News-Record.com

In 1722 the New England Courant published letters to the editor that conveyed the wit and wisdom of one "Silence Dogood".

Almost three hundred years later, it is rather obvious that evolution is not happening.

I just returned from the Emerald Isle and opened the paper to the op ed section. Beam me up, Scotty, there is NO sign of intelligent life here! Mostschetti once again shows how inept he is at logic. One note instrument: Dems = Bad
GOP = Good.
Tony, grow up.
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At the Shannon, Ireland airport, there were many U.S. soldiers heading off to Iraq. Our family sat down and talked with them, and we noticed they were ALL in their late thirties and early forties. As we thanked them for their service, we also added that we wanted to bring them home VERY soon. They all said, thank you very much, with much enthusiasm.
One of my children looked longingly at them and then said, "Dad, some of those nice people will not be coming home". I acknowledged the sentiment, then she said, "What a waste of human life for such a needless war".
Not one of them was headed to Afghanistan, where the real war on terror is being fought, but rather they were all headed to the "terrorist factories" of Iraq.
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If you've never been, definitely visit Ireland. I am convinced that had there not been economic reasons for leaving, the Irish would have NEVER left for America. What a delightful country.
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With such drivel as Moschetti has put forth, I do not feel compelled to visit these pages where the 26% try to sell their bankrupt ideas for our country.
See ya later!

Gosh, has it been 30 days already?

"Why in the name of God would one political party position itself so that what's good for America is bad for the party?"

Why in the world would the Repubs hitch their star to something (Iraq) that is so bad for America.

I didnt see Clyburn and dont know the context of the question or answer. So there could be some wiggle room (I guess). I am however quite sure we wont see Clyburn on the telly for awhile.

But, I would like some comment from some of the left leaning and/or anti war "usuals" though. Please address Mr Clyburn's comments if you will. I am sure you can fit it in amongst your personal jabs, antibush rhetoric, 26%, etc.

In the mean time I will research the actual context of the Q&A.

PS: Not bad TLC you waited until your second sentence to insult. Personal best I would imagine.

Actually � I kinda agree with Tony M. � at least the parts that say Iraq is important (it is NOW) and that the Dem�s are now being defeatocrats.

Where I disagree is he should had said � LOUDLY - the same thing from the winter of �02 until the winter of �06 � because the games he�s upset over the Dem�s playing were for those four years played with greater vigor by the Rep�s. I can�t help feel he�s just being partisan, which to me blows credibility, even though right now he�s generically correct. Petraeus� report will be positive � but that does not make the debacle final or finite.

.. and as a result of the Games played for four years with greater vigor by the Rep�s .. we�re in this pickle, with a worn out army, a reinvigorated enemy, and �leadership� that is fairly clueless how to actually achieve meaningful results.

Gotta say this is Tony's best letter to date. I didn't find the word 'liberal' anywhere for a change.

Is it partisan? You betcha. Is it true? Pretty much.

Gotta wonder if the soldiers didn't look at TLC and his family kinda funny with them being Canadians and all.

One last thing, Ireland may be beautiful but, overall, America is so beautiful in its diversity and differing landscapes, I don't think a single other country compares.

Rufus; you speak my mind!

Welcome back TLC! So sad about Skip over at Wake.

Shalom

This was published in yesterday's print N&R.

http://www.brook.edu/views/op-ed/ohanlon/pollack20070730.htm

While I agree that this war has been screwed up from the beginning and likely should have never been waged, the Dems at this point are so invested in defeat that any semblance of progress or victory would surely harm their election aspirations.

The Iraqis have certainly helped this cause, especially the govt. Taking an August recess in the middle of a war isn't what I call competent govt. However I'm willing to wait another month and see what Gen. Petraeus has to say.

Glad you enjoyed Ireland DD. That's on my short list of places to go, perhaps next summer. After all, my great grandparents were named McNalley.

I'm off to Tanzania one week from today.

Three from your link, Dan - hidden in all the "good news":

"We are finally getting somewhere in Iraq, at least in military terms."

" .. the dependability of Iraqi security forces over the long term remains a major question mark."

"In the end, the situation in Iraq remains grave. In particular, we still face huge hurdles on the political front. Iraqi politicians of all stripes continue to dawdle and maneuver for position against one another when major steps towards reconciliation�or at least accommodation�are needed. This cannot continue indefinitely. Otherwise, once we begin to downsize, important communities may not feel committed to the status quo, and Iraqi security forces may splinter along ethnic and religious lines."

==

My bottom line: If we can get out in a manly way and THEN the chaos happens, maybe America will be able to save international face - 'cause at this point that's all that matter. Is America the wimps Osama has been claiming, or will we be percieved as having the will to back our rhetoric - which may keep the Radicals focusing their stupidity only locally.

Dan's Link: "American troops angry and frustrated�many sensed they had the wrong strategy, were using the wrong tactics and were risking their lives in pursuit of an approach that could not work."

Me: ".. and as a result of the Games played for four years with greater vigor by the Rep�s .. we�re in this pickle, with a worn out army, a reinvigorated enemy, and �leadership� that is fairly clueless how to actually achieve meaningful results."

A question for the generic you: If we pull this off - are you going to forgive the greater vigor leadership and their crony congressional supporters - or does accountability still apply?

JDR, good points, yet again!

Shalom

This article link below poses an interesting dilemma.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070806/pl_afp/usiraqweapons_070806074404

Wonder why O'Hanlon & Pollack did not mention this?

Imagine that, US military personnel getting shot at and/or shot by weapons purchased with monies borrowed by their own government!

Wonder why neo has not commented on his LTTE? Or addressed Howie's question in an LTTE from a few days ago?

Shalom

"Wonder why O'Hanlon & Pollack did not mention this?"

Their piece is dated July 30 and this news broke today, August 6. That may have a leeetle something to do with it.

That being said, I do agree 190,000 missing arms is quite problematic and an example of the inability of our govt. to account for much of anything except how much we owe the IRS perhaps. The term "Government Accountability Office" always makes me laugh.

I'm half through with Dick Morris's book "Outrage". Recommended reading for all. He slams Congress, R's & D's equally, about their lavish worldwide travel courtesy of lobbyists. Ditto pet pork projects and their light number of days in session actually working. Before anyone gets up in arms, Morris actually slams the pre-Nov. 2006 Congress harder than the current Congress.

After reading the chapters about UN incompetence it further sealed my cynical beliefs about this corrupt organization.

JDR,

I'm not convinced that we have any interest in Iraq with the exception of saving face and doing what we can to lessen Iranian influence. I don't see the huge downside to leaving that you seem to. Iraq will be dominated by Shia & they won't tolerate Al Quaeda any more than we do. It will be a big feather in Iran's hat but it won't affect the issue with them that greatly.

None of this is worth 2 billion $ a week & 100 soldiers a month.

Tony can whine all he wants about the Dems not being on board on Iraq but when has GWB ever tried to get them on board. He beat them with Iraq till they were black & blue when it was popular, why complain when the Dems are doing it back now when it's not? GWB unlike GHWB is not much of a coalition builder and frankly not much of a leader.

Rufus,
You have made the matrix of this mess manifest! Great comments, save nitprick and Mick.

It is truly amazing that our army has been decimated but the usual suspects are touting anyone who disagrees with Bushy as unpatriotic. Folks, I kid you not, that the troops in the Shannon airport were in their late thirties to early fifties! Obviously, these were National Guardsman and I'll bet some have grandchildren! Sad to think that some of them will never see home again--thanks to an incompetent President and his equally incompetent appointees.

Nitprick:
Like you, I love our country. Unlike you, I am able to see places where they have done things better, and admit that we have short comings. No trailers, and no billboards to clutter the landscape to name a few.
And as far as your post:
"One last thing, Ireland may be beautiful but, overall, America is so beautiful in its diversity and differing landscapes, I don't think a single other country compares."

That might be considered legitimate if you have visited more than one country in the world. Otherwise, your world view is quite limited. What exactly IS your area of expertise??

Again, great posts, save Mick and nitprick.

"I'm not convinced that we have any interest in Iraq with the exception of saving face and doing what we can to lessen Iranian influence."

I agree it's a funny line, and the Iraq / Shia / Iran connection is a good point ... but if Iran can exploit Al Qaeda - they will and one of the motivators for Radical Islamists is the FALSE myth they defeated one superpower in Afghanistan and they expect to do it again in Iraq. That's why the face safe is SO critical ... even 2 billion and 25 soldiers every week.

That said - I'd be in favor of putting that 2 billion a week ON budget with appropriate sacrifices - especially from war profiteers.

WARNING - I've not researched these sites - and they may be old news - but it's obvious to all. There's an old saying about war: 1/3 fights to the death for one side, 1/3 fights to the death for the other side, 1/3 makes all the money.

http://www.halliburtonwatch.org/home.html
http://salonesoterica.wordpress.com/2007/06/28/the-banality-of-greed-halliburton-profits-soar-with-the-spoils-of-an-endless-iraq-war/
http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=8228
http://www.thenation.com/directory/halliburton
http://search.live.com/results.aspx?srch=105&FORM=AS5&q=halliburton+profits

and the other side - a story repeated verbatim on many sites:

http://www.newsmax.com/archives/ic/2003/12/29/165459.shtml

A question for the generic you: If we pull this off - are you going to forgive the greater vigor leadership and their crony congressional supporters - or does accountability still apply?

President Bush grants no-bid contract for nuke detection to Chinese company ...

http://www.theconservativevoice.com/article/27099.html

There will be no American customs agents present during these operations either, by the way.

Only a fool would think that one "party" is supposed to be inherently more virtuous than the other.

And it takes an even bigger fool to use his or her name to sign off on a public statement claiming such a thing.

Is there anything you know about this company, positive or negative, Christopher?

http://www.hutchison-whampoa.com/eng/index.htm#

Hopefully they can also stop the importation of tainted dog food and lead laden Thomas the Train and Dora the Explorer toys.

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"No trailers, and no billboards to clutter the landscape to name a few."

Lest ye forget, those trailers offer housing to our less fortunate (in income) brethren that we all care about. Right Demon Deacon?

I can agree with you on billboards and 200 ft. tall McDonalds signs.

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

"A question for the generic you: If we pull this off - are you going to forgive the greater vigor leadership and their crony congressional supporters - or does accountability still apply?"

Back at you. If we pull this off, are you going to forgive the vocal "pull out in defeat" leadership? Or does accountability still apply?

I'm still doubtful we will pull it off, not due to our military, but due to the Iraqi govt., it's warring factions, and the warring factions within it's population.

"If we pull this off, are you going to forgive the vocal "pull out in defeat" leadership?"

No - they are fools and I've written Reid and Pelosi to tell them so.

"Does accountability still apply?" Yes - but it's an "R" term.

"I'm still doubtful we will pull it off, not due to our military, but due to the Iraqi govt., it's warring factions, and the warring factions within it's population."

AMEN

fwiw - I'm not following the national campaign, having decided to simply pull the levers of those Colin Powell ultimately endorses.

Colin Powell betrayed the American people he was suppose to represent by going on national TV and endorsing the political rhetoric of the Bush administration when he knew it was a lie. To me, this shows no honor or morals.

.. maybe, Yv.

My take is he was being a soldier and stupidly believed what the commander and crony corps were telling him. From what little I've read, he asked several people several times: Is this correct? Is this accurate? ... and each time he was assured it was both correct and accurate - that's why he did it. It was his insistance - as "proof" of his sources - that Tenent sit in camera view for the UN presentation.

Since then, he has expressed remorse for his falsely placed trust, and he now makes more sense than most on the national scene. I should read his auto-biography, but these day's I like the guy. Your milage may indeed vary.

`

Colin Powell needs to quit playing "good soldier" and give Bush/Cheney the public ass whooping they deserve! Those who sat and said nothing are just as guilty as those who spouted the conjured up intelligence as gospel.

~

.

Dan,
True, trailers have given the poor a clean home, but even junkyards in America have evergreen trees planted to shield their unsightly appearance. Over half the population of Ireland lives in Dublin, which also keeps the countryside clean and green.
No litter along the roads, no billboards and no junked cars.

We should be able to learn from others and not bury our heads like nitpricker and many others have done.

.

To answer the forgiveness question my attitude would be like I would have to my drunken teenager who wrecked the family car but survived only modestly damaged. I'd be grateful that they survived but would threaten to an inch of their lives not ever to do anything so irresponsible again.

No matter the outcome we are not going to come out ahead in this game. We've empowered Iran, we've damaged our standing in the world, we've damaged our military, we've emboldened the terrorists (GWs favorite phrase). It's hard to make lemonade out of this. Some kind of a credible victory is preferable to the alternative but at what cost?

TLC,

All I did was ask some of the left leaners for their opinion of what Clyburn said. I think that is a legit question. How you derive the rest I just dont know. You seem incapable of discussing ANYTHING w/o bs.

Rufus touched on it but no one else is willing to address my inquiry. Too bad.

Nitpricker was pretty good but I'll always be partial to pitlicker (courtesy of jews4jesus).

As far as my experience abroad, I admit I'm not a world traveller like TLC. However, at this point in my life, I've spent considerable time in 13 countries besides my own.

They are:

Mexico
Canada
Honduras
Panama
Chile
Costa Rica
Switzerland
Great Britain
Austria
Germany
Holland
(Northern) Ireland
and
Kernersville.

I had an opportunity to travel to Cameroon recently but, to be honest, I wasn't comfortable with the security situation there so I didn't go.

At this point, I'd really like to visit Vietnam,Italy, and Egypt. Some friends of mine brought back some amazing pictures from Vietnam and that's first on my list.

Regardless of where I've been, I've NEVER been chicken to identify myself as an American. EVER.

I'd agree that many countries of the world hold beauty. In fact, all of the countries I've been to have some very beautiful places and things to see. My latest trip was to Costa Rica and the volcanoes and wildlife were amazing. It was a little scary just how close you can get sometimes.

As far as beauty, I guess it is in the eye of the beholder.

Even in industrial and urban landscapes, I can find beauty. In the poorest ghetto where the only buildings are liquor stores and gun shops and nappy headed children with crooked teeth and bad hygiene, I can find beauty.

Sure, there are areas in other countries that have beauties we don't. That's the great thing about going there.

Architecture comes immediately to mind. That's one thing about Europe that I loved. I'd love to visit Venice, Rome and Egypt for more.

I guess that is what I meant by the diversity of America. Nowhere I've been comes close.

We have beautiful beaches, lush farmland, dense forests of redwoods, amazing mountain chains, volcanoes, the Grand Canyon, the desert landscapes, waterfalls, etc etc etc.

We don't have everything but we've got pretty damn close to it and from my experience, this is the place I always want to come back to.

Honestly, "the Irish would have NEVER left for America" sounded like a slam on this country.

Clyburn seems to be taken out of context.

"Clyburn .. said Democrats might be wise to wait for the Petraeus report .. charting next steps in their year-long struggle with President Bush over the direction of U.S. strategy."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/07/30/AR2007073001380.html

As I read it - "the problem" would be getting Republicans to join Democrats in changing how we are waging the war. Remember for 4 years they didn't change direction - and that's why we're in this pickle jar.

Thanks for the link JDR. You can read the comments all you want but until you watch the actual "video" you will never know. I strongly suggest all watch the clip provided by JDR above.

The comment was taken somewhat out of context and the "problem" Clyburn refers to is definitely meant as a political problem speaking to Dem unity. I still do not like that kind of thinking but the "sound bite" sounds far worse than the entirety (surprise!).

I hereby take back some of my ill informed comments in reference to Clyburn above!

Thanks JDR!

James,
Here's a great link with excellent footage of the criminals who got us into Iraq....the Kool-Ade drinkers will no doubt have to take a back seat!!

http://www.milkandcookies.com:80/link/64513/detail/

Enjoy!!

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Nitprick says, "Honestly, "the Irish would have NEVER left for America" sounded like a slam on this country."

Get real! Guess you think the Bush administration has a monopoly on ideas too! Why does complementing another country make someone unpatriotic???
What lunacy.

TLC,

Having a conversation with you around is like trying to run while carrying a refrigerator.

"and Kernersville" You are too funny Nit. Last week I was in Maine, today I'm in Tampa, next Tuesday I'll be in Tanzania.

Why were you concerned about visiting Cameroon?

After Kernersville, Cameroon should be a piece of cake! Just don't drink the water (in Kernersville that is).