a principal of Alanon. Principal is a law, and it works.

      Another beautiful way of looking at it is this:
      When things are moving toward healing, sometimes they become insanely chaotic first, as a way of clearing and cleansing.

      Or as in our wedding vows: "In the presence of true love, EVERYTHING THAT IS UNLIKE LOVE (the evil) COMES UP FOR HEALING." Arguments and fights erupt as the toxic waste on the road to healing. It may get ugly, but ultimately, if intentions are to have peace -- peace will be the result.

      But we, the USA, must take our hands off the steering wheel. We are co-dependent and very arrogant, thinking these people don't have their own higher power.

      "It's easier to wear slippers than to carpet the whole world."

      ReplyDelete
    112. Anonymous2:10 PM

      The Democrats take over in just one month. When that happens, Jim Webb is going to start kicking ass and taking names, and I have a feeling that he and Jack Murtha are going to bring you guys home.

      Webb sees the white collared Chickenhawks pushing this war, and he's sick of it. His son is over there (a fact I didn't know until yesterday) and he is no waiting for that numbskull Bush to figure things out. Webb is gonna make them cry.

      ReplyDelete
    113. Worf,

      Ultimately, I think this is why Webb won in a state he probably shouldn't have won in: partly redneck, especially back west and south, and partly beholden to the defense industries.

      He had no business running as an anti-war candidate, yet he did and he won, and I think its because people see that we need to get out of there, but we need to do all we can to make sure that Iraq will be reasonable continuous once we've left.

      ReplyDelete
    114. Worfeus, AT one time a vet who did 181 days of honorable service got VA benefits like FULL medical care, ...It was people LIKE Ronald Reagan who CUT that, and gutless punks like Bush who are trying to finish that off, BTW that was also part of FDR's GI bill, he started the VA.

      I think we need to return to PRE-Reagan era GI benefits and military benefits, which rich gutless repugs like dusty and the foole can PAY more taxes to fund.

      In fact that should be mandatory NO cuts in taxes if you have to cut active or retired vets benefits to do it.

      ReplyDelete
    115. OOPS looks like chertoff screwed up once again...

      FEMA Ordered to Resume Katrina Payments


      "Condemning the bureaucracy at the Federal Emergency Management Agency as 'Kafkaesque,' a federal judge Wednesday ordered the government to immediately resume housing payments to Gulf Coast residents who lost their homes to Hurricane Katrina.

      "Barely six months after Katrina ravaged the region, FEMA began ending payments to several thousand families still in temporary housing and unable to return to their homes.

      "U.S. District Judge Richard J. Leon said the agency had violated the evacuees' rights by not adequately explaining why it was ending the benefits, making it difficult for storm victims to appeal the decisions....

      "Leon ordered the agency to explain its actions, restore short-term benefits to evacuees who had been cut off and give them the two months of housing payments they would have received after payments finally stopped in August 2006. The ruling affects 11,000 families, mostly in Louisiana and Texas.

      "The judge cited letters from FEMA that gave contradictory explanations for decisions. He also described FEMA's practice of conveying its decisions 'cryptically … by a code or phrase' decipherable only after evacuees obtained a separate pamphlet explaining the codes."



      Go ahead FOOLE tell me again, how they are sucking off the public teat, after LOSING everything.

      ReplyDelete
    116. Alberto Gonzolas is SAYING a mistake was made when they arrested a lawyer from Oregon because they SCREWED up the finger prints...

      A mistake was made?


      The asswipe bring back Habeas corpus because that is what we use to find and correct mistakes son, other wise RESIGN as Attorney General, because your NOT qualified to be the leader of the legal defense of this o country.

      ReplyDelete
    117. It is a GOOD thing the Idiot in Chief did not declare the lawyer in Oregon an enemy combatant and DENY him his constitutional rights to defend himself from the incorrect charges they originally brought against him.

      Other wise a INNOCENT US Citizen could be sitting in Gitmo, with nobody listening to his pleas of innocence.


      Understand why Habeas corpus is SO important now fooles?

      They paid HIM 2,000,000 dollars for what they did to him even with not sending him to Gitmo and refusing him the protections of the US Constitution.


      I wonder what they will eventually have to pay thoise they did that to,

      remember Rodney King got $11,000,000.

      I wonder what the innocent in Gitmo and the illegal prisons the US ran outside the US will get?

      ReplyDelete
    118. Anonymous2:44 PM

      Carl said...

      He had no business running as an anti-war candidate


      Well, technically I think its time to toss the "anti-war" moniker back in the face of the chickenshit republicans who labled us with it.

      Webb's not "anti-war". He's anti "unjustified war".

      The difference is huge.

      ReplyDelete
    119. Great we have a general named...CUSTER ....fighting in Iraq.

      Hope he is better at leading troops than the last general named Custer was.

      ReplyDelete
    120. Anonymous2:51 PM

      You know what another very doable benefit should be for war Veterans?

      Veterans who served in foriegn wars should be EXEMPT from taxes, for the rest of their lives.

      Thats right.

      NO INCOME TAXES, and not other taxes.

      The way I see it, Taxes are a way of each citizen pulling his or her weight. Veterans who risk EVERYTHING to protect the rest of us, have already pulled their weight.

      ReplyDelete
    121. Anonymous2:53 PM

      By removing tax obligations, we would free Vets up to keeping ALL of what they earn. And we can EASILY afford to do this.

      Real easy.

      The number of Vets who serve in foriegn wars represent only a tiny fraction of our population.

      The money would never be missed.

      ReplyDelete
    122. From TPM

      It really does seem as though the cardinals of DC punditry are constitutionally incapable of believing that George W. Bush has ever -- in the real sense -- gotten anything wrong or that they, the Washington establishment, has gotten anything wrong over the last six years.

      I don't like to use such words but I can only think to call the denial and buck-passing sickening. I can't think of another word that captures the gut reaction.

      Here's the lede to Mort Kondracke's new column in Roll Call (emphasis added) ...

      All over the world, scoundrels are ascendant, rising on a tide of American weakness. It makes for a perilous future.

      President Bush bet his presidency — and America’s world leadership — on the war in Iraq. Tragically, it looks as though he bit off more than the American people were willing to chew.

      The U.S. is failing in Iraq. Bush’s policy was repudiated by the American people in the last election. And now America’s enemies and rivals are pressing their advantage, including Iran, Syria, the Taliban, Sudan, Russia and Venezuela. We have yet to hear from al-Qaida.


      Let's first take note that the blame the 'blame the American people for Bush's screw-ups' meme has definitely hit the big time. It's not Bush who bite off more than he could chew or did something incredibly stupid or screwed things up in a way that defies all imagining. Bush's 'error' here is not realizing in advance the American people wouldn't betray him as he was marching into history. The 'tragedy' is that Bush "bit off more than the American people were willing to chew." That just takes my breath away.

      Now come down to the third graf. Bush gets repudiated in the mid-term election ... "And now ..." In standard English the import of this phrasing is pretty clear: it's the repudiation of Bush's tough policies that have led to the international axis of evil states rising against us. Is he serious? The world has gone to hell in a hand basket since the election? In the last three weeks? The whole column is an open war on cause and effect.

      This is noxious, risible, fetid thinking. But there it is. That's the story they want to tell. The whole place is rotten down to the very core.
      -- Josh Marshall


      ******************************************

      So it is the American people's fault, for not allowing the Idiot in Chief to kill MORE troops and waste MORE money, or it is the Iraqi people's fault because they will just not follow Bush and the neo-cons orders well enough.

      It is any body's fault but Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and the neo-con idiots who LIED to start the war, and LIED all along about it, till it has BLOWN up in their faces?

      Right and the repugs are the party of fiscal responsibility, with their 8.6 trillion debt they raised to keep from PAYING the bills themselves.

      ReplyDelete
    123. Worf said "By removing tax obligations, we would free Vets up to keeping ALL of what they earn. And we can EASILY afford to do this.

      Real easy.

      The number of Vets who serve in foriegn wars represent only a tiny fraction of our population.

      The money would never be missed."


      Well Worf first i'll make it clear that I agree with what you are saying, I think we could use the repugs own talking point to support it...................................Since they "CLAIM" that cutting taxes stimulates the economy without cutting any tax revenues we can all be brave patriots and captitalists like them support and reward all the vets who put their lives on the line for gutless keyboard commandos like them.

      I mean by the repugs own logic its a win-win because cutting taxes is good for the economy and acually brings in more tax revenue because of the vibrant economy we could even go a step further and cut taxes to the poor and give them bigger tax breaks for college based on income and maybe the economic blessings will trickle up to the wealthy sould like a plan I mean if Tax Cuts are a win win panacea how bout we start with the most deserving who have lost out the last 6 years the veterans and the poor/lower middle class since the ultra wealthy have gotten an exponentially larger slice of the pie under GWB not even factoring in the tax cuts for the wealthy which are unprescedented during a time of war........we'll see if the benefits will trickle up to the wealthy my bet is the wealthy do just fine on their own.

      ReplyDelete
    124. Worfeus you definately will appreciate the hubris of these people...

      The Tragedy of the Catholic Neocons

      "A little error in the beginning becomes a great error in the end" (St. Thomas Aquinas)

      While the last two popes were very clear about their opposition to the Iraq war, the Catholic Neconservatives preferred to place nationalist interests and Far-Right ideology over the prudential judgements of the popes, and to use specious arguments of every sort to avoid them. Instead of heeding the prophetic papal warnings, they scowered texts, both new and ancient, and tortured logic itself for loopholes. The worst of them suggested that in so doing they were being more Catholic than those Catholics who agreed with the popes' assessment of the morality of Mr. Bush's curious and very lethal aggression, totally unrelated to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.

      Benedict, when he headed the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and thus was presumably well acquainted with Just War teachings and criteria, flatly stated "There were not sufficient reasons to unleash a war against Iraq."

      Not good enough for the war Catholics. Neocon's went to Rome to try to sell the war to the Vatican. They failed because the pope understands Catholic principles, and their applications, better than they do.

      A strictly defensive Just War teaching exists, through Pope Benedict also suggested against the proponents of war that this teaching itself is increasingly moot in our time considering the horrifying nature of modern warfare, which directly or indirectly kills many more civilians than soldiers. One study indicated only seven percent of those who die in wars in our time are soldiers.

      What is especially tragic was the cynical contention of the Catholic Neocons which said---to sum it up---popes always talk about peace, it's their job, but it is governments which must make the decisions. They mocked our allies who advised against such an unjust war of aggression based on manipulated intelligence, and using 9/11 as the excuse. (See more on the Administration's "cherry-picking" of intelligence).

      This logic about the meaninglessness of papal judgements / prudence relative to so grave a matter as war was disturbingly similar to the Progressive's attitude to papal judgements in many other areas, and it contributed to the Catholic Neocon undermining of the relevance of the papacy itself, at least in their own circles. It was so careless of the blood and suffering and deaths which must follow, and did.

      By not standing with the popes, the Catholic neocons helped bring this war about and indeed to the ghastly bloody spectacle the world is shocked by today, and which is likely only to increase terror, the more this nation is hated.

      Sadly, even now at this late hour, most of the Catholic Neocons, it seems, refuse to think with the Church which says,

      "Christ's sacrifice is a mystery of liberation that calls out to us. It is in the commitment to transform and to re-establish the dignity of man, created in the likeness and image of God, that the Eucharist assumes in life the significance it has in celebration. This dynamic movement opens up to the world: it questions the process of globalization which not infrequently increases the gap between rich countries and poor countries, it denounces the political and economic forces that dilapidate the earth's resources, it reiterates the grave requirements of distributive justice in the face of inequalities that cry out to heaven, it encourages Christians to commit themselves and to work in political life and social activity...

      Those who share in the Eucharist must commit themselves to creating peace in our world, which is marked by violence, war and, especially today, by terrorism, economic corruption and sexual exploitation.. The conditions for building true peace are the restoration of justice, reconciliation and forgiveness." The Social Dimension of the Eucharist (Pope Benedict XVI and bishops, Synod Proposition no. 48, Oct 2005, emphasis mine)...




      Again, just today in Ephesus at the Mass next to what one tradition says was the last home of Mary of Nazareth, Benedict implored in the famous words of Isaiah:

      "And He will judge between the nations, And will render decisions for many peoples; And they will hammer their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks. Nation will not lift up sword against nation, And never again will they learn war." (5:20)

      ReplyDelete
    125. FF said "I don't support former military types or anyone else who rips the military or tries to weaken it by calling for the draft"

      Open question how exactly does calling for a draft weaken the military???

      I know the repugs live in Bizarro world but where I come from it would seem that a draft would strengthen the military that their illegal "war of choice" destroyed and depleted not to mention it would make the wealthy and the repug war mongering chickenhawks man up and put their money were their mouths are and actually fight for and defend what they claim to believe in instead of being cowardly keyboard commando cheerleaders and hippocrites.

      ReplyDelete
    126. BTW Mike with a DRAFT the3 military could RE RAISE standards, no longer have to accept forme4r drug abusers or Felons as recruits, they could go back to less than 5% of category 4 recruits or even no longer have to accept category 4 people at all. It would STRENGTHEN the military in that way.

      The foole is just being intellectually dishonest as usual.

      They also could end stop loss, and resume removing people who do not make weight or fitness standards because they would just ask the next draftee to step up to the plate and SERVE full time.

      A draft would NO more weaken the military in 2006 then it did in 1861, 1941 or 1965. The Foole has no more a CLUE about really full time military service than he has about much else he spouts off about here.

      But the ONE thing a draft would DO is level the playing field to all children of all people to the same chance of service and sacrifice to all.

      BTW I would agree after a two or three year service commitment after being drafted, a free college education for everyone drafted or volunteer alike.

      And full VA benefits for lifetime

      ReplyDelete
    127. Anonymous4:04 PM

      Clif. What really bothers me is what happened to John Paul. I have strong feelings of some sort of skullduggery went on there, perhaps even murder.

      The Pope was becoming more and more outspoken against President Bush.

      Then, he suddenly died.

      Then, the Vatican elects a "WAR POPE", who just happened to be a former member of the NAZI party.

      Then, the new "WAR POPE", makes a statement clearly designed to inflame Muslim hatred towards the west.

      Of course, perhaps another one of Bush'es most public and outspoken critics could have just "up and died". He was like a million years old or something. Maybe it was just another convenient death for Mr Bush, like that of Senator Paul Wellstone, another vocal critic of the war.

      Maybe.

      But there is definately a pattern here, whether coincidental, or not.

      ReplyDelete
    128. Anonymous4:06 PM

      Clif said;

      BTW I would agree after a two or three year service commitment after being drafted, a free college education for everyone drafted or volunteer alike.

      And full VA benefits for lifetime


      And Tax exemption for veterans of foreign wars.

      ReplyDelete
    129. Worf said "Of course, perhaps another one of Bush'es most public and outspoken critics could have just "up and died". He was like a million years old or something. Maybe it was just another convenient death for Mr Bush, like that of Senator Paul Wellstone, another vocal critic of the war.

      Maybe.

      But there is definately a pattern here, whether coincidental, or not."


      kinda like the Supreme Court judges who recently either died or resigned amid death threats and controversy so GWB could stack the court with repug idealogues..........kinda like that convienient coincidence Worf???????????????????

      ReplyDelete
    130. Anonymous4:15 PM

      Yes. Exactly like those coincidences. Suddenly Rehnquist just up and dies, making room for Bush to appoint not just another justice, but a cheif Justice.

      Oconner was leaving, but apparently not fast enough, huh?

      ReplyDelete
    131. Anonymous4:15 PM

      Rememeber the "Pelican Breif" Mike?

      ReplyDelete
    132. I never saw that movie, maybe i'll rent it this weekend.....it sounds good!

      ReplyDelete
    133. Anonymous4:19 PM

      You need to see it. It will blow your mind.

      ReplyDelete
    134. BTW Keith Olbermann is gonna speak his mind to the NEWT who thinks we have too much free speech.

      Tonite

      ReplyDelete
    135. If You Were In A Room With George, What Would You Do?

      Posted by SusanUnPC

      ThinkProgress:

      At a recent private reception, President Bush asked Sen.-elect Jim Webb (D-VA), “How’s your boy?” referring to Webb’s son Jimmy, who is serving in Iraq. Webb answered, “I’d like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,” to which Bush responded, “That’s not what I asked you.” Webb “coldly” shot back, “That’s between me and my boy, Mr. President.” Webb later confessed that he was “tempted to slug” Bush.

      But today, the-rather-pompous-himself George Will charges that "Jim Webb, Democratic senator-elect from Virginia, has become a pompous poseur and an abuser of the English language before actually becoming a senator," You're a damn liar, George Will. You omitted Bush's "pissy" remark to Webb. But more about that below.

      I've been wondering how I'd have acted. I know the bile would rise up, my heartbeat would rise, and it'd be impossible to mask the look of contempt on my face.

      My daughter could tell you some stories. Like the time a man almost beat me up because I screamed at him in a big department store after he swung and hit his little girl hard on her backside. Cruelty and injustices can make me so furious, I have to speak up. Sometimes, my daughter, knowing full well I'm about to say something, will whisper, "MOM, don't!"

      But if I had to be in a room with Bush, and I knew he'd love to get a photo of him and me making friends? No way would I play nice.

      I think that Sen. Webb did the smart thing by trying to avoid Bush. Of course, immature bullies like Bush just can't stand being ignored.

      Besides, Bush's aggressive remarks to Sen. Webb were plain rude. Especially while his own two AWOL brats are making the U.S. Ambassador to Argentina tear out his hair, and Argentinian police are worried for the brats' safety.

      As Tristero at Hullabaloo blog snarked:

      Talk about stunted social skills:

      [...]

      .. I want to focus entirely on the unspeakable callousness Bush displayed here.

      Folks, political enemy or friend, that is no way - ever- for anyone to talk to the father of a kid who's in a combat zone.


      This is the same man who reminisced about his hell-raisin' during a speech at the worst natural disaster in American history. This is the same man who, when, asked to name his greatest achievement while president, "joked" that it was when he caught a large fish in his fake pond on his Crawford estate - sorry, ranch. This is the same man who, when informed that a second plane had hit the World Trade Center in less than 10 minutes, sat reading "My Pet Goat" in a children's classroom. This is the same man who, in front of a supporter who he assumed wouldn't report it, mockingly imitated a woman about to be executed in his state.

      Sickening.

      Back to the smirky, entitled George Will. Josh Marshall nails the LIE and SPIN of his column today:

      In [Will's] edited version, the President asked Webb "a civil and caring question," only to be met with "calculated rudeness."

      And at Marshall's TPM Cafe, Greg Sargent attacks Will's lies:

      George Will Distorts WaPo's Own Reporting To Smear Jim Webb

      is has to be one of the rankest displays of journalistic dishonesty I've seen in some time on the part of any columnist, large or small.

      Sargent compares Will's version of events with that reported in the Washington Post, then notes:

      See what happened? Will omitted the pissy retort from the President that provoked Webb. Will cut out the line from the President where he said: "That's not what I asked you." In Will's recounting, that instead became a sign of Bush's parental solicitiousness: "The president again asked `How's your boy?'"

      Will's change completely alters the tenor of the conversation from one in which Bush was rude first to Webb, which is what the Post's original account suggested, to one in which Webb was inexplicably rude to the President, which is how Will wanted to represent what happened.


      Sargent then writes, "Paging Howard Kurtz: Do you consider your colleague's effort journalistically acceptable? I don't. This was a really bad one." As if Howie'll bring this up on his Sunday CNN show. I predict that'll happen only if Howie can spin this further into an attack on Webb.

      George. The worse-than-ever viciousness and untruths of the Republicans' attacks on Democratic candidates were supposed to be over on November 8.

      George. How Rovian of you to try to spin a father's direct concern about conditions in Iraq into an unfair attack on the man who elected to put us in the most disastrous, destabillzing, bloody venture in over 50 years.*

      George. Jim Webb's son is a MARINE. That means he could well be in Anbar province, which the U.S. military has secretly declared an unwinnable territory, and where many young Marines like Webb's son are dying every week in a hopeless, undermanned, under-equipped mess.

      So now, my daughter will surely point out, she'll have to worry not only what I'd say if I were in a room with George Bush, but also in a room with George Will.

      Me, I'm itchin' for the chance. You?

      :::::::::

      * Bill in Portland Maine sets the historical record straight:

      George W. Bush has not led the worst military operation in history after all. A respected military historian says Emperor Augustus was worse... 2,015 years ago:

      To describe Iraq as the most foolish war of the last 2,014 years is a sweeping statement, but the writer is well qualified to know.

      He is Martin van Creveld, a professor at the Hebrew University in Jerusalem and one of the world's foremost military historians. Several of his books have influenced modern military theory and he is the only non-American author on the US Army's list of required reading for officers.

      ... Why President Bush "nevertheless decided to go to war escapes me and will no doubt preoccupy historians to come," he told one interviewer. [...]

      In his eagerness for regime change in Iraq, Mr. Bush blundered into a trap from which in the short term there is no way out: the Americans will be damned if they stay and damned if they leave.


      Meanwhile, ensconced in our nation's capitol, the "Nero" Georgie Porgies fiddle on, picking nits with real heroes like Jim Webb.

      Before he launches another untrue, petty attack, George Will might benefit from reading Pat Lang's essay,"Webb’s Dog-Tags." Pat Lang describes a kind of terrifying heroism that the Georgie Porgies could never, ever muster.


      ********************************************************

      At least we know NOW when repugnant Idiots like stupidturd and the foole get their ubermenchen ideas it is OK to attack the vets and serving soldiers, after all the gutless idiot in chief does it....

      Georgie HOW much like a FOOLE or stupidturd of you.......heck of a job son.

      And if either of them had to serve with James Webb in his time or with his son in Anbar, they would need to change their depends quite frequently.

      However their continuous babbling, crying like a baby and blubbering all over their weapon day in and day out would get them set back to the rear. As a commander you could only put up with that for so long before you had to remove a distraction to the mission and a burden to every other serving soldier or Marine under your command.

      ReplyDelete
    136. Background on Webb-Bush

      A lot of people think Jim Webb may have overreacted to the President Bush when he asked about his son Jimmy at a recent White House function.

      I've gotten a tip on the background to this confrontation, and it appears that Webb may have under reacted.

      As President Bush is well aware, a couple of weeks before this dinner the tank riding next to Jimmy's in Iraq was under fire and three marines died.

      My sources are telling me that the way President Bush approached Webb with his tone, it appeared he was asking the question of how Jimmy was doing in a mocking manner, while he was certainly aware of the tragedy that had hit his unit a few weeks earlier.

      Webb has every right to be livid as the Commander in Chief should not be talking about service members in Iraq in a condescending manner like that. I hope everyone can understand what Webb is going through as a parent with death striking Jimmy's unit that closely, and President Bush should have been a lot more sympathetic to Jim's feelings as a parent.

      And Jim, thanks for showing the restraint not to knock Bush out when he did that.

      ReplyDelete
    137. WHY IS BUSH ALLOWED TO WALK AROUND A FREE MAN?

      His behavior is an abomination.

      He is a war criminal, and he's committed acts far more egregious and illegal than Clinton. In fact, Clinton is a saint next to Bush.

      ReplyDelete
    138. Lydia it still is the constitution, and that protects Bush for all his crimes, unless the US congress votes to impeach him, with a majority of the members voting in the affirmative, and the US Senate voting by two thirds of their members voting to convict him.

      That I doubt will happen at this point, as none of the republican members of the senate I doubt would vote to convict HIM otherwise they would face the anger and hubris of their smear machine in ways very few have ever seen even yet.

      ReplyDelete
    139. He was good enough to be Ronald Reagan's NSA chief, and he does NOT mince his words.

      Reagan’s NSA chief speaks out

      Retired general asks, What’s wrong with cutting and running?

      Some would have you believe that only terrorists and San Francisco liberals want the U.S. out of Iraq. Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom proves otherwise. Odom ran the National Security Agency — a major employer here in Augusta — for three years under President Ronald Reagan. Now he is a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute. He is also an outspoken opponent of the invasion of Iraq and the “war on terrorism,” which he derides as “a slogan” that made Al Qaeda “far more effective.” The Metro Spirit interviewed him recently.

      Metro Spirit: What are your feelings on the NSA’s program of warrantless wiretapping of American citizens?

      William Odom: It didn’t happen under my watch. And I’m still puzzled why somebody hasn’t tried to impeach the president for doing it. Any conservative in the United States who values his life [ought to be outraged]. In fact, the South seceded in defense of minority rights — why the hell have they forgotten them now? Ben Franklin said, “somebody who values security over liberty deserves neither.”

      MS: What do you say to people, and there are plenty here in Augusta, who say that cutting and running from Iraq is traitorous act?

      WO: Well, just tell ‘em they’re full of shit. They're traitors. You know what lemmings are? Yeah, they’re lemmings. We went to war for our enemies’ best interests. You ask those people why it makes sense that we went to war to advance the interests of Iran and Al Qaeda.

      MS: Will the Democrat-controlled Congress change anything?

      WO: No, not much. I think that what’s gonna change the course is that we’re losing the war. It’s not the Congress that’s changing things. I’ve never seen much spine on the part of the Democrats. What’s gonna change it, if anything, is that [Defense Secretary nominee Robert] Gates has thought that we have a ridiculous policy toward Iran, because they’re going to get nuclear weapons anyway. He has never thought the war made any sense.

      MS: Do you think President Bush wants to invade Iran?

      WO: The prime minister of Israel was here begging him [Bush] to do it. People down there in Augusta, they’re just being led around by the snout. I grew up in East Tennessee. I know what Georgians are like. I’m a redneck, and there are a lot of stupid rednecks. You can quote me saying that. Ask ‘em if they know that the United States is one of the greatest supporters of terrorism in the globe. I’m all for my terrorists, I’m just against their terrorists.

      MS: So you think the Israel lobby, as you put it, was the reason we invaded Iraq?

      WO: The religious right here pushed it. I don’t think the oil issue has much to do with it. Your enemies will sell you oil. Do we need to own a country to get oil from it? As much as [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez hates us, he gives us oil. The oil issue by and large is a red herring. Ask those guys after what we’ve done in Iraq, if anybody who’s gonna run Iraq is gonna be pro-American. The Iranians have been telling the Shiites, “Do what the Americans tell you.” Do you know why? Because the American democracy program was gonna put Shiites in charge. There are more Shiites in the country. Now they can kill off the Sunnis.

      MS: It’s been said that Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile whose bogus intelligence helped build American support for war, was an Iranian agent. Do you think so?

      WO: Of course he’s working for Iran. He’d work for anybody against anybody else. You got all those hardliners in Augusta who are suckers for any kinda city slicker. They’re suckers for this criminal banker from Jordan.

      MS: You say the Iranians will get nukes no matter what we do.

      WO: Just like North Korea got ‘em.

      MS: So, then, what should we do? Should we pressure Israel to disarm its nuclear weapons?

      WO: I don’t care whether they disarm or not. Why don’t you ask Israel to give up their weapons if the Iranians will give ‘em up, too? The Iraq war has made Israel much less secure. Al Qaeda can operate in Iraq now. How stupid can you be? The crowd I don’t know what to do about is the religious right who believe in the Book of Revelations. They used to tell me the Earth was flat. There must be some smart rednecks down there. It’s time for them to stand up.

      ****************************************

      Guess the FOOLE would call HIM a traitor too.

      ReplyDelete
    140. CLIF - THAT IS THE BEST ARTICLE I'VE EVER READ. Yes, the fanatical religious "right' who believe in this twisted version of Revelation, has ruined our country.

      He was good enough to be Ronald Reagan's NSA chief, and he does NOT mince his words.

      Reagan’s NSA chief speaks out

      Retired general asks, What’s wrong with cutting and running?

      Some would have you believe that only terrorists and San Francisco liberals want the U.S. out of Iraq. Retired Lt. Gen. William Odom proves otherwise. Odom ran the National Security Agency — a major employer here in Augusta — for three years under President Ronald Reagan. Now he is a senior fellow at the conservative Hudson Institute. He is also an outspoken opponent of the invasion of Iraq and the “war on terrorism,” which he derides as “a slogan” that made Al Qaeda “far more effective.” The Metro Spirit interviewed him recently.

      Metro Spirit: What are your feelings on the NSA’s program of warrantless wiretapping of American citizens?

      William Odom: It didn’t happen under my watch. And I’m still puzzled why somebody hasn’t tried to impeach the president for doing it. Any conservative in the United States who values his life [ought to be outraged]. In fact, the South seceded in defense of minority rights — why the hell have they forgotten them now? Ben Franklin said, “somebody who values security over liberty deserves neither.”

      MS: What do you say to people, and there are plenty here in Augusta, who say that cutting and running from Iraq is traitorous act?

      WO: Well, just tell ‘em they’re full of shit. They're traitors. You know what lemmings are? Yeah, they’re lemmings. We went to war for our enemies’ best interests. You ask those people why it makes sense that we went to war to advance the interests of Iran and Al Qaeda.

      MS: Will the Democrat-controlled Congress change anything?

      WO: No, not much. I think that what’s gonna change the course is that we’re losing the war. It’s not the Congress that’s changing things. I’ve never seen much spine on the part of the Democrats. What’s gonna change it, if anything, is that [Defense Secretary nominee Robert] Gates has thought that we have a ridiculous policy toward Iran, because they’re going to get nuclear weapons anyway. He has never thought the war made any sense.

      MS: Do you think President Bush wants to invade Iran?

      WO: The prime minister of Israel was here begging him [Bush] to do it. People down there in Augusta, they’re just being led around by the snout. I grew up in East Tennessee. I know what Georgians are like. I’m a redneck, and there are a lot of stupid rednecks. You can quote me saying that. Ask ‘em if they know that the United States is one of the greatest supporters of terrorism in the globe. I’m all for my terrorists, I’m just against their terrorists.

      MS: So you think the Israel lobby, as you put it, was the reason we invaded Iraq?

      WO: The religious right here pushed it. I don’t think the oil issue has much to do with it. Your enemies will sell you oil. Do we need to own a country to get oil from it? As much as [Venezuelan President Hugo] Chavez hates us, he gives us oil. The oil issue by and large is a red herring. Ask those guys after what we’ve done in Iraq, if anybody who’s gonna run Iraq is gonna be pro-American. The Iranians have been telling the Shiites, “Do what the Americans tell you.” Do you know why? Because the American democracy program was gonna put Shiites in charge. There are more Shiites in the country. Now they can kill off the Sunnis.

      MS: It’s been said that Ahmed Chalabi, the Iraqi exile whose bogus intelligence helped build American support for war, was an Iranian agent. Do you think so?

      WO: Of course he’s working for Iran. He’d work for anybody against anybody else. You got all those hardliners in Augusta who are suckers for any kinda city slicker. They’re suckers for this criminal banker from Jordan.

      MS: You say the Iranians will get nukes no matter what we do.

      WO: Just like North Korea got ‘em.

      MS: So, then, what should we do? Should we pressure Israel to disarm its nuclear weapons?

      WO: I don’t care whether they disarm or not. Why don’t you ask Israel to give up their weapons if the Iranians will give ‘em up, too? The Iraq war has made Israel much less secure. Al Qaeda can operate in Iraq now. How stupid can you be? The crowd I don’t know what to do about is the religious right who believe in the Book of Revelations. They used to tell me the Earth was flat. There must be some smart rednecks down there. It’s time for them to stand up.

      ReplyDelete
    141. Prof. Chaos said...
      Prof Chaos wants to know

      Why wont the democrats implement the 9-11 commission recommendations?


      They will. They agreed to delay one, you simpleton. Not deny, delay.

      You ought to be familiar with that word, fool. It's the name of the guy who sunk your party.

      ReplyDelete
    142. Odom makes many good points, but it is absurd to blame our presence in Iraq on fundamentalist Christians in the U.S. For Odom to assert such bunk undermines his credibility and betrays his deep political bias.

      The goals that were important to the security of [the Middle East] and to the West are as valid today as they were at the outset.

      [However], if the Iraqis now remain unwilling to make the sacrifices necessary to have an effective democratic government--including compromises with one another-- to forge a stable secure future, the war cannot end as we envisoned.

      -Jack David, WSJ

      The Iraqi people have rejected the best shot they will ever have to implement democracy and enjoy its attendant peace, prosperity, and freedom. We underestimated the fanatical hatred between the Sunnis and the Shiites.

      Moreover, Islam and democracy are not compatible. A willingness to separate church and state is essential to a healthy society but that is far from ever happening. It appears that these folks have allowed themselves to become blinded by a religion which encourages hatred and which has destroyed their capacity to treat each other as equals.

      I am saddened to conclude that the best solution is to carve up Iraq by religion and bail.

      ReplyDelete
    143. Yo Foole the BEST solution was NOT to invade but simpleton bigots like you couldn't get that one eh numbnuts?

      ReplyDelete
    144. Douchbag, I never favored invasion of Iraq. But I also did not favor withdrawal unless the Iraqi people wanted it.

      This war was easily won militarily. Generations ago we brought democracy to Japan, Italy and Germany after WWII; why not in Iraq?

      The missing piece is the desire of the Iraqi people for democratic freedom. I knew nothing about Muslims three years ago, and it is still inconceivable that an entire group of people would not want what we have in the U.S.

      ReplyDelete
    145. Anonymous10:23 AM

      Ring-a-ling?

      ReplyDelete
    146. INteresting article.
      Never had the patience for sit coms, and when this one came out, I was out of the house, going to art school, working and other crazy things.
      Life throws all kinds of situations at us, and we all react differently.
      Sounds as if you came through a few of those yourself.
      Look forward to reading the rest of the story ; )
      Cheers from the midwest!

      ReplyDelete
    147. Coffee - Thank you for your nice words. And thanks for visiting Dirk.

      ReplyDelete
    148. Anonymous10:53 AM

      FF said...

      I am saddened to conclude that the best solution is to carve up Iraq by religion and bail

      Well, this may be the lesser of many evils to be sure. From what I understand the idea of a divided Iraq is not the most popular course of action, but it is clear that it may be one of the only workable plan.

      But don't call it a solution. A solution "fixes" things. This thing can't be fixed.

      In my field, we call this a "work-around".

      ReplyDelete
    149. Anonymous10:56 AM

      At the end of the day, even FF is not going to be able to walk away from the fact that we should have never invaded Iraq in the first place.

      ReplyDelete
    150. Fascist Fan said "The goals that were important to the security of [the Middle East] and to the West are as valid today as they were at the outset."

      What exactly were those goals FF because they seem to change as much as the direction of the Wind.

      First it was WMD that proved a lie as cherry picked intelligence was used, then it became liberating Iraq from an oppressive dictator, then it became the domino theory of inmstalling democracy in the Middle East so the other dictatorships would fall....................funny how you never hear anything about WMD anymore I wonder if the same will be true if another oppressive strongman dictator comes to power because he is needed to keep the peace.


      But FF i'm all ears what are those REASONS you refered to enhancing Irans power and influence in the region and allowing them to become a nuclear power because that is EXACTLY what the idiotic halfbaked halfcocked invasion accomplished.

      ReplyDelete
    151. Yes it's a wonderful life. Dirk has the sweetest angel blog.

      ReplyDelete
    152. Freedom Fan said...
      The missing piece is the desire of the Iraqi people for democratic freedom. I knew nothing about Muslims three years ago, and it is still inconceivable that an entire group of people would not want what we have in the U.S.


      LOL!

      You mean the Patriot Act, illegal surveillance, a one-party dominated by religious zealot rule?

      Honey, they HAVE that already! What planet you been living on?

      here's the point, Fawn: YOU CANNOT IMPOSE DEMOCRACY FROM WITHOUT!

      It has never worked. Even in Japan, we had to maintain the facade of an emperor in order to get the people behind it.

      People want freedom, but not if it's going to be shoved at them. They won't trust it, they'll think it's yet another scam. How stupid do you have to be not to get that?

      Oh. Right. George Bush stupid. Forgot.

      ReplyDelete
    153. And you missed the South Lawn, son, so no quarter for you!

      ReplyDelete
    154. Fascist Fan said "Moreover, Islam and democracy are not compatible. A willingness to separate church and state is essential to a healthy society but that is far from ever happening. It appears that these folks have allowed themselves to become blinded by a religion which encourages hatred and which has destroyed their capacity to treat each other as equals."

      Hey genius shouldnt you have thought about this BEFORE you went off halfcocked and invaded a country that was no REAL threat to us or anyone else particularly when North Korea and Iran were developing nukes, you fools arent much for deep thought or careful planning or facts and truth, many people told you this BEFORE and during the invasion and YOU FOOLS smeared and tarred and feathered them as cowards and unpatriotic traitors, now hippocritical fools like you and many other Neo Cons who supported it are trying to distance themselves by saying it was poorly executed and planned or you didnt support it then but now it is a clash of civilizations and crucial to our very existence to win.

      Well Newsflash it was an idiotic flawed strategy with no chance of success from the beginning we illegally invaded a sovreign country by CHOICE pre-emptively that did not attack us or threaten us with no coherrent plan for victory you waged a flawed halfbaked undermanned war on the cheap you fools declared victory and "mission Accomplished" at a photo op before the real insurgency even started. then contunue to piss away our military supremacy in an unwinnable fiasco because you lack the guts or maturity to admit you made a mistake.

      YOU CANT BRING PEACE AND DEMOCRACY WITH BOMBS AND SWORDS..........something Reich Wing fools will never seem to learn.

      What is victory over there can you fools even define it or answer what it is...........because my bet is you will do what Clif says and do the mother of all flip flops and back the Sunni's if the Saudi's get involved then support another oppressive strongman/dictator JUST LIKE SADDAM even though you hippocritically CLAIMED the war was ABOUT LIBERATING IRAQ FROM AN OPPRESSIVE DICTATOR??????????????????????????????

      ReplyDelete
    155. Freedom Fan said...
      The missing piece is the desire of the Iraqi people for democratic freedom. I knew nothing about Muslims three years ago, and it is still inconceivable that an entire group of people would not want what we have in the U.S.

      Carl said:
      LOL!
      You mean the Patriot Act, illegal surveillance, a one-party dominated by religious zealot rule?

      Honey, they HAVE that already! What planet you been living on?

      here's the point, Fawn: YOU CANNOT IMPOSE DEMOCRACY FROM WITHOUT!

      I said:

      You are right, Carl. Nothing is ever truly won by force, as I've said many times.

      ReplyDelete
    156. Anonymous11:44 AM

      I think the interview Clif and Lydia posted with General William Odom is as clear and concise a summary of just how we got into Iraq, how stupid it was that we went in in the first place, and where we are now.

      Odom cuts no corners and just tosses it out there for what it is. Even FF was clearly impressed with the clarity of the message, and for the first time since I can remember, even FF is talking about cutting and running.

      There is nothing in what Odom says that I disagree with, other than I think we need to give the democrats at least a chance. He is even right about them being spineless. Pelosi, Schummer etc, all spineless. But Jim Webb? Jack Murtha? Anything but spineless. Lets see what they can do next month before we pass judgement on them. They haven't even taken power yet.

      But Odom was right on the money and he summarized clearly and concisely our situation, and why it is so screwed up. At this point, only the most brainwashed and dullwitted can't see it.

      ReplyDelete
    157. Fascist Fan said "This war was easily won militarily. Generations ago we brought democracy to Japan, Italy and Germany after WWII; why not in Iraq?"

      Really, if thats the case, then how come it WASNT?

      this war has allready gone on longer than WW2 with no end in sight and no light at the end of the tunnel for a happy ending no less victory.

      Idont even think you fools can articulate what victory is.

      All this war was, was an idealogical plan with no planning thought or coherent strategy where any dissenting points of view were silencedby your full steam ahead smear machine.

      You arrogantly declared Victory after 3 months before the REAL conflict even started, you had noplan for keeping the peace or winning the hearts and minds of the people.

      This war was mismanaged from BEFORE it even started by incompetent idealogues who deem no voice or counselbut their own is worthy of consideration and who should ALL be impeached for their incompetence, corruption and war crimes..................if repugs truly believed in accountability the rubberstamping repug congress would have done their job and provided oversight and removed and/or impeached those guilty of incompetence, corruption and war crimes but instead they clung to power and THAT IS WHY THEY WERE DRUMMED OUT OF OFFICE A FEW WEEKS AGO BY THE WILL OF THE PEOPLE.

      But you smug fools NEVER learn from your mistakes you think you are ENTITLED to rule this country and your arrogance blinds you to the truth as usual, that is why 2008 will be ANOTHER resounding defeat for the repugs!

      ReplyDelete
    158. Anonymous11:47 AM

      That interview with Odom should be read on every news channel, posted on every website, printed in every newspaper and shouted from the rooftops if thats what it takes.

      The President needs to see it. The President needs to start learning now.

      ReplyDelete
    159. I think the interview is fantastic and agree with ALL of it accept the part about it not being about oil, I dont think it was to physically seize their oil or to give us an ally who would sell us oil as Odom is right even our enemies will sell us oil, this war was so that American interests like Halibuton, Exxon Mobil etc could have access to developing that oil and make fortunes doing it.

      ReplyDelete
    160. Anonymous11:49 AM

      Odom is as conservative as they come, and he is as against this war in Iraq as anyone.

      Stupid rednecks we've got plenty of. We need the smart ones to show up.

      ReplyDelete
    161. YOU CANT BRING PEACE AND DEMOCRACY WITH BOMBS AND SWORDS..........something Reich Wing fools will never seem to learn.

      ReplyDelete
    162. Anonymous11:59 AM

      Mike said...
      I think the interview is fantastic and agree with ALL of it accept the part about it not being about oil,


      I don't know Mike. I think the fact that Iraq had oil made it attractive to be sure, but I'm not sure that was the purpose. I think the Odom has some wisdom there that we should listen to.

      I think Bush in his heart, believes he is doing Gods work. I think he believed in his mission to Iraq, and I think Cheney and the rest were looking for DoD contracts through Haliburton and such.

      I guess we'll have to wait for it all to come out in the wash, but I think Odom is about as clear a head as I have heard in a long time.

      ReplyDelete
    163. Anonymous12:01 PM

      Mike said...
      YOU CANT BRING PEACE AND DEMOCRACY WITH BOMBS AND SWORDS..........


      Thats right. How can you spread freedom by FORCING people to be free?

      The very act of FORCING them to do something NEGATES their freedom in the first place.

      Freedom is chosen, not imposed.

      ReplyDelete
    164. Carl said "LOL!

      You mean the Patriot Act, illegal surveillance, a one-party dominated by religious zealot rule?

      Honey, they HAVE that already! What planet you been living on?

      here's the point, Fawn: YOU CANNOT IMPOSE DEMOCRACY FROM WITHOUT!"

      Absolutely right, you know as much as I despise and oppose this war I think I hate The death of the Constitution and our Civil Liberties even more, they are slowly but surely turning our country into a police state by destroying Freedom of speech, The right to assemble, Habeous Corpus, Due Pocess, the Geneva Convention, safety from torture, checks and balances and oversight etc..........................and it sickens me and I oppose it with every fiber of my body.

      ReplyDelete
    165. Anonymous12:08 PM

      Amen Mike. In the 6 years Bush has been President he has worked tirelessly to destroy our freedoms.

      He has dismanteled the Constitution and has worked us into a corner. This country has reached the point of no return. We are teetering on the edge, and its all due to Bush, his pals, and the idiot rednecks and security moms who vote to gladly surrender our freedoms because they think he can make them safe if they do.

      Fools every last one of them.

      ReplyDelete
    166. Maybe Worf, I dont know if we'll ever truly KNOW, but as i've said from the beginning I think your giving them too much benefit of the doubt I dont think any of that cabal has a benevolent bone or thought in their body.

      If they truly had nonle intentions why the need for all the lies and contradictions, plus if you've read any books that show the planning and conversations that led up to the war from insiders like Richard Clark and Paul O'neil or in books such as "Hubris", "State of Denial" or "The Price of Loyalty" you will have some healthy skepticism of the purity and benevolence of their cause and their true motives.

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    167. Not to mention all the books i've read on oil and alternative energy.

      I read an article yesterday that i'd like to post if I have time that said that:

      control of energy assets is what makes a Super Power in the 21st century just as a nuclear arsenal was what made one in the 20th century..................and guess what we essentially control no energy assets while Russia Controls enormously vast energy assets.

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    168. Anonymous12:17 PM

      But when you believe in God, and beleive that God is on your side, and beleive as they do, that you're "the GOOD GUYS", then its easy to do bad things. Just listen to Cheney in 03 on Meet the Press, when he said that we needed to "adopt the tactics of the bad guys" in order to win.

      If you believe that you know better than everybody else, and that your purpose in life is higher than anyone elses, its easy to do bad things, because you believe in your heart that the end result will be good.

      Hitler thought he was doing Gods work, in punishing the Jews for killing Christ. Hitler thought he was a "good man". Most truly wicked men do.

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    169. Anonymous12:21 PM

      That interview with Odom is one of the best things I've read in a long time. Odom's a conservative, but he knows whats going on on the back end. I work in Washington DC, and I can tell you that talk of God and Christ and holy Christian armies defeating the evil Muslims dominates the converstations among men in the offices.

      In fact, right after 911, someone I worked with who worked for the DOJ, told me with regards to invading Iraq, "it doesn't matter if they had anything to do with 911 or not, we're going in".

      That was the mentality. And you know what sold it to guys like him?

      Revenge.

      Revenge against anyone who looked like the terrorists.

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    170. What ever happened to live free or die.

      Volt and FF talk out of the side of their mouths and try to portray themselves as libertarians who value personal freedom and liberty and support fiscal responsibility and small government................yet I scratch my head and wonder how they could support GWB if there is a shred of truth in what they say because he has done the EXACT opposite.

      They are blind partisan loyalists whether they see it or are willing to admit it, I lean to the left on most issues but I am not a registered democrat and feel that loyalty must be EARNED........if the democrats where doing exactly as GWB was doing and there was a Libertarian or moderate repug who I felt could better lead our country or support my values and interests I would vote for him without even a second thought.........they on the other hand blindly cling to an pompous, arrogant incompetent liar that has betrayed almost everything they claim to stand for........it boggles the mind!

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    171. Anonymous12:24 PM

      Bush fed on that hatred, that lust for revenge. The American peoples hearts were full of revenge.

      Screw God they said, revenge is what we want. We wanted Arab blood.

      Well we got it. Even if the people we exacted our revenge on had nothing to do with 911, it didn't matter to us. We just wanted that revenge.

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    172. FF - I think you are actually trying to make a good point, but unfortunately all of us are comign at this from a rather Pollyanna-ish viewpoint.

      Of courese all peoples want freedom, economic stability and peace. All families want this. The poor Iraqi people believed inteh promise of democracy.

      But there were so many wonderfully innovative, covert ways of winning hearts and minds in Irq rather than a military invasion! We should have infiltrated their culture and communities with loving, peaceful Americans who could bring new ideas, and attract them to our ways, creating a coup to usurp Sadaam from within. It may have taken years, but would have been a helluva lot better than the hatred and chaos we've created by BOMBING them!

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    173. Anonymous1:14 PM

      Further than that Lydia, I would say that armed invasion is NOT a way to promote freedom.

      Its not that its not a "good way". Its that its NO way.

      You can't "force" someone to be free.

      The very act of "force" negates their freedom.

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    174. FF said "Douchbag, I never favored invasion of Iraq. But I also did not favor withdrawal unless the Iraqi people wanted it."

      So is it correct to assume that since the Iraqi people WANT us to withdrawl you NOW support that withdrawl or are you as dishonest as usual and fail to ADMIT they want us out of Iraq?

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    175. FF said "The missing piece is the desire of the Iraqi people for democratic freedom. I knew nothing about Muslims three years ago, and it is still inconceivable that an entire group of people would not want what we have in the U.S."

      typical of the repugs its inconceivable that people dont all goosestep in lockstep and think just like you............and when anyone doesnt think just like YOU thats unaccepable and you feel the need to dominate and control those people because in your twisted view you and ONLY YOU know best.........................................even though you clowns have been wrong about almost EVERYTHING you have said and done the last 6 years.

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    176. I was sad to read about your brother, Lydia. It's hard to lose someone so close so young.

      If it's any consolation, he obviously had a big impact on you, and his goodness is reflected in you.

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    177. We could have won Iraq two years ago, and probably half or eevn one third the lives lost would have died.

      And it would involve tax cuts, Fawn... ;-)

      It's really very simple: open the Iraqi market to American companies. Give them tax cuts to offset their likely losses in the first five years, but they'd bring jobs and infrastructure and a whole economy to people who, prior to our arrival, were pretty well off.

      The details would have to be worked out, of course, and if you give me a week, I'll brainstorm the rest, but look at what would have happened.

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    178. Lydia you are absolutely right about winning the hearts and minds or the Iraqi people as freedom has to be freely chosen it cant be forced on people with bombs and swords else it is not really freedom we needed to earn their trust and win the hearts and minds of the people if helping them was TRULY the goal.........Unfortunately I dont believe it ever actually was.

      As for FF I was wrong about him I used to have a semblance of respect for him and think he was a decent albeit misguided person however anyone that can blatantly try to lie and mislead to to smear and belittle anyone but particularly a disabled vet and worse support a sorry excuse for a human being that has the audacity to wish soldiers and vets to die, threatens to beat them up, screw their wives calls them stupid, and slanders them while pretending to be brave patriots and civil honorable men are not to be respected or treated civilly and those foul despicible hippocrits and liars will get NO RESPECT from me till they earn it by being men not low life trolls they need to actually give respect and show honor and integrity themselves before they get it back.

      As GWB needs to learn respect needs to be earned not demanded.

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    179. Anonymous1:53 PM

      Lydia. What you wrote about your brother was heartbreaking.

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    180. Anonymous2:23 PM

      Oh looky. Voltron the Fearmongerer is worried the peoples hatred of the Muslims may be waning.

      Thats it Dolthead.

      Stoke those fires of hatred.

      Shovel more bullshit onto the flames, and fan them hard.

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    181. Anonymous2:23 PM

      Stoking the flames is good practice for your job in hell.

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    182. Anonymous2:25 PM

      The LORD is nigh unto all them that call upon him, to all that call upon him in truth. He will fulfil the desire of them that fear him: he also will hear their cry, and will save them.

      The LORD preserveth all them that love him: but all the wicked will he destroy.


      Psalms 145:18-20

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    183. Anonymous2:30 PM

      Nice quote.

      But what does it have to do with the price of Tea in Bahrain?

      ReplyDelete
    184. Hey Volt did you get caught in the storm?

      also if you have time i'd like to hear your response to my 12:23PM post.

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    185. BTW Volt as a little aside and something you might still relate to,

      i'm considering buying a goat any opinions?????

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    186. Anonymous2:37 PM

      Voltron said...


      Whatever it ends up stoking is in YOU.


      No idiot. It doesn't "stoke" anything in me. My parents weren't related.

      But it does in those whom you seek to fuel the fire of hatred in. Your way is the way of the sword. Your way is to fan the fires of hatred, by seeking out inflamatory scriptures, verses or writings, and then publishing them, while ignoring other verses that openly contradict them.

      The bible is full of similar passages, declaring gentiles unworthy of salvation and deserving death.

      But you ignore those, because your intent is not to fuel the fires of hatred against Christians. Your pathetic job (which you do so well) for your master, who reigns below, is to fuel hatred for Muslims, and convince Americans to want them destroyed.

      You sit in a room with your pudgy little fat fingers typing hatred and murder, desgined to facilitate the slaughter of over 1 BILLION people.

      You do your masters bidding well.

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    187. Anonymous2:39 PM

      And I don't "gag" at anything.

      But right now people like are aren't waging a war on Christians. You are waging a war on Muslims.

      Bush, your father, was right about one thing. Either we're for you, or against you, and I gladly count my devotion to the latter.

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    188. Anonymous2:42 PM

      You don't tell me who to hate, and you don't tell me who to kill. I'll tell YOU what I will and will not hate, and I'll tell you who I will and will not kill.

      Clear it up any Heinrich?

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    189. yeah it even snowed here the other night, didnt accumulate but it was damn cold!, looked like the midwest was getting slammed though.

      ReplyDelete
    190. Anonymous2:52 PM

      Mike said...


      i'm considering buying a goat any opinions?????


      Yea, don't tie him up with a rope.

      Use a chain. He'll eat the rope.

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    191. growing up my favorite car was the 69 judge with the Ram Air 4 and 370 horsepower

      but i'm actually talking about a 2005 or 2006 GTO with a 6 liter 400 horsepower vette motor, I never really thought i'd buy another American car, but the thought of 600 horsepower sitting in my garage really puts a smile on my face.

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    192. Anonymous3:10 PM

      I doubt it slappy. On my worst day I know more about the bible than you do on your best.

      As for you not telling me to hate?

      Sure you are.

      You're telling me who is good and who is evil, and you're using a 1400 year old book to do it.

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    193. Wow Worf I didnt see what Lydia wrote about her brother till just now that is truly heart wrenching.

      I'll have to put my sparring with FF (well actually its more like pummeling since he isnt even defending himself) on the backburner and comment on both that post, as well as that awesome article about Lydia because they both deserve recognition and a response.

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    194. Anonymous3:19 PM

      See, what you don't realize herr voltron, is that I am no fan of the Koran, or Islam. I see it for what it is, and discard it along with other primitive belief systems created by early man to govern the people, control the masses, explain the unexplainable.

      You're about 20 years behind me in knowledge and study on these matters, and you are still busy examining and analyzing religions. I put that cow out to pasture a long time ago.

      See, when you reach a point in your life where you are equal with me in knowledge on the subject, and if you learn to put off dogmas, doctrines and emotionally based belief structures, then you will see that religion is the problem. Perhaps its the only problem. Religion is what divides us. Religion is mans way to control other mens belief in God.

      Once you move beyond religion, you can start asking yourself the right questions, and maybe even get a little closer to that God that we all want to know.

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    195. my parents had a 66 GTO with a 389 and a 72 GTO, I copied the keys and used to take it out when i was like 12-14, my parents kept records of the milage so one day I drove it in reverse around the school parking lot for like an hour to reverse the odometer till I realized it was easier to to jack up the rear end on cinder blocks and just put it in reverse LOL :D

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    196. Anonymous3:23 PM

      Religion hurts mankind in many ways. But the worst two are its ability to get men to "kill for God", and by imposing its "thought restrictions" on man, thus limiting for thousands of years our technological and scientific growth.

      If it weren't for religion, we'd be typing with our minds by now.

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    197. Anonymous3:24 PM

      Think I'm wrong?

      Just ask Galileo Galilei.

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    198. Anonymous3:25 PM

      Religion doesn't just tell us what to think. It tells us what NOT to think.

      And thats the greatest sin of all.

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    199. Worf said "See, what you don't realize herr voltron, is that I am no fan of the Koran, or Islam. I see it for what it is, and discard it along with other primitive belief systems created by early man to govern the people, control the masses, explain the unexplainable."

      thats what I dont understand why do you keep trying to INFER that we like or support Islam.........................I am no fan of Islam either I realize that there is a fairly large amount of bad people who are violent zealots that practice islam.........however that does not mean they are ALL bad, need to be exterminated.......or that if I oppose our actions or policies I support Islam or the terrorists.

      Like ive said from day one I believe in cleaning up our own backyard before we worry about someone elses, besides I believe we ARE better than the terrorists and zealots and choose to oppose that whicj I can change or influence rather than that over which I have no influence.

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    200. Worf said "Religion hurts mankind in many ways. But the worst two are its ability to get men to "kill for God", and by imposing its "thought restrictions" on man, thus limiting for thousands of years our technological and scientific growth.

      If it weren't for religion, we'd be typing with our minds by now."

      excellent post, religion is all about power and control, and far more evil is committed in the name of religion than good.

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