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Getting 9/11 backwards

73 comments on Getting 9/11 backwards

Getting 9/11 backwards

: If I were writing the 9/11 Commission report, I would have started with the recommendations and then used the narrative to back up those recommendations.

By starting with and rehashing the past, the commission continues the rhetoric of blame it engaged in through its hearings.

And then, rather than wallowing in the finger pointing and coulda-shouldas, the Commission would have focused attention on the future and the more urgent issues facing us, namely:

But the enemy is not just

73 responses to “Getting 9/11 backwards”

  1. Mork Avatar
    Mork

    And its report does not bring the vision and force we need.
    You mean it doesn’t advocate indiscriminate attacks on middle eastern countries?

  2. shark Avatar
    shark

    A leader will give us vision and force. The question is whether we have one.
    Oh we have one. But you want to replace him with the guy who will defer to the UN.
    Jeff, you keep saying you’re a war on terror hawk, but you sure don’t act like it. Given recent events, like Kerry surrounding himself with people who actively and knowingly hurt national security for partisian reasons like Joe Wilson (I see Kerry camp finally got around to taking down their website dedicated to him), Richard Clarke and now Sandy Bergler- how can you in all good conscience tell me that you think Kerry and his party can do better than Bush???
    Say what you want about Rice, Powell, Ashcroft, Cheney and Rumsfeld – they’re certainly more competent and equipped to help fight this war than Bergler (document stuffer and destryer) Joe Wilson (liar) Clarke (ineffective and liar) and Edwards (inexperienced pretty boy).
    Think about it…..

  3. Michael Zimmer Avatar
    Michael Zimmer

    According to the Commission, we will win this war in… libraries?
    Yes, in libraries. As Socrates said, “The only good is knowledge and the only evil is ignorance.”

  4. John Avatar
    John

    I think Jeff still has time to hear Kerry make his case on why he would be better on terrorism than Bush, but as of now, the general attitude of his party when they are not on talking points for an audience still seems flabby, at best.
    Bill Clinton may not be running for president now, but given his influence within the party, his comment during the Denver book signing this week brushing off Sandy Berger’s classified document removal from the archives as “something we both laughed about” presents a dangerously casual attitude within the party about national security information that helped get us into trouble in the first place.
    John Kerry may not share that opinion about someone smuggling unauthorized information out of a secure location, and he certainly ought to be ticked off that he wasn’t told in advance about the incident, the way Clinton was. But at the very least he needs to show that the Democratic Party takes the issue of improved national security as more than a bunch of surface buzz words that have to be recited, but aren’t really taken to heart.
    Democrats can complain that Bush did the same thing with his statements about “Compassionate Conservatism,” in an effort to dupe the public. But even if true, saying and not meaning that is far less consequential in the long run than saying but not meaning you’re going to be serious about eliminating the terrorist threat to the nation. Being poor because of an unfulfilled campaign promise isn’t good; being dead because of one is worse.

  5. Angelos Avatar
    Angelos

    Leader? Bush?
    Really, where would you let him lead you? I don’t think he could get me to the corner store, he surely shouldn’t be making decisions that afeect the lives of billions of people.
    If the last 4 years of failure haven’t shown you that…

  6. Mithras Avatar
    Mithras

    The U.S. government must define what the message is, what it stands for. We should offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors. America and Muslim friends can agree on respect for human dignity and opportunity.
    Exactly right. Richard Clarke calls it winning the battle of ideas. Right now we’re incredibly unpopular in the Arab and Muslim world. Even Muslim leaders who are inclined to be our friends can’t speak up publicly right now, because of the blundering of the Bush administration that has alientated their constituents. We have to create the conditions necessary for those leaders to have the ability to denounce the jihadi cultists. Key to creating those conditions is to convince ordinary Arabs and Muslims that we are a force for good, not evil.
    Military force is a necessary but insufficient means for protecting ourselves. Too much force is counterproductive. With force alone, we can’t win, but we can make the other guy lose, too. Use the right level of force combined with the diplomacy that Clarke and the commission recommend, and we win.
    Jarvis, the fact that you don’t get that, and the fact that you just call for more and more military intervention, shows you don’t understand the situation and are not a serious thinker about our security.

  7. Michael Avatar
    Michael
  8. Andrew | BB Avatar
    Andrew | BB

    I guess the report could have gone on to try and solve all the world’s problems Jeff. But maybe they thought Congress and the Executive branch might have a say?
    Also the report would have been about 18,000 pages long.
    I do like the idea of starting with solutions. But really, you could just turn to those chapters first if you needed to.
    It was, it appears, specifically written to be as widely read as possible. Not clauses upon clauses upon whereases (sp?) upon ….
    That is to be applauded. It’s on the net, the entire thing. It’s a gem.
    GO John Kerry, I trust him to do the right thing.

  9. Andrew | BB Avatar
    Andrew | BB

    Yeah I can post here again !!! I was, without known reason and maybe just a computer glitch, blocked before

  10. daudder Avatar
    daudder

    Jeff, you cannot wage a war against a tactic. the 9/11 commission is merely stating the obvious, stripped of the revenge and fear that has guided US policy (especially) over the past 3 years.
    It is not one countries responsibilty to “bring democracy” to any other country, as that inevitiably requires the former to conquer the latter. democracy takes a long time and must be established from within.

  11. onecent Avatar
    onecent

    “The United States should rebuild the scholarship, exchange, and library programs that reach out to young people and offer them knowledge and hope.”
    Have these people forgotten that the 9/11 hijackers became proficient at flying by attending flight school here?
    And contraditing the above if we could find some multi-cultural ground to make them like us again is what really needs done:
    “It is not a position with which Americans can bargain or negotiate. With it there is no common ground

  12. doug Avatar
    doug

    Islamists hated us before 1990. I sold lambs to Islamic people years before the first Gulf War. As a man who has been team preached to by Islamist leaders let me tell you a secret. “I have a duty and an obligation to lie to you, to cheat you, and to steal from you.” That’s a quote from a man my local Imam calls “an honored and respected member of the local Islamic Community.” The Islamic world has got to know that we’re not taking any more of their crap. If they want to f*** with the bull, they are going to get the horn. Bush gets it. Kerry hasn’t got a clue.

  13. Sydney Carton Avatar
    Sydney Carton

    Basically, the leftist response has been: don’t use violence, because violence breeds more violence and it’s a prescription for endless war.
    I’ll take a little line from the protest warriors: Apart fom ending slavery, Nazism, Communism, and Fascism, WAR HAS NEVER SOLVED ANYTHING!!!!!”
    heh.

  14. Andy Avatar
    Andy

    WOW-!
    So much denial that 9/11 actually happened. So many responses that speak from a 9/10 Hate-Bush perspective.
    It’s almost like the last 3 1/2 years never even happened.
    What a war-! Constant reminders that we are at war. Protestors saying there is “No War, except what we created”.
    Can we really return to those happy days when all we cared about was BJ’s, Dimples and Dangling Chads? Is it really safe to go back to sleep?
    Do the Nattering Nabobs of Negativism have a valid point?

  15. onecent Avatar
    onecent

    I wouldn’t describe our actions in the last 3 years as “revenge and fear”. More like a measured strategy of defense with long term goals in place. Two ME countries lost rogue regimes, terrorist bases can flourish in them, Homeland Security is in place, intel is being rebuilt, Libya gave up its weapons, the Saudis are rethinking continued funding of radicals, Iraqis on the streets today seem to be grateful recipients of our revenge.
    It is not one countries responsibilty to “bring democracy” to any other country, as that inevitiably requires the former to conquer the latter. democracy takes a long time and must be established from within.
    If I follow your logic Iraqis should be pissed at being democratized too soon and by external forces? Denied a few more years with Saddam, can they ever forgive us?

  16. Walter Wallis Avatar
    Walter Wallis

    We will have reduced the threat when Imams everywhere end their sermons with “Don’t piss off the man.”
    Before we show the world yet again what a friend they have in America, we must convince them that we are real bad to have as enemies.

  17. shark Avatar
    shark

    So now, according to drudge, Sandy Berger- Kerry advisor and prospective nominee for a prominent position in a Kerry administration- now stopped multiple attempts to attack Al Qeada during the Clinton years.
    To swipe from National Review:
    Here’s the real questions: Senator Kerry, in light of Berger’s record of extreme caution in the face of a growing terrorist threat, why did you choose him as a foreign policy and national security adviser to your campaign? And do you think he was too timid in his pursuit of Osama bin Laden? Why should Americans think that a Berger-advised Kerry Administration would be more aggressive than a Berger-advised Clinton Administration?
    Jeff? You’re the hawk who supports Kerry. I guess you need to explain your position (if you can)

  18. David R. Block Avatar
    David R. Block

    If the last 4 years of failure haven’t shown you that…
    The last three years have shown me that we are reaping the whirlwind that the 8 years of failure before them caused.

  19. shark Avatar
    shark

    It really doesn

  20. Charlie (Colorado) Avatar
    Charlie (Colorado)

    If I were writing the 9/11 Commission report, I would have started with the recommendations and then used the narrative to back up those recommendations.
    And probably rightly so. However, you might as well complain that the envoi of a sestina isn’t up front.

  21. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Doug:
    “I have a duty and an obligation to lie to you, to cheat you, and to steal from you.”
    Ever read the Talmud? At first I thought your quote may have been from the Talmud.
    (The Talmud is the collection of ancient Rabbinic writings consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara, constituting the basis of religious authority in Orthodox Judaism. This collection of commentaries of biblical texts form, with the Torah, the foundation for the religious laws of Judiasm.)

  22. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Sydney carlton:
    War didn’t end slavery in England. Dialogue did.

  23. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    onecent:
    “If I follow your logic Iraqis should be pissed at being democratized too soon and by external forces?”
    They are!

  24. mary Avatar
    mary

    The National Socialist German Worker’s Party Platform is almost identical to the writings of modern Islamists.
    Like Hamas’ covenant, which says:
    “After Palestine, the Zionists aspire to expand from the Nile to the Euphrates. When they will have digested the region they overtook, they will aspire to further expansion, and so on. Their plan is embodied in the “Protocols of the Elders of Zion”, and their present conduct is the best proof of what we are saying.”
    Could we have won WWII in the libraries? Could we have won by trying to be more popular in the German world?
    Somehow, I doubt it.

  25. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Mary:
    I don’t think anyone is arguing war is always avoidable and never just. Because war with Germany was unavoidable (Hitler declared it against us) and just (we acted in self defense), it doesn’t follow that every war is necessary or unavoidable, or that there is no non-military action that can be taken that can mitigate or decrease chances of war.

  26. mary Avatar
    mary

    Islamists and their supporters in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, etc. declared war against us on 9/11.
    The philosophies and the hatred that motivate these Islamists are nearly identical to the philosophies that motivated fascists and their supporters in WWII. The only difference is their tactics. Today’s fascists are less direct.
    Ineffective non-military solutions were tried before WWII. Is there a good reason to let history repeat itself?
    The main difference between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor is that after Pearl Harbor, we had the courage to directly confront our enemies. This time, we don’t.

  27. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    The strident get-tough mentality in the so-called War on Terrorism so frequently espoused above will cause (and already has) some serious ancillary problems for our country. Among them, for example:
    1. A state of perpetual war.
    2. Massive growth of government.
    3. Ever-decreasing individual rights in a police state.
    4. The rise of the propaganda and secrecy state concurrent with diminishment of free expression.
    5. Economic decline (wars, occupations, and police states cost money, which means high taxes and huge debts, and are bad for business).

  28. mm Avatar
    mm

    IThe main difference between 9/11 and Pearl Harbor is that after Pearl Harbor, we had the courage to directly confront our enemies. This time, we don’t.
    The Administration refused to ” directly confront our enemies” when they declared war on “terrorism” rather than on Al-Queda or Bin Laden, those repsonsible for the 9/11 events. Perhaps a more focused effort (with an actual end-game scenario) would have helped…
    BTW, I’m still waiting for our war on terror to do something about the IRA, the cells of people who plant pipe-bombs at abortion clinics & snipe doctors. Oh, wait, Kat will probably tell me that only Muslims can be terrorists. Nevermind….

  29. onecent Avatar
    onecent

    So, Michael, the Talmud preaches lying, cheating and stealing and the Iraqis are pissed at being liberated?
    Wow. I take it that with the Nazis and Baathists gone, Germany and Iraq are off your vacation list.

  30. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Mary:
    I

  31. shark Avatar
    shark

    2. Massive growth of government
    Don’t blame this on the war on terror. Govt unfortunately doesn’t need a war to expand. The prescription drug plan or the national health care ideas aren’t war related….
    1. A state of perpetual war Eh. We’ve been at war since the 90’s, this is the first time we’re fighting back. THEY WERE ALREADY AT PERPETUAL WAR WITH US!
    3. Ever-decreasing individual rights in a police state. Examples, not rhetoric. And before you go giving me Ashcroft/Patriot Act talking points, I want SPECIFIC EVIDENCE of your rights being taken by the police state. FACT: McCain-Feingold curtails your rights more than the dreaded Patriot Act ever will. So either give proof, FACTUAL PROOF, or go fuk off to the MoveOn.org chatroom, eh?
    Economic decline Yeah, that economy sure isn’t growing at a stronmg clip I guess….
    So you actually look at the real world, or just post your Micheal Moore talking points w/o thinking???? Disgraceful

  32. freddie poo Avatar
    freddie poo

    All things are finally political. The comments a good indication that there are two visions (or more), so that to say the commission should have been bi-partisan etc is naive. But I do believe they did a fairly good job in trying to be above policitcs: look! neither Clinton or Bush get clobbered. My view: Bush (like him or otherwise) should have dumped CIA chief as soon as possible after 9/11, if only to assure us of a new beginning.

  33. shark Avatar
    shark

    BTW, I’m still waiting for our war on terror to do something about the IRA, the cells of people who plant pipe-bombs at abortion clinics & snipe doctors. Oh, wait, Kat will probably tell me that only Muslims can be terrorists. Nevermind
    Stop being so obtuse. You damn well know it’s a war on ISLAMIC TERRORISTS, but political correctness keeps us from really saying so (unfortunately)
    Meaning that getting or killing Bin Laden would be amazingly wonderful- but wouldn’t end it. And you damn well know that also, but you choose to be this way about it…

  34. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    onecent:
    I’m Jewish — for once, trust me

  35. furious_a Avatar
    furious_a

    When it looks like the abortion bombers and snipers are hooking up with al Quaeda, by all means.
    In the meantime, let’s add the various Environmental and Animal Rights terrorists, Ruckus Socities and Anti-Globo anarchists to the list, too! Their grievances against Western Civilization resemble al Quaeda’s at least as much as Operation Rescue’s do, yes?
    Actually, the IRA have been caught giving bomb-making lessons to the FARC in Colombia, and their MO for small-unit ambushes are all over several attacks on IDF outposts. So with regards to imagination, we’d better assume that there is going to be cross-pollination between Islamic terror cells and some of the home-grown Western variety.
    –furious

  36. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Shark:
    1.

  37. mary Avatar
    mary

    Michael – I

  38. furious_a Avatar
    furious_a

    Joseph Wilson IV — Pompous, grandstanding Liar.
    “Sandy” Berger — Trouser-stuffing Classified Document Thief.
    Richard C. Clarke — Embittered,passed-over bureaucratic hack.
    What do each of these men have in common, you ask? The Kerry-Edwards campaign has employed each of them as key Foreign Policy/National Security advisors.
    Oh, yes, Mr. Jarvis, light years ahead of the Bush team. You should be so PROUD.
    –furious

  39. onecent Avatar
    onecent

    Hey, “I’m Jewish” Michael, you could also be a dog with remarkable typing skills, but a nice try at digging yourself out of what many could construe as an anti-semitic utterance. It was totally gratuitous in the context of modern Islamic behavior. The Talmud never preached jihad, my friend.
    Maybe your tv had a broadcast of a million man march of pissed off Iraqis, angry at their liberation, but mine didn’t.

  40. furious Avatar
    furious

    Michael:
    Dialogue didn’t end slavery in England, the Norman Conquest did.
    Dialogue didn’t end the Transatlantic Slave Trade, the Royal Navy did.
    Dialogue didnn’t end slavery in the United States, the Union Army did.
    I could go on, but even you should get the point by now. And some advice…pithiness only works when your examples sustain scrutiny.
    –furious.

  41. shark Avatar
    shark

  42. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Mary:
    Are you saying that Islamic terrorists fall within the conventional definition of facsist?

  43. Charlie (Colorado) Avatar
    Charlie (Colorado)

    I

  44. Charlie (Colorado) Avatar
    Charlie (Colorado)

    Mary: Are you saying that Islamic terrorists fall within the conventional definition of facsist?
    If she isn’t saying that Islamic terrorists are motivated by a pseudo-Islamic fascism, I will.
    “Terrorism” per se is no more Islamic than “piracy” was, but acting as if you don’t understand the difference between the tactic and the political views espoused by the terrorisms is more than a little disingenuous.

  45. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    onecent:

  46. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Charlie (Colorodo):
    “I’m guessing that you are unfamiliar with the Ba’ath Party’s rule in Syria and pre-war Iraq, the Talib history in Afghanistan, the theocratic rule in Iran, the Palestinian Authority, the puppet government in Lebanon, the genocidal maniacs in the Sudan, the House of Saud, or the regime of Libya’s Qaddafi?”
    I was refering specifically to Islamic terrorists, not governments. See Mary’s post above. Surely governments can be, and the ones you cited probably are, facsist. (I seriously doubt GWB would agree that the House of Saud are terrorists.)

  47. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Charlie (Colorado)
    “If she isn’t saying that Islamic terrorists are motivated by a pseudo-Islamic fascism, I will.”
    You’re making a more out of this than is necessary

  48. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Shark:

  49. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Even Dick Cheney agrees with the Commission:
    “Let me make a generalized statement about a trend I see in the U.S. Congress that I find disturbing, that applies not only with respect to the Iranian situation but a number of others as well,”
    “I think we Americans sometimes make mistakes. … There seems to be an assumption that somehow we know what’s best for everybody else and that we are going to use our economic clout to get everybody else to live the way we would like.”
    Dick Cheney
    CEO, Halliburton
    March 1996

  50. Yehudit Avatar
    Yehudit

    “”I have a duty and an obligation to lie to you, to cheat you, and to steal from you.”
    Ever read the Talmud? At first I thought your quote may have been from the Talmud.”
    Huh? Are you claiming the Talmud tells people to lie, steal and cheat? If so, you may want to read this and this.
    I study Talmud. It contains excellent guides to moral behavior for everybody, along with folktales and much else.

  51. Yehudit Avatar
    Yehudit

    “Nor did I make an anti-semiotic remark. I stated an indisputable fact

  52. Yehudit Avatar
    Yehudit

    Unfortunately, Michael is a good example of the mindset who think Kerry will be an improvement over Bush. Even if Kerry gets elected and somehow miraculously figures it out, I don’t like the idea that Michael’s ilk will then think they have a mandate.
    Jeff, you keep saying you aren’t going to vote for Bush, but then you espouse viewpoints similar to Bush’s approach. So why don’t you tell us why you are voting for Kerry?

  53. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Yahudit:
    Thank you for a thorough response my posts. I would like to address each point, including that on the Talmud and on war, but that will take a few minutes.
    But, on your last point, that

  54. doug Avatar
    doug

    When Clinton took 900 FBI files he didn’t need the Patriot Act. When Islamic Governments started calling us the Great Satan they declared war on us. The Imam who calls members of his flock honored and respected members of the community who call for lying cheating and stealing
    are the problem. Political correctness is the largest problem facing America today. Followed of course by historical blindness. The “Arming America” believers of history will reap what they sow. Carthaga delenda est. War never solves anything for you if you lose. If you don’t fight, you can’t win.

  55. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Yahudit:

  56. John Avatar
    John

    “The U.S. government must define what the message is, what it stands for. We should offer an example of moral leadership in the world, committed to treat people humanely, abide by the rule of law, and be generous and caring to our neighbors. America and Muslim friends can agree on respect for human dignity and opportunity.”
    Jeff asks: What the hell does that mean?
    Well Jeff, we’re at war, and I’m afraid the Democrats are again prescribing warm water enemas all around.
    After all, don’t we all just need to get in touch with our feelings, and those of our “allies around the world”?
    I’m really getting tired of listening to Democrats carping about how other countries feel about us.
    I not that concerned about the feelings of people who appease tyrants, ignore genocide in their own back yards, and sell nuclear technology to Islamist fanatics and anyone else willing to pony up.
    I’d rather be an object of these appeaser’s ridicule than join them in their folly.
    The Democrats apparently wish us all to share equitably in the potential perils to be born of their own personal insecurities.
    Hear this Democrats: I don’t believe that your personal insecurities should be allowed to perpetuate our national insecurity.
    When we take a strong stand against those who would kill us, some will not like it.
    We can’t always be the belle of the ball, so get over it, if you can.

  57. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Doug:

  58. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    John:

  59. Yehudit Avatar
    Yehudit

    “(I would however be very interested in finding a more private mode to communicate where we could have a substantive debate or discussion on the subject

  60. Yehudit Avatar
    Yehudit

    “The U.S. has done all of the above: appeased tyrants e.g., Rumsfeld in Iraq for one, ignored genocide e.g., Rwanda, Sudan and Iraq, sold WMD e.g., Iraq, Iran, and Afghani mujahedeen.”
    The largest arms supplier to Saddam was Russia (over 50%), next France (12%), next I think China, then Germany, then about 15 other countries, then us (1%). Who sold Saddam his nuclear reactor? France. Who had huge oil deals with Saddam? France and Russia. Who voted against the invasion in the UNSC? France and Russia. hmmmm. Who just vetoed UN action in the Sudan and has large oil concessions there? France. Hmmmm. I could go on, but there is much more corrupt venal behavior going on elsewhere while you fulminate about the awfulness of us.

  61. mary Avatar
    mary

    Michael

  62. h0mi Avatar
    h0mi

    Speaking of General Sherman…
    “War is the remedy that our enemies have chosen, and I say let us give them all they want.”
    I hate newspapermen. They come into camp and pick up their camp rumors and print them as facts. I regard them as spies, which, in truth, they are. If I killed them all there would be news from Hell before breakfast.

  63. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Yahudit:
    The U.S. sells more arms internationally than all other countries combined. And it spends more on it own defense than all other countries combined.

  64. anne.elk Avatar
    anne.elk

    Judith,
    While I don’t ignore the good or the bad of others, I know that I can best affect my local environment. And while I have high expectations of others, I demand ethical and moral behavior at home.
    Just because I don’t let Ashcroft off the hook, doesn’t mean I want to see the Sudanese massacre continue.
    I am sure you would agree, “Think globally, act locally.”

  65. HA Avatar
    HA

    Jeff,
    A leader will give us vision and force. The question is whether we have one.
    No, the real question is whether We The People Have the vision to RECOGNIZE a leader when we see one. I look at Bush and I see a leader. I look at a Kerry led America and I see a deer in the headlights.
    Sure, Bush has watered down his views as an electoral strategy. He sounds more like Kerry every day. But is that a condemnation of him or of us? If We The People are unable to come to terms with the reality that confronts us, whose fault is that?
    And I’m getting sick of our elected representaves and blue-ribbon commissions scapegoating the intelligence agencies and other bureaucrats for the failures that led to 9/11. But who has oversight of the bureacracy? Our elected representatives do. And who has oversight over our elected representatives? We The People do.
    We can’t blame the politicians and bureaucrats for our own failure. If we keep voting the way we’re voting, we gonna keep getting what we’re getting. We have nobody to blame but ourselves.
    Like it or not, agree with it or not, Bush has laid out a straight-forward plan to fight the war – premption against terrorist states and democratic reform in the Arab/Islamic world. Kerry has offered nothing except more of the failed policies that led to 9/11.

  66. John Avatar
    John

    Michael, you stated:
    “The U.S. has done all of the above: appeased tyrants e.g., Rumsfeld in Iraq for one, ignored genocide e.g., Rwanda, Sudan and Iraq, sold WMD e.g., Iraq, Iran, and Afghani mujahedeen.”
    Michael,
    The threats we face exist in the present and will continue to exist in the future. The attempt on the part of the anti-Bush advocates to use examples of past actions and policies in order to limit our options in the present and future is ridiculous as well as dangerous.
    Part of the reason George W. Bush is taking so much heat is because he has been courageous in his efforts to change the business as usual dynamic in order to hopefully counter these new and unconventional threats.
    The Democrats spend a lot of time looking backward.
    Hint: the future is this way >>>>>.

  67. mary Avatar
    mary

    Think globally, act locally
    Great idea. Let’s all join hands, talk about how Bush lied, sing kumbaya and visualize whirled peas.
    That’ll stop the killing in the Sudan.

  68. Harry Avatar
    Harry

    I don’t care if Jeff votes for Kerry I just want him and his ilk to pay my share of the tax increases that always come with electing socialists. Because if you think government is expanding too fast you ain’t seen shit until the Democrats regain power, bub. And these Democrats are Clinton style Democrats in one way and one way only: they will also decimate the military the way Clinton did in order to hide gargantuan entitlement outlays. Entiltlement programs which in reality have throughtout the 20th century nothing more than vote buying schemes for Democrats at the expense of the American taxpayer regardless of how the average middleclass taxpayer feels their dues should be spent. At least Clinton had the good sense to leave the economy alone, well that and the Republican dominated Congress refused to go along with a great deal of Clinton’s dumb shit. Today, however, the Republicans in the US Senate seem to weak and spineless to withstand a possible onslaught of Kerry’s socialistic stupidity. They stand with Clinton in their total contempt for the military (remember John Kerry is an admitted war criminal) and they both love money, but Kerry and the Democrats of today really love other people’s money. The moral of the story? Democrats are going to get a lot of us killed. The present administration hasn’t made a of adjustments to national security because it would be so friggin’ upopular it would be all that would you read in the newspapers. The Patriot Act hasn’t curtailed civil liberties but you wouldn’t know that watching or reading the msp. Can you imagine the gnashing of teeth, the seething hatred, and the outright invective hurled at Bush if he really did what it took to make us completely safe? After the press and hollywood were finished no “sinister” conservative could get elected for the next forty years and by that time we would all be government employees. We can’t have it both ways, either to be completely umencumbered in our lives or totally safe. And the Democratic way of solving any and all problems by throwing money at them won’t work this time either, because Democrats can’t buy the crazed fundamentalist Islamist vote with a entitlement. Hell, the Islamonazis aren’t registered to vote, yet. But then a person, citizen or not, not being registered has never stopped a Democrat from getting their vote.

  69. Harry Avatar
    Harry

    Sorry about the sloppiness of that post I have been at work all night and am suffering Sandy Bergler disease. Is that a crime?

  70. onecent Avatar
    onecent

    Great post, Harry

  71. Trump Avatar
    Trump

    Jeff, answer the question when you get a chance: Why are you – as a hawk on terror- voting for Kerry, given his dreadful selections of advisors in Berger and Wilson (who would most likely have held positions in Kerry’s govt in the event of election if they hadn’t been exposed)
    Jeff, please tell us why you feel Kerry would do a better job on Terror?

  72. Syl Avatar
    Syl

    Michael
    “Under the Patriot Act, the FBI no longer needs to get a warrant from a judge to search my house, which strikes me a violating my rights under the Fourth Amendment”
    This is a flat out lie. A warrant is STILL required. You’re probably confusing yourself because it doesn’t have to be served on you before the search. Delayed notification and all that, which IS the case already if you’re a mafioso or drug dealer. Now it’s applied to terrorism investigations as well.
    That’s why criticism of ‘sneak and peak’ is called the ‘tip-off-a-terrorist’ approach.

  73. Michael Avatar
    Michael

    Syl:
    You’re mistaken (note I didn’t call you a liar). Under the Patriot Act, “intelligence” provisions provide that “searches” for the purpose of