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Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: Well, I think Draginol said it best when he complains that the media reporting gets a free pass on choosing stories. The only thing about 60 Minutes is that it is not a news programs per say but a magazine which doesn't purport itself to be complete. But, depending on the "expected" ratings stories are run or not run. A few years ago when the cigarette "insider" story broke and how CBS caved to the smoking lobby it should have been o

Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

drmiler: So, you would vote for Kerry if you thought Bush had skipped out on duty? Is that correct?

Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Lee1776: So, it is not, in your opinion, legitimate news that Bush's commanding officer had these feelings about Bush? Note, it is not a campaign issue to me, but it is news. It seems to contradict Bush's statements to Russert last winter to some extent. I think it qualifies as news.

Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Draginol: Ok, so here is the question: If the documents were authentic (and I can't tell because I used to type on a selectric that I did lots of "tricks" with like superscripts by releasing and repositioning the paper) are you saying CBS (or the media in general) should not have run the story? If you say yes, then you are confusing bias with incompetence. If you say no, then you are saying they should not report w

The Numbers Tell a Story in Current Events JoeUser Forums

America is living in the middle of an information age. As a market analyst I see numbers thrown around from the moment I get up until the moment I go to bed (please call before 2 AM). We try to make sense of the numbers by using statistics to plot graphs and charts so that we can "wade" through the numbers without becoming "numb" and often this is a very useful tool

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

Deference: If you look at Bush's campaign, it is obvious that he thinks that's all America cares about. The sad thing is, the people who will vote for him in November are essentially voting for: 1) and average increase of 10% for healthcare premiums 2) a 15% increase for prescription medicines 3) a lack of commitment to fund

Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: I am not sure how Tom Harken's incompetence (or CBS's for that matter) taints the Kerry campaign. I am on the record for both candidates as saying 30 years ago is not a relevant issue to this election. Mr. Bush did what he did (and records leak out periodically which is debateable but not substantial to his candidacy) and Mr. Kerry did what he did (also not the issue when considering the candidate (IMHO). This campaign alwa

Reply to CBS Hoaxed? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Draginol: If it turns out not to be a forgery, does that mean you will vote for Kerry? No. So, what is the importance of the document in either case? Isn't this much ado about nothing?

Reply to Does Moore have his finger on the pulse of the nation? in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Gideon: I think you have some problems calculating $7 as the ticket price. Prices where I live for a matinee (that's when I saw it) were $4 and there are places that are cheaper. Second run theaters get as little as $1.50 and all of it counts. I don't think the "proof in the pudding" is about what Moore had in the film about Bush per se but rather about the political system. He portrays it as "out of touch with the people" and "a

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

Deference: The interesting thing about your statement is that he's not just the "foreign affairs" President but needs to balance both domestic with international issues. They are, in fact, both important. Bush certainly isn't communicating on an every day basis with troops in the field and I'm sure that leadership domestically must be better than a healthcare reform that asks for a 17% increase in medicare premiums. Can Iraq be Bu

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

The reason foreign policy is so tricky is because the future is unknowable. The picture of Rumsfeld with Saddam in the 80's when we offering "aid and support" (including weapons) looks unfathomable now, but it was just doing business the American way then. The problem is that the "friends" you make today can become your worst nightmare tomorrow. It is real easy to be judgmental about this. Should Saddam have been overthrown in 1992? Sure

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: I'm for consistency with the following provisos: If we aren't going to "go strong" and take command we have to pull the troops and come home. (This half way stuff we are doing now only gets us shot up and shot down.) If we are going to "go strong" we need to stop hiding behind an Iraqi government we put in place and whom, without our help collapses with the next desert wind that blows. The in-between where

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

ShoZan: The problem with diplomacy is that it assumes something not true in Iraq. Diplomacy assumes both sides have something to give and take. Compromise of a sort may be what we seek but ultimately we have seen time and time again the same pattern. We get the enemy into an untenable position, they negotiate their way out of it, then we find ourselves back in trouble. I would not recommend we blow up churches, regardless of the

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

kingbee and chiprj: I think the main thing we are doing by standing between what will happen and what has happened is keeping the factions working together against a common enemy. How long is it going to be before we realise as much good as we have done that the factions don't want us there? "Winning the hearts and minds of people" wasn't a meaningful thing in Viet Nam and it won't be here. Thanks for the kind words, chiprj!

Reply to The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

Madine: Al Sadr's militia was resonsible for many of the U.S. deaths today. I don't think he will allow us to place him in a position where we can get at him again (like he was a few weeks ago). We now have 4 organized militias in Iraq, they are quite probably coordinating their attacks and the American military is going to be hard pressed to handle the problem short of using "overwhelming" force.

The Fruits of Failure in Iraq in Politics JoeUser Forums

There are 2 months before the national elections and one of the two main issues is American Foreign Policy, especially as witnessed in Iraq. The Bush Administration notes that since 9/11 we have destroyed the dictatorships in Iraq and Afghanistan and tightened American security to lessen the threat in the United States. I'm not sure how we will know we are safer (re

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Lee1776: Ok, let's consider Saudi Arabia. This is a country that is run by a dictatorship with very tight control on the media and money from the royal family (Saud) is funneled into everything BUT social programs. Education is horrible and the police are nothing more than the bad guys with badges. The society is heavily controlled in terms of media and religion and as far as "living there" the story of arrests of foreigners, torture and la

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Lee1776: Oh, so the Republicans are the only ones to stand up to dictators? Are you really serious? The U.S. stands up to dictators when and if it suits us. Both parties are guilty of this. Consider South America and Africa for example. Both have had their share and when it was considered "in our best interest" we opposed. Europe is the same story. Of course, we really have stood up for the people in their struggle to be free

Reply to Is there way to fix Taxes and Spending? in Politics JoeUser Forums

What some people have missed in the issue is that the U.S. government hasn't done a comprehensive analysis of it's spending in 50 years. Not that cuts don't need to be made (they do) or taxes need to be raised (they might) but we have no idea where much of the spending goes. It's like they took a 100 year subscription to Prodigy (remember them?) and keep paying it year after year even though it stopped existing long ago. My pet peeve is the Rur

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Folks: Well, we're a bit off topic now but as a historian, I thought some perspective on governemnts, revolutionaries and Latin America should be noted for perspective. Che Guevera didn't just become a machete swinging bad guy as a teenager. The U.S. has a bad history of betrayal and poor policies in Latin America going back to Teddy Roosevelt and revolution is a tough, bloody, miserable thing. Men like Pancho Villa and Ernesto Sand

Reply to Freedom's End -- Opposing Bush Becomes Unpatriotic in Politics JoeUser Forums

blogic: Interesting that someone would call what you are saying "apocalyptic", never actually question anything your wrote and then added "cheers" as if they salute the apocalypse! This must mean you touched something sensitive (like a nerve). The real question for your readers is: if you agree with the blog, what are you going to do about it?

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: A comparison of a small businessman's economics to a multi-trillion dollar government is hardly suitable because the scales are not compatible and the issues surrounding repayment are different. If the small businessman borrows and goes belly up then the public is hardly effected, but government borrowing effects the ability of the society to function many years down the road. However, be it sinister (i.e. purposeful for the

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: The "borrowing" is not fiscally conservative and there is no indication it will stop in the next 4 years creating economic disaster so great we might never be able to deal with it. Is this not terrorism by default? But instead of advocating we cut programs in his acceptance speech Bush advocated programs that would add 100's of billions of dollars over the next term. Can you honestly say this is line with your beliefs? If

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Deference: The difference between defining issues and having vision is the difference between looking at parts of a painting but never having sight of the entire picture. The right seems to want to define itself in terms of what John Kerry doesn't represent and not in how to show us a picture of where America should go. If you follow the picture of the first 4 years it would not be a pretty picture in terms of the economy or our in

Reply to The Dangers of Being "Outfoxed" in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa: I have no concern over whom you will vote for except I congratulate you that you are voting. However, if you are going to vote, consider the following for both men: 1. If you think Bush is the better leader, then why is the stock market lower now than the beginning of the year, oil and natural resources cost more (many at 20 year highs) over 900,000 jobs have been lost in the last 4 years and the budget deficit is at all time