A new low has been achieved.
It's one thing to attack a candidate for his actions, unfortunate but expected in the modern politcal climate.
But to lump all those who have been decorated for injury in service to their country, by parodying this medal... it's disgusting.
And the right calls people who question their actions and decisions unpatriotic?
How DARE YOU.
Then again, we're talking the same mindset which allows for the torture and humiliation of human beings to be written off as "the same as a college prank"... I guess I shouldn't be too surprised.
Oh no... we're simply mocking Kerry and his war record.
Well folks, at least he has one.
(a bit later)
Okay some clarification after speaking with a veteran of Gulf War I...
A purple heart can be given out for just about anything - like say a guy skins his fingers peeling potatoes on KP duty. Bada bing purple heart time.
The difference is - the recipient still got injured in service to their country. That guy on KP still nicked himself after answering the call to duty, and sacrificed his time and freedom for the greater good. He did that so you can sit at home and watch "Friends" without too much fear...
It ain't what they got it for, it's what they were doing that put them in the position to get that injury. In short - serving their country.
Something very few (if any) people in the current administration can claim to have done.
Tuesday, August 31, 2004
First Night of the Convention
There was no hesitation in bringing 9/11 and Iraq front and center in the event. I mentioned in a comment before that I did not like the location and timing of the convention and thought it was a little too clever. But, I suppose, if you’re going to do that, you might as well go full throttle. Ron Silver’s (a democrat, I think) speech forcefully set the tone: “This was a war against us!”
And later:
“Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly.”
In my estimate, the words were dead on even if his delivery was a bit too fiery. The crowd liked it. I must admit that it bothers me a bit when the speaker says something about the tragedy of war or the oppressive nature of Saddam’s regime and the people applaud. But aren’t they applauding the sentiment?
The 1-2 punch of John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani was pretty potent. For eye-rolling cynics who thought the GOP was going to put their most moderate foot forward on the first night, they heard, instead, two of the most hawkish politicians out there.
McCain, who was the first to call for Saddam’s head after 9/11, strongly defended and praised the president. I’m not even sure the Daily Show will be able to mock his commitment to Bush, unless they resort to Michael Moore tactics. In describing the president’s choice in deciding to invade, McCain said, “It was between war and a greater threat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I agree. McCain was conciliatory and spoke as a senator who cooled his feet in both political pools. Perhaps those few weeks where Kerry flirted with McCain as his VP candidate lent McCain some gravitas when he extended his hand across parties tonight. He was hardly moderate, though, in his defense of the war.
Giuliani was brilliant. He turned the convention into a night with Rudolph. He weaved effortlessly between humor and tragedy. He laid out some vivid accounts of the 9/11 attacks and a personal story about Bush with NYC construction workers a few days later. Giuliani is the first politician that I’ve have heard to go so aggressively at Arafat:
“Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table…How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a terrorist plague in the Middle East that undermined any chance of peace?”
And he continued:
“Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of the world much like our observing Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate ourselves to peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union through mutually assured destruction.
“President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we must also be on offense.
“On September 20, 2001, President Bush stood before a joint session of Congress, a still grieving and shocked nation and a confused world and he did change the direction of our ship of state.
He dedicated America under his leadership to destroying global terrorism.
The president announced the Bush Doctrine when he said: "Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there.
“It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
‘Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.’”
And then there was the comical take down of Kerry. All in all, it was an excellent speech.
Lileks, who dismissed McCain, had this to say about the former mayor: “…what Giuliani did was completely typical: aggressive graciousness. It’s why people who disagree with many of his positions admire him greatly, and why he spoke Monday night. And dang: he was good. He was hard: first time I’ve heard someone get up and slam Arafat by name in such a context. A sharp elbow at Germany. A Kerry section played mostly for laughs. An amazing last 10 minutes - dodged nothing."
We’ll see what tomorrow brings….
And later:
“Even though I am a well-recognized liberal on many issues confronting our society today, I find it ironic that many human rights advocates and outspoken members of my own entertainment community are often on the front lines to protest repression, for which I applaud them but they are usually the first ones to oppose any use of force to take care of these horrors that they catalogue repeatedly.”
In my estimate, the words were dead on even if his delivery was a bit too fiery. The crowd liked it. I must admit that it bothers me a bit when the speaker says something about the tragedy of war or the oppressive nature of Saddam’s regime and the people applaud. But aren’t they applauding the sentiment?
The 1-2 punch of John McCain and Rudolph Giuliani was pretty potent. For eye-rolling cynics who thought the GOP was going to put their most moderate foot forward on the first night, they heard, instead, two of the most hawkish politicians out there.
McCain, who was the first to call for Saddam’s head after 9/11, strongly defended and praised the president. I’m not even sure the Daily Show will be able to mock his commitment to Bush, unless they resort to Michael Moore tactics. In describing the president’s choice in deciding to invade, McCain said, “It was between war and a greater threat. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.” I agree. McCain was conciliatory and spoke as a senator who cooled his feet in both political pools. Perhaps those few weeks where Kerry flirted with McCain as his VP candidate lent McCain some gravitas when he extended his hand across parties tonight. He was hardly moderate, though, in his defense of the war.
Giuliani was brilliant. He turned the convention into a night with Rudolph. He weaved effortlessly between humor and tragedy. He laid out some vivid accounts of the 9/11 attacks and a personal story about Bush with NYC construction workers a few days later. Giuliani is the first politician that I’ve have heard to go so aggressively at Arafat:
“Terrorist acts became a ticket to the international bargaining table…How else to explain Yasser Arafat winning the Nobel Peace Prize when he was supporting a terrorist plague in the Middle East that undermined any chance of peace?”
And he continued:
“Before September 11, we were living with an unrealistic view of the world much like our observing Europe appease Hitler or trying to accommodate ourselves to peaceful coexistence with the Soviet Union through mutually assured destruction.
“President Bush decided that we could no longer be just on defense against global terrorism but we must also be on offense.
“On September 20, 2001, President Bush stood before a joint session of Congress, a still grieving and shocked nation and a confused world and he did change the direction of our ship of state.
He dedicated America under his leadership to destroying global terrorism.
The president announced the Bush Doctrine when he said: "Our war on terror begins with al-Qaida, but it does not end there.
“It will not end until every terrorist group of global reach has been found, stopped and defeated.
‘Either you are with us or you are with the terrorists.’”
And then there was the comical take down of Kerry. All in all, it was an excellent speech.
Lileks, who dismissed McCain, had this to say about the former mayor: “…what Giuliani did was completely typical: aggressive graciousness. It’s why people who disagree with many of his positions admire him greatly, and why he spoke Monday night. And dang: he was good. He was hard: first time I’ve heard someone get up and slam Arafat by name in such a context. A sharp elbow at Germany. A Kerry section played mostly for laughs. An amazing last 10 minutes - dodged nothing."
We’ll see what tomorrow brings….
Monday, August 30, 2004
Rich Lowry's account of the protests yesterday.
A kid was holding a sign, "Stop the war on youth, from here to Najaf."
"So," I asked, "do you support al Sadr?"
"I do as long as he's resisting U.S. imperialism."
"OK, so you support Islamic fundamentalism?"
"No," he said, walking away.
"Well, he's an Islamic fundamentalist," I said.
He came back up to me, "Just because you support the youth doesn't mean you side with an extremist."
"Sadr is an Islamic extremist, he's very clear about it."
"It's their mosque."
"He seized the mosque by force!"
"You're wrong," he said. "He supports elections."
"No, he doesn't! He opposes elections."
"Well," he said, walking away again, "they are U.S.-supported elections. Of course he opposes U.S.-supported elections."
A kid was holding a sign, "Stop the war on youth, from here to Najaf."
"So," I asked, "do you support al Sadr?"
"I do as long as he's resisting U.S. imperialism."
"OK, so you support Islamic fundamentalism?"
"No," he said, walking away.
"Well, he's an Islamic fundamentalist," I said.
He came back up to me, "Just because you support the youth doesn't mean you side with an extremist."
"Sadr is an Islamic extremist, he's very clear about it."
"It's their mosque."
"He seized the mosque by force!"
"You're wrong," he said. "He supports elections."
"No, he doesn't! He opposes elections."
"Well," he said, walking away again, "they are U.S.-supported elections. Of course he opposes U.S.-supported elections."
Rocking the Vote
Did anyone watch the MTV music awards? I didn’t, but heard about the Kerry daughters getting booed at. Was the crowd booing at the daughters or the get-out-the-vote pitch? Just curious.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
The Protests in New York: America is Better Than This
While watching the protestors file past Madison Square Garden, I couldn’t help but think how plump and healthy they all were. In contrast to women that marched to Versailles, to the people who surrounded the Winter Palace, or even to the Bonus Marchers, many of these folks looked as though they took some vacation time for a road trip to New York City to celebrate their collective distaste for Dubya. The atmosphere was party-like. There was music and there was dancing and outlandish costumes and balloon heads of the Asses of Evil. You had people of all stripes and many cut a most singular figure. Today, 7th Ave was the place where non-conformists could go to conform with other non-conformists.
Estimates of the crowd ranged from 100K to 500K. I couldn’t attest to which figure was closer, but it was a sight larger than the protests in Boston, and yet, no cages of which I’m aware.
Some of the placards were well worn:
“Stop Bush Now”,
“End the Occupation of Iraq”,
“LIAR!” (under the face of Bush),
“Bush Lies/Who Dies?”,
and a personal favorite, “Fuck Bush!”
Well! I don’t…
And others were a little newer:
“It’s the Neo-Cons Stupid! Not the CIA”,
and “Got Democracy” with a hooded Abu Ghraib prisoner backed by the stars and stripes.
I was surprised that the chant of choice was “Fox News Sucks”, even more popular than “Bush and Cheney: Asses of Evil.” Several in the crowd were alternating chants of “fuck you!” and “bullshit!” Followed by a lady holding the placard “Stop World Hate”.
I saw part of a placard that said “This is what democracy looks like,” but the picture was obstructed by another sign.
Lots of anger out there, no doubt about it. One of the signs simply read: “America Is Better Than This.” Indeed.
While watching the protestors file past Madison Square Garden, I couldn’t help but think how plump and healthy they all were. In contrast to women that marched to Versailles, to the people who surrounded the Winter Palace, or even to the Bonus Marchers, many of these folks looked as though they took some vacation time for a road trip to New York City to celebrate their collective distaste for Dubya. The atmosphere was party-like. There was music and there was dancing and outlandish costumes and balloon heads of the Asses of Evil. You had people of all stripes and many cut a most singular figure. Today, 7th Ave was the place where non-conformists could go to conform with other non-conformists.
Estimates of the crowd ranged from 100K to 500K. I couldn’t attest to which figure was closer, but it was a sight larger than the protests in Boston, and yet, no cages of which I’m aware.
Some of the placards were well worn:
“Stop Bush Now”,
“End the Occupation of Iraq”,
“LIAR!” (under the face of Bush),
“Bush Lies/Who Dies?”,
and a personal favorite, “Fuck Bush!”
Well! I don’t…
And others were a little newer:
“It’s the Neo-Cons Stupid! Not the CIA”,
and “Got Democracy” with a hooded Abu Ghraib prisoner backed by the stars and stripes.
I was surprised that the chant of choice was “Fox News Sucks”, even more popular than “Bush and Cheney: Asses of Evil.” Several in the crowd were alternating chants of “fuck you!” and “bullshit!” Followed by a lady holding the placard “Stop World Hate”.
I saw part of a placard that said “This is what democracy looks like,” but the picture was obstructed by another sign.
Lots of anger out there, no doubt about it. One of the signs simply read: “America Is Better Than This.” Indeed.
Did he really say this? “Well, I don't think you give timelines to dictators and tyrants."- Bush, in the NY Times interview.
Krauthammer derides interventionist foreign policy -
"highfalutin moral principles are impossible guides to foreign policy. At worst, they reflect hypocrisy; at best, extreme naiveté."
"highfalutin moral principles are impossible guides to foreign policy. At worst, they reflect hypocrisy; at best, extreme naiveté."
An analysis on the Bush job numbers over the last 14 months, throwing out the worst 2 months. Granted, it's by a Clinton economic adviser, but there are a lot of interesting facts, such as that before the July jobs report, "Merrill Lynch & Co. had concluded that almost 90 percent of new jobs created since last August are in job categories paying below average wages."
Friday, August 27, 2004
Thomas Sowell says: "Senator Kerry has argued for a more "nuanced" approach to foreign policy and a more "sensitive" way of fighting international terrorism. People who cannot make hard choices often talk about complexity and nuance, about gray areas and twilight issues." That's part 3 of a 3 part series. Part one and part two dwell more on the swift vet issue.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
I believe Bush made a constitutional mistake by signing McCain-Feingold. This article makes some pretty good points.
Kerry's Testimony and Other Items of Interest
So - was going to add the linkage to my previous post, but I figured it was better to make a new one. So here it is. Courtesy of the nice folks at www.truthout.org
Commentry on this to follow.
And as far as SBVFT having no ties to the Bush camp - MediaMatters would
So - was going to add the linkage to my previous post, but I figured it was better to make a new one. So here it is. Courtesy of the nice folks at www.truthout.org
Commentry on this to follow.
And as far as SBVFT having no ties to the Bush camp - MediaMatters would
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Waiting for Blair: I’m not “in” with the bloggers, yet. I noticed the following post off Tim Blair’s site last week. He’s been on a road trip between conventions before he heads back to his home in Australia. After writing humorously about his time in Albuquerque he announces:
“Tonight, in Oklahoma City, the recommended bar is called Edna's. I have no idea yet where Edna's is, but will try to be there by 8.30pm. Presently in Tucumcari.”
What better way to meet the man? So my brother and I were at Edna’s at 8:30. Apparently his Oklahoma following is either small or simply not mobilized since we were the only two in the bar aside from Edna and some regular. I asked Edna if she’s heard about any “visitors” due in that night. She was distrustful at first, but as we explained who Tim Blair was and that someone out west had recommended Edna’s to him, she was thrilled and began cleaning up the bar for her special visitor.
Anyway, 8:30 came and went; then 9:30 and 10:30. We soon called it a night and left.
The next day, Mr. Blair posted his experience in OKC. Evidently, my brother and I were not the right Hills. I also noticed that he ran into Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) in Knoxville. Glenn posted this picture/account of the two of them (I’m not sure who is who).
But that’s not all. His countless nights of drinking produced this amusing post by lefty blogger Ken Layne. Tim Blair posted this response to tell his side.
So all that drinking and I still didn’t have a chance to break bread with a blogger! Maybe next time.
“Tonight, in Oklahoma City, the recommended bar is called Edna's. I have no idea yet where Edna's is, but will try to be there by 8.30pm. Presently in Tucumcari.”
What better way to meet the man? So my brother and I were at Edna’s at 8:30. Apparently his Oklahoma following is either small or simply not mobilized since we were the only two in the bar aside from Edna and some regular. I asked Edna if she’s heard about any “visitors” due in that night. She was distrustful at first, but as we explained who Tim Blair was and that someone out west had recommended Edna’s to him, she was thrilled and began cleaning up the bar for her special visitor.
Anyway, 8:30 came and went; then 9:30 and 10:30. We soon called it a night and left.
The next day, Mr. Blair posted his experience in OKC. Evidently, my brother and I were not the right Hills. I also noticed that he ran into Glenn Reynolds (Instapundit) in Knoxville. Glenn posted this picture/account of the two of them (I’m not sure who is who).
But that’s not all. His countless nights of drinking produced this amusing post by lefty blogger Ken Layne. Tim Blair posted this response to tell his side.
So all that drinking and I still didn’t have a chance to break bread with a blogger! Maybe next time.
You Show Me Yours, I'll Show You Mine
Democratic Underground has a very interesting thread (rather long though) on how the W is photographed wearing a medal he apparently did not earn.
I'm sure that our republican friends will attempt to downplay this since it's not a purple heart and they're trying to shift the argument from the Swift Boat Veterans Attacks to the fact that possibly one of Kerry's medals is undeserved. Anyway, here's the article .
Also - has anyone read the transcript of Kerry's testimony - seems to me he's saying the exact same things about the leadership then as people are saying now. (linkage to follow)
Democratic Underground has a very interesting thread (rather long though) on how the W is photographed wearing a medal he apparently did not earn.
I'm sure that our republican friends will attempt to downplay this since it's not a purple heart and they're trying to shift the argument from the Swift Boat Veterans Attacks to the fact that possibly one of Kerry's medals is undeserved. Anyway, here's the article .
Also - has anyone read the transcript of Kerry's testimony - seems to me he's saying the exact same things about the leadership then as people are saying now. (linkage to follow)
Answering My Own Question
I recently asked in a reply to a previous post why doesn't Bush stand up and discuss his war record since his party is making such a point of trying to pick apart Kerry's, seems that opposing comparison would be a good way to Distinguish himself (unless of course, there isn't any such record to speak of).
While this article doesn't address that directly, it does make a good point as to why Bush himself doesn't discuss things, and has other people do his dirty work for him.
I recently asked in a reply to a previous post why doesn't Bush stand up and discuss his war record since his party is making such a point of trying to pick apart Kerry's, seems that opposing comparison would be a good way to Distinguish himself (unless of course, there isn't any such record to speak of).
While this article doesn't address that directly, it does make a good point as to why Bush himself doesn't discuss things, and has other people do his dirty work for him.
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