I was a little suprised when I actually got a BIT posted more or less on time last night. What I hadn’t expected was some stray code showing up on the result, that linked to the Atlanta Journal and Constitution. I’m still trying to figure out how that bit of Java got there. It’s been removed; thanks to the readers that caught it and wrote me about it.
HEADLINE: President Bush Goes to Iraq
What a brilliant bit of being president! What a fabulous story this is! Now, it didn’t take long at all for about everyone to see that this at least was going to mean a tremendous boost to Bush’s popularity numbers. Which of course means that Democrats and the leftist media were going to try and find a way to spin this against him. But a funny thing happened on the way to the microphones; The Democrat leadership couldn’t get their act together, and all came out looking like idiots. And the rank and file is getting rather desperate.
As soon as this story broke on Thanksgiving day, I jumped on the net and went over to Democraticunderground.com, where I found: (Warning; the language is about what you’d expect from someone of their mental capacity.)
I fear that this one gesture will be the tipping point past which * re-connects with wavering white males and so-called independents. The media is ga-ga over this farce of a visit. The messages from the whore centers will get much more syrupy and orgasmic as the weekend approaches cultminating in a literal ejactulation of praise and wonder on the sunday talk shows. Even Democratic senators will be stepping all over themselves to praise *’s holy visit as an act of courage and daring-do. It won’t be pretty and it won’t be easy to take.
I feel in my gut that this changes everything. The sheeple are just beginning to pay attention to the dawning political season and, for many, this stunt will be their initial waking image: “Our President is indeed a cool guy. Our President is indeed brave and true. Our President risked his life to visit our troops.” And yada yada yada yada …..
Counter that with Dashle, and Biden, and Zell Miller, and all the rest of the regular cast of mealy-mouthed spinless Dems who, mark my words, will end up praising the piss-ant poseur, and what do you have? You have the very real makings of a blowout landslide for fascism and all that is transparently un-american gaining unambiguous approval in November of 2004.
This is the worst I’ve felt in my entire life on this shithole of a planet in this shithole of a country. I can’t image what I’ll feel like in early November 2004. I can’t imagine feeling worse than I do right now but I’ve got to prepare myself for something I dread and fear to the very depth of my soul: The final and irrevokable loss of our democracy to fascism.
What the fuck have we become? In the final analysis it was all just so much sand sifting through our fingers. Just so much sand.
Amazing stuff. Rather reminds me of an aniumal having been backed into a corner. Another pipes up in the same thread:
This feels like it’s the beginning of the end for us.
He’s wrong, of course. The beginning of the end was accomplished quite a while ago…. as the first message demonstrates.
What perhaps put this even further into Mr Bush’s court, though was his remarks at the dinner: (bolds are my own)
“Thank you. I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere. Thank you for inviting me to dinner. General Sanchez, thank you, sir, for your kind invitation and your strong leadership. Ambassador Bremer, thank you for your steadfast belief in freedom and peace. I want to thank the members of the Governing Council who are here, pleased you are joining us on our nation’s great holiday, it’s a chance to give thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings we receive.
I’m particularly proud to be with the 1st Armored Division, the 2nd ACR, the 82nd Airborne. I can’t think of a finer group of folks to have Thanksgiving dinner with than you all. We’re proud of you. Today, Americans are gathering with their loved ones to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. And this year we are especially thankful for the courage and the sacrifice of those who defend us, the men and women of the United States military.
I bring a message on behalf of America: We thank you for your service, we’re proud of you, and America stands solidly behind you. Together, you and I have taken an oath to defend our country. You’re honoring that oath. The United States military is doing a fantastic job. You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq, so that we don’t have to face them in our own country. You’re defeating Saddam’s henchmen, so that the people of Iraq can live in peace and freedom.
By helping the Iraqi people become free, you’re helping change a troubled and violent part of the world. By helping to build a peaceful and democratic country in the heart of the Middle East, you are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful.
You’re engaged in a difficult mission. Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run. We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost in casualties, defeat a brutal dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins.
We will prevail. We will win because our cause is just. We will win because we will stay on the offensive. And we will win because you’re part of the finest military ever assembled. And we will prevail because the Iraqis want their freedom.
Every day you see firsthand the commitment to sacrifice that the Iraqi people are making to secure their own freedom. I have a message for the Iraqi people: You have an opportunity to seize the moment and rebuild your great country, based on human dignity and freedom. The regime of Saddam Hussein is gone forever.
The United States and our coalition will help you, help you build a peaceful country so that your children can have a bright future. We’ll help you find and bring to justice the people who terrorized you for years and are still killing innocent Iraqis. We will stay until the job is done. I’m confident we will succeed, because you, the Iraqi people, will show the world that you’re not only courageous, but that you can govern yourself wisely and justly.
On this Thanksgiving, our nation remembers the men and women of our military, your friends and comrades who paid the ultimate price for our security and freedom. We ask for God’s blessings on their families, their loved ones and their friends, and we pray for your safety and your strength, as you continue to defend America and to spread freedom.
Each one of you has answered a great call, participating in an historic moment in world history. You live by a code of honor, of service to your nation, with the safety and the security of your fellow citizens. Our military is full of the finest people on the face of the earth. I’m proud to be your commander in chief. I bring greetings from America. May God bless you all.”
The response to his showing up was thunderous applause, both in the hall, and here at home. “It’s got to be a lonely moment for them,” said the President. “I thought it was important to send that message that we care for them (the troops) and we support them strongly, that we erase any doubts in their minds as to whether or not the people stand with them.”
He also said, correctly ” Having seen the reaction of those troops, you know it was the right thing to do.”
Given the response at home, it was the right thing to do on that score, as well. This trip did several things:
It got Michael Jackson off the front page, at least until the press figured out there was no way to spin this negative for the president.
Much as some in the press bicthewd and moaned about not being told about his trip, it showed clearly that most people here at home approve of the President not telling the press his every move. One could extrapolate that a bit and take the suggestion that the President has more trust in the end, than the press does.
It upstaged Hitlery’s trip, basically keeping her off the screens… given her trip, she couldn’t even bitch about Bush’s trip. It should not have, however. Look what she pulls: In what must have been a demoralizing message to U.S. soldiers she told them that Americans back home are growing increasingly skeptical of President Bush’s decision to send them into battle. What a moron.
It answered all those who figured we’re going to cut and run.
It made a rather clear demonstration of the differences between an administrator and a leader. Nobody since Reagan and to a lesser degree, Bush Sr., understood this difference. It’s clear by the polling data, however, that the American people, including his opposition, understand the difference.
113003214800–Rochester.NY
HEADLINE: President Bush Goes to Iraq
What a brilliant bit of being president! What a fabulous story this is! Now, it didn’t take long at all for about everyone to see that this at least was going to mean a tremendous boost to Bush’s popularity numbers. Which of course means that Democrats and the leftist media were going to try and find a way to spin this against him. But a funny thing happened on the way to the microphones; The Democrat leadership couldn’t get their act together, and all came out looking like idiots. And the rank and file is getting rather desperate.
As soon as this story broke on Thanksgiving day, I jumped on the net and went over to Democraticunderground.com, where I found: (Warning; the language is about what you’d expect from someone of their mental capacity.)
I fear that this one gesture will be the tipping point past which * re-connects with wavering white males and so-called independents. The media is ga-ga over this farce of a visit. The messages from the whore centers will get much more syrupy and orgasmic as the weekend approaches cultminating in a literal ejactulation of praise and wonder on the sunday talk shows. Even Democratic senators will be stepping all over themselves to praise *’s holy visit as an act of courage and daring-do. It won’t be pretty and it won’t be easy to take.
I feel in my gut that this changes everything. The sheeple are just beginning to pay attention to the dawning political season and, for many, this stunt will be their initial waking image: “Our President is indeed a cool guy. Our President is indeed brave and true. Our President risked his life to visit our troops.” And yada yada yada yada …..
Counter that with Dashle, and Biden, and Zell Miller, and all the rest of the regular cast of mealy-mouthed spinless Dems who, mark my words, will end up praising the piss-ant poseur, and what do you have? You have the very real makings of a blowout landslide for fascism and all that is transparently un-american gaining unambiguous approval in November of 2004.
This is the worst I’ve felt in my entire life on this shithole of a planet in this shithole of a country. I can’t image what I’ll feel like in early November 2004. I can’t imagine feeling worse than I do right now but I’ve got to prepare myself for something I dread and fear to the very depth of my soul: The final and irrevokable loss of our democracy to fascism.
What the fuck have we become? In the final analysis it was all just so much sand sifting through our fingers. Just so much sand.
Amazing stuff. Rather reminds me of an aniumal having been backed into a corner. Another pipes up in the same thread:
This feels like it’s the beginning of the end for us.
He’s wrong, of course. The beginning of the end was accomplished quite a while ago…. as the first message demonstrates.
What perhaps put this even further into Mr Bush’s court, though was his remarks at the dinner: (bolds are my own)
“Thank you. I was just looking for a warm meal somewhere. Thank you for inviting me to dinner. General Sanchez, thank you, sir, for your kind invitation and your strong leadership. Ambassador Bremer, thank you for your steadfast belief in freedom and peace. I want to thank the members of the Governing Council who are here, pleased you are joining us on our nation’s great holiday, it’s a chance to give thanks to the Almighty for the many blessings we receive.
I’m particularly proud to be with the 1st Armored Division, the 2nd ACR, the 82nd Airborne. I can’t think of a finer group of folks to have Thanksgiving dinner with than you all. We’re proud of you. Today, Americans are gathering with their loved ones to give thanks for the many blessings in our lives. And this year we are especially thankful for the courage and the sacrifice of those who defend us, the men and women of the United States military.
I bring a message on behalf of America: We thank you for your service, we’re proud of you, and America stands solidly behind you. Together, you and I have taken an oath to defend our country. You’re honoring that oath. The United States military is doing a fantastic job. You are defeating the terrorists here in Iraq, so that we don’t have to face them in our own country. You’re defeating Saddam’s henchmen, so that the people of Iraq can live in peace and freedom.
By helping the Iraqi people become free, you’re helping change a troubled and violent part of the world. By helping to build a peaceful and democratic country in the heart of the Middle East, you are defending the American people from danger and we are grateful.
You’re engaged in a difficult mission. Those who attack our coalition forces and kill innocent Iraqis are testing our will. They hope we will run. We did not charge hundreds of miles into the heart of Iraq, pay a bitter cost in casualties, defeat a brutal dictator and liberate 25 million people only to retreat before a band of thugs and assassins.
We will prevail. We will win because our cause is just. We will win because we will stay on the offensive. And we will win because you’re part of the finest military ever assembled. And we will prevail because the Iraqis want their freedom.
Every day you see firsthand the commitment to sacrifice that the Iraqi people are making to secure their own freedom. I have a message for the Iraqi people: You have an opportunity to seize the moment and rebuild your great country, based on human dignity and freedom. The regime of Saddam Hussein is gone forever.
The United States and our coalition will help you, help you build a peaceful country so that your children can have a bright future. We’ll help you find and bring to justice the people who terrorized you for years and are still killing innocent Iraqis. We will stay until the job is done. I’m confident we will succeed, because you, the Iraqi people, will show the world that you’re not only courageous, but that you can govern yourself wisely and justly.
On this Thanksgiving, our nation remembers the men and women of our military, your friends and comrades who paid the ultimate price for our security and freedom. We ask for God’s blessings on their families, their loved ones and their friends, and we pray for your safety and your strength, as you continue to defend America and to spread freedom.
Each one of you has answered a great call, participating in an historic moment in world history. You live by a code of honor, of service to your nation, with the safety and the security of your fellow citizens. Our military is full of the finest people on the face of the earth. I’m proud to be your commander in chief. I bring greetings from America. May God bless you all.”
The response to his showing up was thunderous applause, both in the hall, and here at home. “It’s got to be a lonely moment for them,” said the President. “I thought it was important to send that message that we care for them (the troops) and we support them strongly, that we erase any doubts in their minds as to whether or not the people stand with them.”
He also said, correctly ” Having seen the reaction of those troops, you know it was the right thing to do.”
Given the response at home, it was the right thing to do on that score, as well. This trip did several things:
It got Michael Jackson off the front page, at least until the press figured out there was no way to spin this negative for the president.
Much as some in the press bicthewd and moaned about not being told about his trip, it showed clearly that most people here at home approve of the President not telling the press his every move. One could extrapolate that a bit and take the suggestion that the President has more trust in the end, than the press does.
It upstaged Hitlery’s trip, basically keeping her off the screens… given her trip, she couldn’t even bitch about Bush’s trip. It should not have, however. Look what she pulls: In what must have been a demoralizing message to U.S. soldiers she told them that Americans back home are growing increasingly skeptical of President Bush’s decision to send them into battle. What a moron.
It answered all those who figured we’re going to cut and run.
It made a rather clear demonstration of the differences between an administrator and a leader. Nobody since Reagan and to a lesser degree, Bush Sr., understood this difference. It’s clear by the polling data, however, that the American people, including his opposition, understand the difference.
New York Post Online Edition: Politics: “‘It absolutely complicates efforts by Kerry and Clark to trump Bush as commander in chief,’ said presidential scholar Charles Jones. His rivals were cautious Friday when reacting to his trip.”
Does it ever….
CTV.ca – Liberal cabinet minister attacks gay marriage- CTV News, Shows and Sports — Canadian Television: “A Liberal cabinet member from Alberta has told a journalist that he’s worried that gay marriage could lead to those in incestous and polygamous relationships also being allowed to marry.”
A few years ago, this would have been pushing the edge.
Right now, what he’s wroried about seems to me a very real possibility.
I wonder if someone will charge him with ‘hate speech’?
WorldNetDaily: Canada prepares to enforce Islamic law: “Canadian judges soon will be enforcing Islamic law, or Sharia, in disputes between Muslims, possibly paving the way to one day administering criminal sentences, such as stoning women caught in adultery. ”
Terry at Rightpoint; You see this one?
WorldNetDaily: GOP TV ads showcase Democrat obstruction
Required reading.
So much for the ‘seperation of church and state’ idiots. They clearly have no clue what that was all about, given their discomfort with historical texts like this declaration by President Lincoln.
Wonder why this history is never taught our young people? You know why.
By the President of the United States of America.
A Proclamation.
The year that is drawing towards its close, has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added, which are of so extraordinary a nature, that they cannot fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever watchful providence of Almighty God. In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign States to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere except in the theatre of military conflict; while that theatre has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.
Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defence, have not arrested the plough, the shuttle or the ship; the axe has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well of iron and coal as of the precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased, notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege and the battle-field; and the country, rejoicing in the consiousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom. No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy. It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently and gratefully acknowledged as with one heart and one voice by the whole American People. I do therefore invite my fellow citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are at sea and those who are sojourning in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next, as a day of Thanksgiving and Praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the Heavens.
And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings, they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the interposition of the Almighty Hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it as soon as may be consistent with the Divine purposes to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquillity and Union.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto set my hand and caused the Seal of the United States to be affixed.
Done at the City of Washington, this Third day of October, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and sixty-three, and of the Independence of the Unites States the Eighty-eighth.
By the President: Abraham Lincoln
William H. Seward,
Secretary of State
Billy, with all respect, bub, ya missed at least part of it.
Billy gives a longish quote of George Phillies in NR and then comments on it:
This person is a credulous moron. He believes that “Congress” — or its members, at any rate — hold the individuals who live in this country as highly valuable as the scam that they’re running on us in order to hold power. He does not understand that their power is directly connected to and dependent on our productivity, which pays for the whole crummy show, and he harbors the delusion that they would agree to relinquish some major percentage of their grip on it in order to keep some kind of human peace.
I agree with most of your comments, on this topic, but wonder about the tie to productivity as you mention. I think you’ve missed the relationship to a degree. The political power of Congress, is in fact, as you say, based on *our* productivity.. The sweat of OUR brow.
It would be, however, more accurate to say, rather, that congress’ political power is dependent on our ABILITY to produce…. An ability which is either hampered or helped by the kind of decisions they make. Usually, the more intrusive they are into the process that goes on between employers and employees, the less gets produced. I would think a libertarian like Phillies would have a better understanding of those relationships. That he does not raises some questions in my mind as to his rationality.
I fear, though that Phillies (And for that matter, the article HE is discussing, in his turn) has hit on something that has been bothering me since the early 90’s… The divisions between us as Americans are escalating, as the pols play their redistribution games. He labels these as structural problems, which I think overplays it a bit.(Suggest going to the link and reading the list yourself)
Amazing to see just how much he gets wrong in his article. While he gets right, for example, that:
Ideological purity of the major parties is progressively increasing. Once upon a time, Democrats and Republicans alike ranged from the liberal to the conservative. Now one party is progressively more liberal, while the other is more and more purely conservative. Once upon a time, a party serving its own constituents had to offer a mix of liberal and conservative policies. Americans of both of those political shades saw some progress, no matter which party controlled Washington. With a liberal and a conservative party, supporters of the party out of power never see any of their policies being advanced, and become increasingly bitter the longer the other party stays in power. Matters become more complex when the party in power prefers opportunism to issues, because when it steals the other side’s planks its own supporters conclude that they have been betrayed.
I’ve made this point repeatedly in this space, myself.
On the other hand, he gets dead wrong, that:
The ultimate sign of a tyranny is that trial by jury comes to an end. The military seizes citizens, throws them behind bars, denies them counsel, and throws away the key. We need not ask if this is likely in America. Tyranny is already here. Jose Padilla reposes in a Federal Gulag, denied counsel, denied the right to a trial. He has been imprisoned, not by a judge and jury but by a Presidential lettre de cachet.
Apparently, Philles has never heard of war, and what is needed to win one… Particularly one in which the enemy is so ill-defined by the usual measurements. The kindest thing I can do for Philles is to put this comment and the one you quoted by Arthur Silbur in the same slop bucket… the one labeled “witless hysteria”. I suspect it may be more accurate and more damning to say Philles doesn’t CARE about winning this war of survival, but either way, he’s wrong.
(Glad to see you understand why I rather enjoyed taking Silbur apart a few weeks ago. I’ve got Silbur, for all his pretense, in the end, tagged as just another far-leftist. In fairness…. Possibly his financial situation in combo with some other factor is driving him further over the edge than usual?
Interesting, too that Silbur and Philles seem to be trying to carry the same points as regards this war of survival. Consider Silbur’s words to this point:
As I have stated at great length, I fully support a war on those terrorist groups who have attacked us, and who can be demonstrated to be planning to attack us in the future. Furthermore, when another country itself is a clear, serious and immediate threat to our security, then that country is our enemy — and it is our government’s obligation to defend us from it.
Clearly, Silbur, like Phillies, doesn’t understand or doesn’t care that such lines cannot be drawn, here. This is not a war of one country against another, nor has it ever been such. )
I also discount Philles’ insistence that this is the first serious discussion of separation as his not having paid attention since the late 60’s. Any resident of upstate NY (as well as those along the ‘Tier) will tell you there’s always been an underlying current to separate NYC from the rest of NY. You living in Ithica will have noted it; Emo Houghton made such noises just a few years back, now.
Yet, for all those problems, Phillies seems to correctly identify that there is deep political division, one area to another, and that those areas can be more or less correctly identified by means of the red and blue areas of the voting patterns of the last election. The import of the side-note about NYS/NYC’s divisions becomes clear as one notices the deep voting swings tend to be largely between the taxpayer dependent cities and the more independence driven heartland.
(Side point: I find it interesting that Philles is part and parcel of that division, but fails to identify himself as such.)
I find as unlikely as he seems to, that such divisions would ever escalate to a civil war. OTOH, there’s a goodly number of things that have come to pass, we’ve not forseen.
And in any event, Philles is apparently trying to apply rationalism to a process he’s already at least partially identified as irrational. The results of any such exercise will be at best, as inconsistent as his article was.
On re-reading this, a passing, and rather disturbing thought occurrs: Is Phillies floating a trail balloon, I wonder?
(PS: I notice, after writing the above that Silber, after raisiing the hysterical cry about ‘protesting Bush before you lose your right to protest’ has cut off the comments section. I wonder why he’d do that. Perhaps because he’s aware his ravings won’t stand up to any kind of serious scrutiny.)
Full Story: “BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) – President Bush made a surprise Thanksgiving visit to American troops in Baghdad Thursday, flying secretly to violence-scarred Iraq to thank U.S. forces for serving there.”
Briliant bit of doing, on so many levels… I’ll do this weekend’s BIT on this topic.
Among the many things I am thankful for this thanksgiving, is we have so many fine, brave people willing to give of their time, their talents, and possibly their lives, for something bigger.
They’re there because they know the job needs doing. But it’s a job they can’t do alone. I’d like you to consider saying a prayer for our fighting men and women, today. Doesn’t have to be fancy. Just thank God for them. Ask for his help in the Iraq mess being settled, so that as many as possible can come home.
Well, doesn’t this fry your chicken?
Drudge is reporting that there is a lot of anger from the military at the full military honors being lavished on Howard Dean’s brother, Charlie.
By way of introduction….This is the man about whom Ann Coulter wrote:
“Howard Dean talks about his brother Charlie’s murder at the hands of North Vietnamese communists. Bizarrely, after working on the failed George McGovern campaign, Charlie Dean went to Indochina in 1974 to witness the ravages of the war he had opposed. Not long after he arrived, the apparently ungrateful communists captured and killed him. Hey fellas! I’m on your s– CLUNK!”
Howard Dean wears his brother’s battered 1960s belt every day. (By contrast, Ted Kennedy honors the memory of his deceased family members with several belts every day.) Dean told Dan Rather about his brother’s death at some length on CBS News: “It gave me a sense that you ought to live for the moment with people; that you really – you really need to tell people you love them if you love them. It was certainly the most awful thing that ever happened to our family. It was terrible for my parents; it was even worse for them than it was for us.”
According to the Drudge exclusive:
“JPAC was pressured to not only recover his brother’s remains, but to bump Dean’s recovery over numerous other MIA’s who actually died fighting for their country, a well-placed military source tells the DRUDGE REPORT.”
So, why are the military men being forced to honor this communist sympathizing slimeball with military honors when he’s not military?
Herald.com – Your Miami Everything Guide
“Former presidential candidate Pat Buchanan has lost his regular perch on MSNBC.”
So opens a write up about MSNBC Canceling ‘Buchanan & Press’
No mention. nary a word in fact, about how Liberal Bill Press loses HIS regular perch.
No liberal bias, my butt.
Yahoo! News – Consumer Confidence at 14-Month High: “U..S. consumer confidence surged to its highest level in over a year, exceeding economists’ rosy expectations, as consumers grew more hopeful about the job market, a report said on Tuesday. ”
Well, so much for the cries of ‘It’s the Economy, stupid”, and “Jobless recovery’.
One wonders what the Democrats ahve left to sell?
Newsday.com: Sen. Clinton to spend Thanksgiving with troops in Afghanistan, visit Iraq
Can’t you imagine the reaction she’ll get?
Here’s a woman who wanted nothing to do with the military once she got into power last time. Now that she’s aiming at the Presidency, suddenly the military is on her list again?
