Ranger, you're a thoughtful person, and I'm glad you're in the fray. And hat's off to you for recognizing the power of positive energy in any political discussion.
Since my goal is to generate additional discussion, not dominate it, I'll try to be concise.
YOU WROTE: "how can you compare war and freedom with people dying on the freeways?"
My reference to highway deaths is meant to address my fellow Americans' need for toughening up a bit.
It's all about courage and purportional response to attack.
In terms of damage inflicted upon a nation, more folks will die in this country this year from not having proper health care than were killed in 911, or would ever be killed by foreign terrorist acts if we didn't try to police the planet with our military.
The tragic fact is that 3,000 or so dead is a drop in the bucket when compared to the millions of civilians who have died in the wars of the 20th and 21st centuries, and much of that blood is on our country's hands.
But what do we do? Get so scared we responsd by killing thousands of Afghani and Iraqi citizens so that we can stay "safe".
At the same time, we allow US based corporations to use the good faith and name of the US government and it's armed forces for economic gain that it's citizens will not benefit from so long as offshore banking, underhanded corporate tax shelters, and no-bid contracts flourish.
You call me a Bush hater. I try not to be, and it's at times like these that I lean on my Methodist upbringing. I don't hate the man, but I definitely hate his resume.
For Bush Lovers, his official resume at the white house site:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/president/gwbbio.html
Two points to ponder:
1) Academic Achievements. The credits are dubious, at best. It says he earned a bachelor's at Yale, and an MBA at Harvard. He also got an honorary Law Degree from Yale. (
http://www.cut-up.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=279). Now this is a man who by many accounts was a well below average student, and describes himself as "proof that a C student can become president". What are the odds that he had the intellectual ammo to pass one of the most rigorous academic programs in the country for a Harvard MBA, all on his own?
2) After "graduating" Harvard in 1975, there is NO REFERENCE TO ANY ACCOMPLISHMENTS OF MERIT until 1989, when he bought into the Texas Rangers with borrowed money.
For Bush Dissenters: A more complete resume. (
http://bushandcheneysuck.com/George-W.-Bush-Resume.htm)
If Bush were gone tomorrow, I promise you I wouldn't defacto hate whoever his replacement is. In fact, I'll probably like the policies of whatever erect walker is in the joint better than I do the current occupant's. This ain't about hating America, it's about hating the neocon mindset.
But I'm only a Democrat by default, and I'm in TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH YOU (Yay!) about some of the chinks in the Kerry/Edwards ticket. (My choice: Dean/McCain. What a bonding moment for the people! What a blow for democracy: A socially progressive, fiscally conservative success machine like Dean, with a war hero who could have said the HELL with party, I'm going with the majority of Americans. But that obviously isn't going to happen, so I guess it's Kerry/Edwards. )
One of the more common criticisms of Kerry is that he married into money and privelege, and AGAIN I agree. I have immediate concerns about how well anyone with a multi-million dollar boat can identify with folks like me and most Americans. But let's get real here. Which holds more clout on title alone: "My wife is the ketchup heiress" or "My dad was president"? Kerry gets a C-, Bush a D on the empathy -vs- privelege scale, and only becuase I give a nod to those who like regime consistency, otherwise Bush fails miserably.
All I have to say about Cheney is "Go fuck yourself". (
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3699-2004Jun24.html)
Edwards came from a working class family and has had by all accounts a meteoric rise to the top fueled by his communicative skills and sharp mindedness. (And let's face it, the guy makes a lady's head turn like I always wish I could.)
I agree (THAT'S 3!) he may have made way yonder too much money while defending burned children, for example, but that is the system. Just like health care shouldn't cost what it should, either. Strange it's mostly HMO administrators and their investors who seem to have a problem with a patient's right to sue.
My greatest concern about the Bush -vs- Kerry comparison is that they BOTH belong to Skull and Bones, and NEITHER will discuss it on camera. HUGE negatives for both.
RE: If terrorists had gassed the superbowl after we didn't follow the aggressive Bush approach, I would certainly not condemn Bush with my fear alone. I would expect the American people to come together, stay strong, and demand information from the President that would justify military action. HE'S in charge of intelligence gathering. If the TRUTH came out, and there was actual justification for action, so be it. I'm not Ghandi. I don't have his courage or character.
I'm just not crazy about killing the WRONG PEOPLE and that is the Iraqi and Afghani citizenry. Without a smoking gun, I take the hit. THAT is the kind of strength that radical Muslims are talking about when they say we're weak. In more American terms, the line from "Dumb And Dumber" from the hitman chasing Carey: "You don't kill people you don't know. It's against the rules." Perhaps in this case, you don't kill people unless you know they're going to kill you, not just fear that they might.
Re: Kerry/Edwards voting. Kerry vote/no vote record:
http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=S0421103 see chart at bottom of page)
Except for his campaign months, he's at better than 97%; Edwards, 99%. Let's compare that to Republican Speaker of the House Dennie Hastert at 15% (nope that's not a typo
http://www.vote-smart.org/bio.php?can_id=H1152103) Besides, they were both running for president, which arguably is just too damn time consuming for a sitting official to do, but until we change the rules... Bush ran uncontested and still found the need to spend record hours on fundraising activities.
RE: 1 & 4 in liberal voting. Why is Liberal a bad thing? The idea that obscenely rich people with inherited fortunes must give up some of their gluttonous zeal for stuff and power so that others might not have to live in constant fear of making their bills and making sure if their kid gets sick they can get medical attention sounds rather sane.
If you make less than $100K per year, like over 90% of the American public, you're just believing in pipe dreams if you think that Republicans are looking out for your best interests. Even if you do crack 100 bills, if they can find a guy in India to do your job cheaper, you're screwed.
Trickle down economics doesn't work, and we've been getting trickled down on for most of my adult life by either Republican Presidents, Congresspeople, or Judges. (A lot of the Dems too, for that matter.)
All we need to do is get our noses out of other people's affairs, take back control from the military/industrial complex and fuel companies (just like Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower warned we'd have to do), and realize that if we just start looking out for each other and stop expecting others to go off and die for us so that we're safe to watch the new episode of Survivor, we'll all do just fine.
Finally, I certainly don't want to be a fear monger, but Ranger you say because of GWB "I wake up every morning knowing that I don't have to worry about homicide bomber walking into the resturant that I am eating at."
Why not? As soon as the Kerry/Edwards ticket was announced, Tom Ridge told you to be afraid. That a nonspecific threat of some kind was on the horizon. What is the source of your confidence?
The problem with killing the bad guys first and asking questions later is the the answers we get to those questions never seem to add up.
RE: Michael Moore...
Georges RE: Moore's a fucking coward. Moore has constantly taken the fight to people more powerful and wealthy than he, me, or you in the name of simply looking out for the little guy. Until this point that only got him catcalls from the right. With F911, those catcalls have turned to death threats. He wears a target on his back for folks like you and me. The coward is the man who did everything to avoid his duty but still get the spurious military titles and the perks, and tells our enemies to "Bring it on" while expecting others to die to keep him safe.
Re: Moore making people look like assholes in post, Moore never said that the reason we have more gun deaths in this country is because we have more dark people. That was Chuck Heston, and Moore doesn't need post production trickery to make GWB look stupid. It happens every time you stick a microphone in front of him. He can't complete coherent sentences and link them into well structured arguments. The ammo just plain isn't there.
And why don't folks recognize that GWB is only a part of F911? I think the strongest part of the film is his fronting out of the congress... Asking them to get their own kids to go and die in Iraq. For the record, 1 congressperson has a child in the military, and the Bush family, 0. Again, someone asking them to do their fighting for them, and Moore thinks that unpatriotic. Don't you?
I'm so sorry if I've overstayed my welcome, and promise I won't post again for at least a week if nobody calls me out. It's just that lively conversation is better than therapy!
Peace, health, and prosperity to Repubs, Dems, and Progressives of all flavors.
:hatsoff: :glugglug:
