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From today's Democracy Now!
“Obama Has Kept the Machine Set on Kill”–Journalist and Activist Allan Nairn Reviews Obama’s First Year in Office
In an extended interview, award-winning journalist and activist Allan Nairn looks back over the Obama administration’s foreign policy and national security decisions over the last twelve months. “I think Obama should be remembered as a great man because of the blow he struck against white racism,” Nairn says. “But once he became president…Obama became a murderer and a terrorist, because the US has a machine that spans the globe, that has the capacity to kill, and Obama has kept it set on kill. He could have flipped the switch and turned it off…but he chose not to do so.” He continues, “In fact, as far as one can tell, Obama seems to have killed more civilians during his first year than Bush did in his first year, and maybe even than Bush killed in his final year.” [includes rush transcript]
http://www.democracynow.org/2010/1/6/obama_has_kept_the_machine_set
I have had arguments with conservatives about money and charity. I just had a thought about it. Conservatives love to tell us that their party members are more generous to charity than liberals. While this may be true when talking about financial charity, I really doubt that it is true about giving of one's time. I wonder if there are any polls that show which party is more generous with their time as I would not be suprised if it turns out to be the Democratic party. Many conservatives believe in the almighty dollar above all else, while liberals understand that there are more important things in life than money. This is just a thought I had and wanted to get out there.
Someone please help me with this - when an actor, say Alec Baldwin speaks on politics, all the repiglican pundits say "Oh who is he, just one of those 'radical Hollywood liberals'" But when has-been hacks like Robert Davi and your guest Jerry Doyle speak or write (from a boilerplate), we're supposed to listen? Dennis Miller is 'funny' according the repiglicans, but a great comedian and agitator like the late-George Carlin gets pilloried?
Regardless of stripe, an actor is just an actor - even if someone gives that actor a radio show and a comedian is just a comedian, except if they get spots on Faux News.
BTW - Thom. When you say "the Vice President" is saying this and that, you do realize you're referring to Joe Biden , right? He IS the Vice President, not whatshisface repiglican former office holders.
re your recent talk about why Byron Dorgan is leaving... get him on and ask him!
"There are known knowns. These are things we know that we know. There are known unknowns. That is to say, there are things that we know we don't know. But there are also unknown unknowns. There are things we don't know we don't know."
Donald Rumsfeld
or "[Osama Bin Laden is] either alive and well or alive and not too well or not alive."
"Freedom's untidy, and free people are free to make mistakes and commit crimes and do bad things." –on looting in Iraq after the U.S. invasion, adding "stuff happens"
Rumsfeld-isms....type of thinking we have had for last 8 plus years
This guy, Jerry doesn't have a leg to stand on. None of these people do. Good thing he has health insurance. Maybe he'll be able to get a good artifical leg.
Reality of Right Wingnut Nostalgia Revealed
Last night, the Daily Show did an amazing expose regarding the past glory days of America for which the right-wing talking heads are nostalgic (video):
http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-january-5-2010/even-better-than-th...
Is there really a difference between a socialist government and a truly democratic government. For the people by the people seems pretty socialist to me.
"We have nothing to fear, but fear itself." FDR
I took that statement to mean that our country needs to free itself from paralytic fear and do what is necessary. Guess the cons found it to be useful advise on how to further their agenda.
"it behooves those in power to keep us very much afraid"
If the Fear-nistas had to take off their shoes, we just might see that they have hooves!
Re: “Never attribute to malice what may adequately be explained by screw-ups”
Perhaps, though I think it behooves those in power to keep us very much afraid. (Allowing such things to happen furthers their agendas).
As far as our intellegence community, their reputation is shot! (I wanted to use another word)
Until we have leadership and intelligence working together, they are collectively working against our best interests.
On the subject of terrorism, and it's handling, all of the components were in place to stop the underwear bomber, yet he was ALLOWED to get on the plane...we need to know why the cameras were off and why operations were not shut down until they were turned back on. We need names of the people in charge of maintenance, and management. We need the names of the people who accepted cash from a Nigerian with no luggage and shakey ID, then we need criminal prosecutions of EVERYONE who dropped the ball on this...if it was due to negligence, otherwise it was clearly a conspiracy.
@Thom - re the question whether the crotch bomber info screwup was a CIA black op ---
"Never attribute to malice what may adequately be explained by screw-ups"
(...not original to me but pertinent...)
I came across a blog post today that talks about how "Al-Qaeda Doesn't Exist"
Here's a video from the post: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TTTgpsAs4_c&feature=player_embedded
At some point the video show's Rumsfield on MTP W/ Tim Russert selling "Al-Qaeda", as this advanced terrorist threat.
A friend sent me a link through Facebook from EuroTheYank's Blog: The Truth Behind Terror - The Great Satan & CIA Drug Trafficking.
I personally think that no President will ever tell us the truth because it exposes the lies and criminal enterprise that we are unknowing apart of with CIA and other US Agencies around the world. What do you think Mr. Hartmann?
Weird News
Man pleads no contest for masturbating in Kohl's store
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/local_news/stories/2010/01/06/howar...
Re: Quark, The American people have faith in major institutions of the government?
I thought the Re-pube-lickens have been doing everything possible to make sure that no American would have faith in the government, and I think they're doing a damn good job at it too.
I'm baaa-aaaack! :)
Been away for a while - vacation and office relocation madness have caused a bit of turmoil with respect to my ability to post my opinions here. My appearances hereabouts may remain rare for the next week or so, till things get back to what passes for normal at my office.
@Mark - You've touched upon my greatest fear regarding Health Care Reform. Even if Obama and Congress DO manage to pass a useful reform bill, sooner or later there will be another Rethuglican elected to the Presidency. So, what happens when a philosophical grandson of the Cheney/Rummy Cabal get to make decisions regarding public health? That, my friends, is when the "Death Panels" may truly commence.
@Blue Mark - Well said, sir! My sentiments to a "T"!
Re: X-mas bomber... perhaps the government needs to encourage people to be brave to be free.
'tis noble and sweet to fly for one's country.
Thom,
It seems increasingly obvious that Obama's justice department will not prosecute the criminals or replace the U.S. attorneys from the Bush administration because they will turn over rocks that implicate members of the Clinton administration and other Democrats. Everything you are talking about today tells me there are "big secrets" that the American people just cannot be allowed to know without losing faith in major institutions of government.
I agree with Thom that Reagan's administration destroyed what America was... but it seems like Reagan was as much a puppet as W.
We need to cut the puppet-masters strings. Campaign Funding Reform and Instant Run-off voting.... should probably be about the only things progressives as a whole should be focusing on; the people need their voice back.
Here's the deal. These terrorists are not supermen. They aren't bigger than life, they don't have super powers, they aren't able to defeat our justice system, they can't escape from our supermax prisons. They are, to a man, pathetic wimps. They are weaklings. They attack innocent civilians because they know they can't handle a fair fight. They use fear because they are too pathetic and lame to be able to use persuasion.
The idiot coward fools who build them up are helping the terrorists and hurting America rather than protecting it. They are collaborating with the terrorists in making us more fearful and less free. Their approach of ramping up the fear is exactly the wrong thing to do. We need to put the terrorists in their proper place - prison - and treat them as what they are - weaklings, wimps and morons. I love that we are calling this latest guy the "underpants bomber", that disdain is exactly correct. We should be mocking these fools in the media, not building them up as bogeymen.
Sensible security makes sense, but the cost is too high if we trade our freedoms for security. We need to respond to the threat of terror with vigilance and mockery.
Eventually one of these morons is going to get lucky and actually succeed in their attack. We still need to mock them. They send a thousand morons, and one is bound to get through. Give them no respect. Refuse irrational fear. Yes, we'll grieve the loss of innocent life at the hands of moronic cowards who are too afraid to put up a fair fight, but we should never fear or respect them.
I wonder, is Cheney/Rumsfeld the cause or are they the symptom.
I believe they are symptoms of Corporate influence on Government. Ultimately we'll have more men like this surface time and again so long as the corrosive effect of money and business rule a democratic government. Perhaps (hopefully) I'm wrong.
re:Cheney responsible for everything...yeah, the only exception being Rumsfield's responsibility for aspertame.
Progressives are paying the price for DLC Democrats actions. Byron Dorgan was also a progressive Democrat that served North Dakota and America well. He was the Senator that spoke out against repealing Glass-Steagall warning about the disastrous economic effects that would result which, unfortunately has become true.