Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 18:11:46 GMT -4
But you don't mind interfering in the internal politics of other countries. (Notice the smiley? I put that there to magically remove the insult). When they start beating down their neighbors we sometimes feel the need to do something about it, especially when we feel they might threaten us as well. Surely what makes it right is whether we are helping people in the end. Iraqis no longer need fear that Saddam Hussein is going to gas their village, or that one of his sons is going to pick a girl off the street to have some fun with them, or even anymore if Al Qaeda is going to blow them up while they stand in line to vote.
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Jason
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 18:09:17 GMT -4
Don't tar everybody with the same 'poisoned by the world media' brush. I did say "generally". You called President Bush a warmonger and accused him of saber rattling in this same post, both stereotypical characteristics that are popular in depictions of him but which don't match the reality of the man very well.
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 18:04:38 GMT -4
It seems like you're saying though in your last post that the American attitude toward other cultures and nations is basically "it's my way or the highway". I'm saying that when it comes to internal American affairs like who gets to be President that it's our way.
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Jason
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 12:37:06 GMT -4
Isn't celebrating a banning something hoax believers do?
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 12:17:04 GMT -4
In regards to why should you care who the world thinks should lead your country, you obviously don't have to care but it's the fact that many people do regard the US as the world's leader and therefore they do care who runs the US. And the majority of those people (in the 10s of thousands I believe) felt they would be safer with Barak Obama. It's understandable that they should care, with the U.S. being just about the only 500-pound gorilla around, but should that give them any say in who actually leads the U.S.? I think the clear answer is no. What the world thinks of us is in no way the most important criteria we should use when selecting a leader. It may not even be in the second tier of what we should consider. I can understand why people might fear the power the U.S. has, but I think those who fear it will be turned against them generally either don't really understand the American people or deserve to have it turned against them because they've made themselves our enemies. That's fear of the other raising its ugly head again. And I do feel the world media tends to treat the U.S. unfairly - playing up our few failures much more than our many successes. Bad news is what travels and what people pay atetntion to.
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Jason
Pluto
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 5, 2009 12:04:51 GMT -4
Snort! Dude, lay off the kool-aid for a while. Or switch flavors. That is the LEAST thoughtful reply possible. Did you actually type that or just paste it from somewhere else? Somebody missed the smiley face. Did you think I was serious about Canada too?
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Jason
Pluto
May all your hits be crits
Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 4, 2009 18:34:50 GMT -4
This is an interesting follow-up to the story, and one that shows pilot Sullenberger's character.
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 4, 2009 18:22:19 GMT -4
Would you vote for a Republican regardless? Not necessarily. I didn't vote for Bob Dole in the '96 election. Actually I wasn't registered for either party until this last year, when the Utah Republican party required us to register as a Republican if we wanted to vote in their primary (the Utah Democrats still allow anyone to vote in theirs, not that it matters all that much in a Presidential election in the reddist state in the union). It's not my fault that the Democrats continue to present Presidential candidates that make the Republicans look good by comparison. Certainly I wouldn't have voted for McCain if there had been a better option available. His liberal voting record, lack of executive experience, position on abortion, proposals to expand government power and spending, willingness to punish the rich, and most of all his apparent willingness to do the politically expedient thing, best exemplified by his relationship with Mr. Wright, his ex-spiritual advisor. Leading by the polls is one of the traits I most despised in former President Clinton as well, and the lack of that defect is one of the things I most admired in former President Bush (who couldn't care less about how popular he was if he was doing what he felt was right). Fortunately the office does seem to have sobered Obama at least a little, as evidenced by his current more cautious approaches to wiretapping, interrogation, Gitmo, and Iraq. I hope that trend continues. I'll admit that I also dislike how he was portrayed as The Anointed One that will SAVE us all with the power of CHANGE by most of the mainstream media, but that's merely annoying, not my reason for not agreeing with the guy. Why should we care who the world thinks should lead our country? Rabid anti-Americanism fueled by a liberal-leaning world media? Annoyance at a country that actually wants to take the threat of terrorism seriously? A readiness to judge the man entirely by his somewhat limited eloquence and Texas twang? Egregious double-standards? Someone will have to hijack his posts if they want to see a response from me.
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Jason
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 4, 2009 17:55:57 GMT -4
When our government made decisions not to be lap dogs and not automatically support his policies, his administration basically treated us like second class citizens. What did you expect? You're CANADA. We always treat you like second-clas citizens, when we remember that you're there at all.
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 4, 2009 12:55:05 GMT -4
I find it fascinating that those who were most vocal in excoriating John McCain for failing (they claim) in vetting his choice of vice-president are now scrambling to excuse the Obama administration for failing to find all the tax problems of his cabinet choices.
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 4, 2009 12:02:33 GMT -4
You're probably better helped by a native speaker like Bert, but I won't mind assisting if you wish. My understanding of sailing comes mostly from reading the Aubrey/Maturin books.
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Jason
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Post by Jason on Feb 3, 2009 19:19:16 GMT -4
Truman left office with terrible popularity, having presided over the beginning of unpopular wars (the Cold War and Korea), and he had the worst recorded popularity ever (worse, by a narrow margin, than Bush or Nixon acheived). When he left office Democrats blamed him for handing the White House to the Republicans (after 20 years of Democratic presidents). Today Truman is something of a liberal icon and highly regarded by scholars (usually ranked in the top 10 presidents).
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Jason
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 3, 2009 18:59:12 GMT -4
Maybe Jason has got a point. After all, look how fondly we look back at the Vietnam War and Watergate. My question was how Iraqi historians will view President Bush. It might not take a dozen years for American historians to rehabilitate his image.
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Jason
Pluto
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 3, 2009 18:22:34 GMT -4
Look how thankful the French were/are now. So you're saying the Iraqis will be just as rude and ungrateful as the French are? Ouch.
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Jason
Pluto
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Posts: 5,579
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Post by Jason on Feb 3, 2009 13:32:53 GMT -4
A story from the NYT today: "Iraqis voted on Saturday for local representatives, on an almost violence-free election day aimed at creating provincial councils that more closely represent Iraq's ethnic, sectarian and tribal balance. By nightfall, there were no confirmed deaths, and children played soccer on closed-off streets in a generally joyous atmosphere." In 2005, the last time elections were held, there were 299 terrorist attacks. None this time. Last time voter turnout in Anbar province (overwhelmingly Sunni) was 2%. This time it was 40%. Last time candidates loyal to anti-American Moqtada al-Sadr did well. This time Sadr didn't dare to field any candidates, and early reports are that the Supreme Council of Islamic Revolution, a party funded by Iran - was trounced. More secular parties have become popular, such as the Dawa Party of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. Shiite cleric Abdul Kareem told Al Jazeera "Those candidates who campaigned under the banner of religion should be rejected. They corrupted the name of religion because they are notorious for being thieves. Religion is not politics." More U.S. soldiers died in accidents (12) than in combat (4) in January. Things are really looking up in Iraq all around, and it's because President Bush found the right people (admittedly, finally) to fight the war and solve Iraq's problems. Gen. Petreus was even honored with flipping the coin at the Superbowl. What do you think Iraq's historians will have to say about President Bush in another dozen years? It may be very complimentary.
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