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MikeyG
Shoots the shit and often misses

Member Rated:

Did you ever feel like you weren't yourself sometimes? That you were someone who never met the other you? I'm feeling...boorish.

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The giant three-phallused phallus of Uzbekistan will one day squirt the cosmic jizz of revenge all over Canada.

12-10-03 12:48pm (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

NOW YOU'RE DOING IT TOO! It's almost as if you really are me.

AGH now I'm doing it.

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What others say about boorite!

12-10-03 12:52pm (new)
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MaKK_BeNN
VOTE JEB BUSH 2008

Member Rated:

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OK, Makk, in the immediately preceding message, you were replying to MikeyG. In the middle of a sentence addressed to him, you said, "i.e. you boorite." Do you know what "i.e." means? Also, you've said it and implied it in a number of other places. You know what you're doing.

There was a comma in there. But apology accepted...
ASS

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And you think I said yes, that's about right? I don't think I said that. Why is it you can quote me exactly on one thing, but then you have to imagine a response that fits into your argument elsewhere?
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Actually, you replied that the US and UK are open democracies, and that I was stunningly ignorant. So I took you to mean that the US and UK can invade other countries at will, perhaps if the target country isn't an "open democracy," which is pretty much saying, yeah we can invade whomever we want. Which actually is the Bush doctrine of "preventive war." But since it's hard to tell what the hell you're saying sometimes, and you tend not to answer questions, I had to infer it. Let me know if I've got you wrong.


If you would ask direct instead of diversionary and argumentative questions maybe there would be no problem.

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Note the term "probable" in my quote. I don't say "if we imagine they will launch an attack against us," I said if it is probable they might do so. The Saddam regime has hostile to us and launched a military invasion of a neighboring country. I think that makes them a probable threat.
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So the "evidence" that Iraq posed a "probable threat" of terror attack against the US was that they invaded Kuwait 12 years ago, and that they could conceivably build a weapon to attack us and carry it over here and use it. Based on this case, we are permitted to invade? If so, then you are saying we can invade pretty much anyone we feel like invading, because those are flimsy pretexts.


You keep asking for evidence, but when looking for a probable threat you are talking about a pattern of behavior, not evidence. Once AGAIN, if there was evidence, there would not be the ambiguity about the cause to go to war. Yes, Iraq invading Kuwait is one of many things in the pattern of behavior that identified Saddam as a threat. I don't think the notion that Saddam could have launched or help fund a terror attack against us is a filmsy one. Maybe we can just disagree there.

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I mean look at it: "Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1990; therefore Iraq is likely to launch a terror attack on the US in 2002; therefore we are permitted to attack them in self-defense." None of it follows. It's just nuts.

Saddam invading Kuwait doesn't stand alone in history. We made Saddam a mortal enemy by pushing him out of Kuwait, it isn't just the fact the he invaded the country. In fact I'd say he'd be less likely to attack us directly sooner if we had just let him take the country. Whether or not you like it we had to deal with the reality in play at the time, which was that Saddam WAS a mortal enemy to the United States.

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I never suggested we subvert our own democracy.
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You suggested that the Bush administration should act in defiance of the UN, ICJ, and other institutions of international law. I have explained to you that documents like the UN Charter are treaties to which we are signatory; our Senate ratified them. They therefore have the force of law, here in our democracy, under our Constitution; and when our leaders break them, they act in defiance of our democratic institutions. That is subverting democracy. Bush is subverting democracy.


And I have explained our democracy is subverted if it is not safe.

Also, about the force of law, law can simply not be enforced, at the discretion of the President (part of our democracy).

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You've replied to this argument, somewhat incoherently: "If we agree to something that eventually overrides the Constitution, under the Constitution it is not longer valid." But you have not said what in the UN Charter "overrides the Constitution" (whatever that means). That's because nothing in the UN Charter "overrides" anything-- except the Bush doctrine of violence at will. (Which is not in the Constitution.)

Once again this is in the context of the U.N. trying to stop us from invading Iraq. I did explain this. In my last response to you actually, you seem to have ommitted it..again. That's in what context it becomes unconstitutional, if it deprives us of security.

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I said we don't have to behave like the international community is a democracy when all of the elements making it up are not democratic bodies. Maybe you just keep subconsciously blocking this out because you can't argue against it.
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I haven't responded to it because it's incoherent. Instead I've focused on statements that have some content, like your dismissal of international law.


I don't see how it's incoherent. Tell me what about it is wrong. How can a dictatorial regime or theocracy be part of a democratic body?

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You also refuse to answer questions such as, how is the UN Charter "undermining our own ability to govern ourselves?"...
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I put this in the context of the international community trying to stop us from invading Iraq through the U.N.

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So "governing ourselves" means "attacking other countries without provocation?" The UN Charter certainly does prohibit that. But I think it is possible to govern ourselves without violating treaties we have ratified. In fact, whaddya know, ratifying treaties and abiding by them is governing ourselves! And having the President break them at will is the opposite of governing ourselves. It's authoritarianism. Which is (let me draw you a picture) the opposite of democracy.


Congress apporved the war. That is governing ourselves. If you have a problem, write your congressman.

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I guess you are implying the officials of our country are not accountable to our laws? I think they are. Tell me what United States laws they are now not accountable for in respect to the war and then I can craft a better response.

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I've told you, chapter and verse. And you have openly dismissed those laws. The UN Charter, for one example. Now you say our leaders are accountable to the law. Make up your mind!


If U.S. laws were violated why have no charges been brought? Maybe you need to quote the U.S. laws which were broken again. It seems the President got authority from Congress to declare war and did so. That seems to be in accord with the law as far as I know it. President Bush was on the floor of the U.N. not that long ago, the U.N. police could have come got him to make him answer for the U.N. laws he broke. Why didn't that happen? I'm confused.

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And stop calling me MikeyG because you know it's a lie.

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Here, along with several other places in your post, I don't know what you are talking about.

Me thinks you protest too much.

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Yes you do know, and you just implied it again. You are a dishonest person.


I just said you are a little touchy about the issue, mister touchy. Please explain how I am being dishonest? Are you saying someone who quotes Shakespeare is dishonest?

---
Vote Jeb Bush 2008

12-10-03 5:49pm (new)
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niteowl
Level 1 Forum Troll

Member Rated:

So if you beat the hell out of your wife and she doesn't press charges, does that mean you didn't do anything wrong?

---
Think classy, you'll be classy.

12-10-03 8:39pm (new)
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andydougan
Film critic subordinaire

Member Rated:

Well, it seems that any other course of action would have resulted in the continuation of Saddam's regime. It takes a pretty big good to outweigh that evil.

You might like to suggest some we haven't. Coups and sanctions have been tried, but Saddam's internal omnipotence and indifference to his country's economic ruin kind of buggered them.

Have done. I can't find any US-installed villains whose crimes compare with this guy's.

Or rather, we should be weighing them against the human cost of allowing neo-Nazis the power of life and death over twenty million people. But that doesn't seem to bother people as much as the fact that the American president is a rich kid who sounds sanctimonious on television. I remember reading a quote from some PUK leader who said that Iraq under Saddam was already in a state of war.

So if North Korea bombs Seoul and excuses it by saying America did the same to Iraq, the international community will just stand aside and let them get on with it? I doubt this. Why would the US's lawless behaviour make it more acceptable for other states to follow suit?

Nice metaphor.

12-10-03 9:00pm (new)
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JrnymnNate
I fling the shoddy polo stick

Member Rated:

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We should be talking about the likelihood that our overturning of the world order will invite violent resistance, and will invite other lawless countries to go on their own adventures, using justifications like ours.

So if North Korea bombs Seoul and excuses it by saying America did the same to Iraq, the international community will just stand aside and let them get on with it? I doubt this. Why would the US's lawless behaviour make it more acceptable for other states to follow suit?

I still think the US is in the position to do whatever the heck it wants despite the objections of anyone. The privlidge comes with being a superpower, I think.(not saying its right or wrong)

12-10-03 10:07pm (new)
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Spankling
Looking for love in ALL the wrong places, baby!

Member Rated:


That's a pretty safe bet, Nate. It's the right or wrong thing that matters. And down deep we all know being a bully is wrong.

Has the self-centered bully ever played the hero in the movies? When we idealize do we say, "gosh that big thug sure stomped that little fuck! Good for him!" No. We cheer when the little fuck gets up and settles the score.

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"Jelly-belly gigglin, dancin and a-wigglin, honey that's the way I am!" Janice the Muppet

12-10-03 11:09pm (new)
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MaKK_BeNN
VOTE JEB BUSH 2008

Member Rated:

Who's wife did we beat that didn't press charges? I don't understand your metaphor. Childish over-simplification of international politics leads to childish statements.

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Vote Jeb Bush 2008

12-11-03 10:37am (new)
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MikeyG
Shoots the shit and often misses

Member Rated:

Very simple. You are trying to classify the U.S.' military actions as right because we have not been not been charged with anything formally. It's the same as if someone eviscerates a dog and the neighbors are too scared to tell anyone. You've got to be kicked in the head not to get that allegory.

Yup. Like everything you post here. Oversimplified nonsense buried in shifty, dodgy principles and fluctuating rhetoric. Bedtime, bonzo.

---
The giant three-phallused phallus of Uzbekistan will one day squirt the cosmic jizz of revenge all over Canada.

12-11-03 11:14am (new)
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MaKK_BeNN
VOTE JEB BUSH 2008

Member Rated:

Are you saying Bush committed domestic battery? I don't understand. What is the crime you are equating that with in the metaphor? Or in the dog-mutiliating metaphor?

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Vote Jeb Bush 2008

12-11-03 1:57pm (new)
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andydougan
Film critic subordinaire

Member Rated:

You're kidding, right, makk?

12-11-03 4:36pm (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

I recall your using the word "evidence," but ok. I suppose we could look for a pattern of behavior where Iraq has been attacking the US or its allies covertly, and use that as cause for suspicion.

....hm, there is no such pattern. Only an invasion of a neighbor 12 years ago. Plus a previous war with another neighbor, in which we backed Iraq.

If you want to look at a pattern of behavior, how about this: Saddam had 12 years from Desert Shield to December 2002 to launch a terror attack against us. He never did. Not even when his regime faced certain destruction at our hands. Monster though he certainly is, he doesn't seem bent on terror attacks against the US.

There's your pattern.

That Saddam could have is not a flimsy notion. I said it's a flimsy pretext for invading a country. Because you could say the same of practically any country. Hell, Luxembourg could launch or help fund a terror attack against us. And they have the same "pattern" of doing so as Iraq (though admittedly not the same motive).

But that's the idea of the US's new doctrine: We can invade anyone, anytime, on any pretext. That's not an over-interpretation-- I think that's pretty much the policy, straight out.

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And I have explained our democracy is subverted if it is not safe.

It certainly isn't safe when our national leaders aren't abiding by its laws.

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Also, about the force of law, law can simply not be enforced, at the discretion of the President (part of our democracy).

No, the President swears, on the Bible, in front of the whole world, to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." Which is the opposite of ignoring and violating it. He is breaking the law that he is sworn to uphold. Surely even someone who confuses authoritarianism with democracy can understand the difference between upholding the law and breaking it.

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Once again this is in the context of the U.N. trying to stop us from invading Iraq. I did explain this. In my last response to you actually, you seem to have ommitted it..again. That's in what context it becomes unconstitutional, if it deprives us of security.

No, that's incorrect. There is no Constitutional basis for that statement. If there is, I would like you to find it.

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I don't see how it's incoherent. Tell me what about it is wrong. How can a dictatorial regime or theocracy be part of a democratic body?

I don't know. It's not something I remember saying.

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Congress apporved the war. That is governing ourselves. If you have a problem, write your congressman.

The Senate also ratified the UN Charter. So in effect, Congress voted to break the law. They do this all the time. That's why there is a Supreme Court. Also, governments do it all the time. That's why there is a World Court. Just because a majority in Congress votes for it doesn't make it legal. (See "checks and balances" in any high school Civics text.)

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If U.S. laws were violated why have no charges been brought?

Governments who commit war crimes seldom indict themselves. Never, in fact. That's why there were Nuremberg trials, and that's why the body established there (the ICJ) continues to try cases today. Oh, but they have a cheap-looking website, so never mind them.

By the way, charges have been brought (and won) against the US at the ICJ. Washington simply ignores them. Which is a violation of US law.

Why doesn't anyone arrest GWB? Because it's too hard.

Besides, your question is kind of dumb. If Al Capone was a criminal, why didn't anyone arrest him sooner? If he was a killer, why did they get him on tax evasion? As for world leaders, why didn't they get Pinochet, Pol Pot, Suharto, Marcos, and so on?

Maybe they'll catch up to Bush later, though. They're sure trying to arrest Henry Kissinger. We can wait and hope.

---
What others say about boorite!

12-11-03 4:37pm (new)
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MaKK_BeNN
VOTE JEB BUSH 2008

Member Rated:

You recall? It's all saved in the SC database.

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I suppose we could look for a pattern of behavior where Iraq has been attacking the US or its allies covertly, and use that as cause for suspicion.

....hm, there is no such pattern. Only an invasion of a neighbor 12 years ago. Plus a previous war with another neighbor, in which we backed Iraq.


The problem with your argument is that one covert attack against America could be catastrophic. You need to identify a potential attacker of the United States, not someone who is already attacking us. I still say Saddam fit the bill for this.

And actually they did plan at least one attack against President George Bush Sr. following the war, so you're wrong there also.

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If you want to look at a pattern of behavior, how about this: Saddam had 12 years from Desert Shield to December 2002 to launch a terror attack against us. He never did. Not even when his regime faced certain destruction at our hands. Monster though he certainly is, he doesn't seem bent on terror attacks against the US.

You can't suddenly launch a covert, coordinated terror attack. It's not a missle with a bunch of extremists tied to it, boorite.

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I don't think the notion that Saddam could have launched or help fund a terror attack against us is a filmsy one.
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That Saddam could have is not a flimsy notion. I said it's a flimsy pretext for invading a country. Because you could say the same of practically any country. Hell, Luxembourg could launch or help fund a terror attack against us. And they have the same "pattern" of doing so as Iraq (though admittedly not the same motive).


I still don't see how you confuse a country run by Saddam Hussein with a small peaceful nation in Europe. I'm glad your political powers are relegated to that of the reference section of the library.

Ok, fine with me. I don't see how this is different that any other war we've been in anyway.

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And I have explained our democracy is subverted if it is not safe.

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It certainly isn't safe when our national leaders aren't abiding by its laws.


I still don't understand what law Congress passed that is being broken.

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Also, about the force of law, law can simply not be enforced, at the discretion of the President (part of our democracy).

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No, the President swears, on the Bible, in front of the whole world, to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." Which is the opposite of ignoring and violating it. He is breaking the law that he is sworn to uphold. Surely even someone who confuses authoritarianism with democracy can understand the difference between upholding the law and breaking it.


Then why isn't he being impeached? Is it because most sane individuals don't believe this?

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Once again this is in the context of the U.N. trying to stop us from invading Iraq. I did explain this. In my last response to you actually, you seem to have ommitted it..again. That's in what context it becomes unconstitutional, if it deprives us of security.

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No, that's incorrect. There is no Constitutional basis for that statement. If there is, I would like you to find it.


There is no Constitutional basis for securing life and liberty of American citizens?

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I don't see how it's incoherent. Tell me what about it is wrong. How can a dictatorial regime or theocracy be part of a democratic body?

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I don't know. It's not something I remember saying.


Then why bother caring about a U.N. mandate if the body is not democratic in nature?

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Congress apporved the war. That is governing ourselves. If you have a problem, write your congressman.

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The Senate also ratified the UN Charter. So in effect, Congress voted to break the law. They do this all the time. That's why there is a Supreme Court. Also, governments do it all the time. That's why there is a World Court. Just because a majority in Congress votes for it doesn't make it legal. (See "checks and balances" in any high school Civics text.)


Well has the Supreme Court struck down the law? No? Oh I guess it's still legal then.

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If U.S. laws were violated why have no charges been brought?
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Governments who commit war crimes seldom indict themselves. Never, in fact. That's why there were Nuremberg trials, and that's why the body established there (the ICJ) continues to try cases today. Oh, but they have a cheap-looking website, so never mind them.


Why aren't they taking us to trial then?

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By the way, charges have been brought (and won) against the US at the ICJ. Washington simply ignores them. Which is a violation of US law.

Almost seems like ICJ is an ineffectual body. Interesting.

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Why doesn't anyone arrest GWB? Because it's too hard.

Wouldn't it embarass him if his political enemies had a call for his arrest though? Seems like someone would try to do this if there was a reasonable argument that he had broken a law.

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Besides, your question is kind of dumb. If Al Capone was a criminal, why didn't anyone arrest him sooner? If he was a killer, why did they get him on tax evasion? As for world leaders, why didn't they get Pinochet, Pol Pot, Suharto, Marcos, and so on?

Bush declared war out in the open. What law did he break by doing this?

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Maybe they'll catch up to Bush later, though. They're sure trying to arrest Henry Kissinger. We can wait and hope.

All Kissenger did was kill some nobodys and hobos. Jeez. Hobo-lover.

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Vote Jeb Bush 2008

12-11-03 5:16pm (new)
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niteowl
Level 1 Forum Troll

Member Rated:

If you really don't understand the metaphor and aren't just playing dumb...sorry but you are clearly beyond help, makk.

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Think classy, you'll be classy.

12-11-03 6:40pm (new)
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JrnymnNate
I fling the shoddy polo stick

Member Rated:

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The economy isn't as recovering as much as you think.

Here's some snippets from this article :

Notice the words in bold.

Merry Christmas!

Ouch. I won't bring up the 2 million jobs lost since Bush got in office. That should be common knowledge by now, right?

My sentiments exactly. There's issues here in this country that need to be fixed now. Like the fact that we are facing a record national debt in the trillions within the next 10 years. That programs are being cut left and right. Education. Environment. Health Care. Things that affect YOU. Plus, as Spankling alluded to earlier, even the soldiers in Iraq aren't exempt to this wishy-washy bullshit either, as their pay and benefits are getting cut too. Quite a reward for soldiers who get shot at on a daily basis while serving their country.

Instead, we spend billions upon billions to go invade and occupy Iraq...THEN, after his cute little "either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" speech (and alienating virtually the entire world), Bush has the audacity to go around from country to country asking for help in the reconstruction.

I shudder when I think of what kind of shape this country will be in when my kids are in their 20's and 30's.


It's not the econemy, stupid.

12-11-03 10:18pm (new)
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Spankling
Looking for love in ALL the wrong places, baby!

Member Rated:

First votes in Florida and now this.

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"Jelly-belly gigglin, dancin and a-wigglin, honey that's the way I am!" Janice the Muppet

12-11-03 10:24pm (new)
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niteowl
Level 1 Forum Troll

Member Rated:

The headline for that article should read : Economy growing at fastest clip in last 20 years.

Sure it's growing, but it's sort of misleading...it's a recovery after 3 pretty lean years. It's good to be optimistic, but we're not out of the woods yet, especially with the value of the US dollar dropping.

With so many jobs lost during Bush's reign, of course productivity will increase. People are doing more at their jobs, and working longer hours to make up for the loss of jobs.

Part of this could have something to do with the holidays, as businesses are (and have been) hiring extra people for the Xmas shopping season.

Good. Hope it happens. (see...I don't everything as a negative.)

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Think classy, you'll be classy.

12-11-03 11:01pm (new)
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niteowl
Level 1 Forum Troll

Member Rated:

Halliburton May Have Overcharged Millions

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Think classy, you'll be classy.

12-11-03 11:09pm (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

Correct. That's how I recall that you used the word "evidence."

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The problem with your argument is that one covert attack against America could be catastrophic. You need to identify a potential attacker of the United States, not someone who is already attacking us. I still say Saddam fit the bill for this.

But you cited a "pattern of behavior." There was no such pattern. Now you're back to sheer speculation.

No, I'm aware of this bogus claim, and have been since 1993, when Clinton used it as an excuse to launch a missile attack on Baghdad that killed 8 civilians. The NYT noted "that the judgment of Iraq's guilt was based on circumstantial evidence and analysis rather than ironclad intelligence." There was also a major New Yorker piece on this by Seymour Hersh, now posted here.

In any case, an alleged, failed assassination attempt in 1993 does not constitute grounds for invading a country in 2002. It does not even constitute a "pattern of behavior." Nor is it a terrorist attack on US soil. Your "reason" fails on all counts.

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If you want to look at a pattern of behavior, how about this: Saddam had 12 years from Desert Shield to December 2002 to launch a terror attack against us. He never did. Not even when his regime faced certain destruction at our hands. Monster though he certainly is, he doesn't seem bent on terror attacks against the US.

You can't suddenly launch a covert, coordinated terror attack. It's not a missle with a bunch of extremists tied to it, boorite.


So there is no pattern. In fact, the lack of a pattern is, oddly, in your world, evidence that a sudden attack could be launched. Another "paradox," no doubt.

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I still don't see how you confuse a country run by Saddam Hussein with a small peaceful nation in Europe. I'm glad your political powers are relegated to that of the reference section of the library.

I didn't confuse them. I said your "logic" could apply to practically any country we wished to invade, which you acknowledge just below.

Ok, fine with me. I don't see how this is different that any other war we've been in anyway.


I think it's different from WWII. But the important point is, you've acknowledged the doctrine of violence at will. Thank you.

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I still don't understand what law Congress passed that is being broken.

I'm not sure how much clearer I can state that the Senate ratified the UN Charter in 1945.

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No, the President swears, on the Bible, in front of the whole world, to "preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the United States." Which is the opposite of ignoring and violating it. He is breaking the law that he is sworn to uphold. Surely even someone who confuses authoritarianism with democracy can understand the difference between upholding the law and breaking it.

Then why isn't he being impeached? Is it because most sane individuals don't believe this?


No US President who ever committed a war crime has ever been impeached for it, and that includes a lot of them. As I said, we'd be stupid to expect governments to indict themselves on crimes against humanity. It's usually up to us citizens to drum them out of office.

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There is no Constitutional basis for securing life and liberty of American citizens?

There is no basis in the Constitution for abrogating treaties at will based on "preventive" notions of "protecting our security." Furthermore, I think it's pretty clear that the current war does not secure our life and liberty but places us at increased and unnecessary risk.

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Then why bother caring about a U.N. mandate if the body is not democratic in nature?

See US Constitution.

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Well has the Supreme Court struck down the law? No? Oh I guess it's still legal then.

That doesn't follow.

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Almost seems like ICJ is an ineffectual body. Interesting.

Quite ineffectual when the most powerful nation in history defies it. Hilarious, isn't it? We call it ineffectual and see to it that this is so.

You know very well that he has, whether someone tries to arrest him or not. I mean, who's going to arrest the President of the US?

So did Tojo.

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All Kissenger did was kill some nobodys and hobos. Jeez. Hobo-lover.

Ah, trolling.

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What others say about boorite!

12-12-03 9:17am (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

12-12-03 10:09am (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

In case it's not clear, I posted the above link apropos my comment: "I think it's pretty clear that the current war does not secure our life and liberty but places us at increased and unnecessary risk."

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What others say about boorite!

12-12-03 10:25am (new)
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andydougan
Film critic subordinaire

Member Rated:

This is why I don't really understand the extraordinary opposition to this one in particular. I think it's important not to get into the trap of opposing absolutely everything America, or a Republican administration, does abroad. The US seems a lot better behaved now internationally than it did during the Cold War. A lot of the stuff they did in Central America in the 80s was virtual genocide, but it only met with a fraction of the opposition (I think the Sandanistas were trendy for fifteen minutes) that has greeted an invasion that, whatever else you think of it, will at least destroy a tyranny rather than undermine a democracy.

12-12-03 12:24pm (new)
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andydougan
Film critic subordinaire

Member Rated:

This is probably true, but it's not much of an increase. The Islamic world already hated America about as much as it could, so I doubt it's made much difference. A tiny increase in risk for one people is a small price to pay to free another people from a far greater danger.

12-12-03 12:38pm (new)
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boorite
crazy knife lady

Member Rated:

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You might like to suggest some we haven't. Coups and sanctions have been tried, but Saddam's internal omnipotence and indifference to his country's economic ruin kind of buggered them.

Actually, Washington showed zero interest in backing coup attempts when approached by rogue generals close to Saddam, so that is something we could have tried.

And the sanctions had Saddam's rule cracking at the edges, and he had been rendered quite incapable of regional aggression. I think he had been thoroughly enfeebled, as evidenced by his defenselessness in the face of US invasion. Those were positive steps.

Have done. I can't find any US-installed villains whose crimes compare with this guy's.


How about Suharto, for starters?

Actually, how about Saddam himself, whom we backed?

Then there's the familiar parade of despots we've installed and backed, too many to list here. I suppose we could debate whether or not their atrocities are worse than Saddam's, but it seems like a dubious exercise in comparing body counts. The point is, when the US installs a government, the result is seldom (if ever) the "liberation" of anyone.

Washington could show its good intentions by sharing the responsibility for forming the new Iraqi government, but it refuses to do so. This is another bad sign-- the mark of an empire installing a puppet government.

You have dismissed our motives as irrelevant, but I think you would agree that our motives are relevant to the issue of what kind of government we are likely to put in place. If our goal is to control Iraqi resources, we are unlikely to permit real democracy, because of course the Iraqi people would vote to control their own resources on their own terms. This (based on experience) is impermissible.

So here's the thing: A war to replace a despot can only be justified if the despot is replaced by a non-despot. Otherwise, great harm has been done to no good purpose, and the better course of action is to have done nothing.

I have to run now, so I'll address the rest in another post.

---
What others say about boorite!

12-12-03 1:50pm (new)
quote : comics : pm : info


andydougan
Film critic subordinaire

Member Rated:

quote:
quote:

You might like to suggest some we haven't. Coups and sanctions have been tried, but Saddam's internal omnipotence and indifference to his country's economic ruin kind of buggered them.

Actually, Washington showed zero interest in backing coup attempts when approached by rogue generals close to Saddam, so that is something we could have tried.


That's not true that they didn't try it. I'll look up a link or something when I'm more lucid.

Hmm, UN reports, at least, stated that the sanctions were destroying the country whilst strengthening Saddam. Perhaps you know better. It's nice to see you disagree with your old pal Noam, at any rate.

Have done. I can't find any US-installed villains whose crimes compare with this guy's.


How about Suharto, for starters?


It's a pedantic point, but he wasn't as bad. He didn't kill quite as many, probably because he was less competent rather than because he was nicer. But okay, the odds are still that the replacement to Saddam will be better, simply because most leaders, even in that area, are!

It's a bigger to step to create a tyrant like that than simply to support him.

You're right. But the annual body count on America's hands has been falling over the last fifteen years. The new guy probably won't be a Suharto.

True. The most likely eventuality - and I'm pretty sure you'd agree with this - is the installation of a more benign dictator.

quote:
Washington could show its good intentions by sharing the responsibility for forming the new Iraqi government, but it refuses to do so. This is another bad sign-- the mark of an empire installing a puppet government.

You have dismissed our motives as irrelevant, but I think you would agree that our motives are relevant to the issue of what kind of government we are likely to put in place. If our goal is to control Iraqi resources, we are unlikely to permit real democracy, because of course the Iraqi people would vote to control their own resources on their own terms. This (based on experience) is impermissible.


See above. Some dictators are worse than others. Cuba's probably all right to live in as long as you're not a dissident or a gay or something.

I wouldn't go as far as non-despot, though obviously that's best. A Stalin replacing a Tito would justify a low casualty war, I think.

At the moment, and until we see what's going to happen in the long term, it's pretty much impossible to judge whether the invasion was right or wrong. But the US's track record is better than Saddam's, and unquestionably the greatest obstacle to democracy in Iraq has been removed.

12-12-03 2:11pm (new)
quote : comics : pm : info

Stripcreator » Fights Go Here » Did someone mention politics?


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