He’s no more “Native American” than I am.  He’s a liar, deceiver and poser.  Having this rally at the DNC shows how out of touch with mainstream America the Democratic Party is.  They have become agents of socialist, anarchists, communists, fascists and moneyed special interest groups who are out to destroy America.  Americans are starting to see the DNC for what it is and it will implode due to lack of moral compass and infighting.  They’ve already turned their back on Americans and now on feminists, which bridge will they burn next?

You’re just rehashing old, OLD news!  Who really cares about this guy, anyway!  If you can’t find something interesting, informative and current to write about - - don’t write!

Churchill is right.  However, the things he is right about are not easy to hear.  What do you say to the fact (yes, fact) that the America we live in today is a direct product of one of the largest genocides in human history.  It’s not an easy thing to hear, but it’s true.

In an age when nobody can seem to say what they mean without having to issue some kind of postured apology, props to Ward for telling it like it is.

Ward Churchhill is a fraud and like Joe Biden is a plagiariser!!  This tells you about both men’s characters doesn’t it!  And we know already about Obama’s character which is non-existent! 

Even more egregious is this information from IBD - again….Obama’s show their socialistic bent and radicalism and WE PAY for it!!

Michelle’s Boot Camps For Radicals
By INVESTOR’S BUSINESS DAILY | Posted Thursday, September 04, 2008 4:20 PM PT

Election ‘08: Democrats’ reintroduction of militant Michelle Obama in Denver was supposed to show her softer side. But it only highlighted a radical part of her resume: Public Allies.

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IBD Series: The Audacity Of Socialism

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Barack Obama was a founding member of the board of Public Allies in 1992, resigning before his wife became executive director of the Chicago chapter of Public Allies in 1993. Obama plans to use the nonprofit group, which he features on his campaign Web site, as the model for a national service corps. He calls his Orwellian program, “Universal Voluntary Public Service.”

Big Brother had nothing on the Obamas. They plan to herd American youth into government-funded reeducation camps where they’ll be brainwashed into thinking America is a racist, oppressive place in need of “social change.”

The pitch Public Allies makes on its Web site doesn’t seem all that radical. It promises to place young adults (18-30) in paid one-year “community leadership” positions with nonprofit or government agencies. They’ll also be required to attend weekly training workshops and three retreats.

In exchange, they’ll get a monthly stipend of up to $1,800, plus paid health and child care. They also get a post-service education award of $4,725 that can be used to pay off past student loans or fund future education.

But its real mission is to radicalize American youth and use them to bring about “social change” through threats, pressure, tension and confrontation — the tactics used by the father of community organizing, Saul “The Red” Alinsky.

“Our alumni are more than twice as likely as 18-34 year olds to . . . engage in protest activities,” Public Allies boasts in a document found with its tax filings. It has already deployed an army of 2,200 community organizers like Obama to agitate for “justice” and “equality” in his hometown of Chicago and other U.S. cities, including Cincinnati, Los Angeles, Milwaukee, New York, Phoenix, Pittsburgh and Washington. “I get to practice being an activist,” and get paid for it, gushed Cincinnati recruit Amy Vincent.

Public Allies promotes “diversity and inclusion,” a program paper says. More than 70% of its recruits are “people of color.” When they’re not protesting, they’re staffing AIDS clinics, handing out condoms, bailing criminals out of jail and helping illegal aliens and the homeless obtain food stamps and other welfare.

Public Allies brags that more than 80% of graduates have continued working in nonprofit or government jobs. It’s training the “next generation of nonprofit leaders” — future “social entrepreneurs.”

The Obamas discourage work in the private sector. “Don’t go into corporate America,” Michelle has exhorted youth. “Work for the community. Be social workers.” Shun the “money culture,” Barack added. “Individual salvation depends on collective salvation.”

“If you commit to serving your community,” he pledged in his Denver acceptance speech, “we will make sure you can afford a college education.” So, go through government to go to college, and then go back into government.

Many of today’s youth find the pitch attractive. “I may spend the rest of my life trying to create social movement,” said Brian Coovert of the Cincinnati chapter. “There is always going to be work to do. Until we have a perfect country, I’ll have a job.”

Not all the recruits appreciate the PC indoctrination. “It was too touchy-feely,” said Nelly Nieblas, 29, of the 2005 Los Angeles class. “It’s a lot of talk about race, a lot of talk about sexism, a lot of talk about homophobia, talk about -isms and phobias.”

One of those -isms is “heterosexism,” which a Public Allies training seminar in Chicago describes as a negative byproduct of “capitalism, white supremacy, patriarchy and male-dominated privilege.”

The government now funds about half of Public Allies’ expenses through Clinton’s AmeriCorps. Obama wants to fully fund it and expand it into a national program that some see costing $500 billion. “We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded” as the military, he said.

The gall of it: The Obamas want to create a boot camp for radicals who hate the military — and stick American taxpayers with the bill.

Yes we are messed up governmentally and we MUSt change it!  WRITE and CALL your congressperson today!!

I concur for the most part.  Fire all politicians and just start over.  ladytexan, it isn’t that they can’t do anything about it.  It is that they won’t do anything about it because they are all in constant campaign mode.  Always worried about their votes.  I would love to see 10-12 year term limits for congress.  The Contract for America pushed by the Republicans back in the 90’s proposed term limits, but it got defeated easily.  Term limits would help force the politicians to actually accomplish something while in office, vice playing down party lines.  No more “Present” votes allowed either!  The President should be limited to one term of 6 years with no re-election possibilties.  I think this is something the country needs to vote on in this coming election.  Don’t leave it up to congress to implement restrictions on themselves, it will never happen.  We, the people need to do it. 

The debate of going into Iraq when we did could go on for decades.  There were 12 years of UN sanctions, resolutions and inspections of Iraq’s WMD program and the international community, as well as us, believed Saddam still had them.  Now, whether they were destroyed or moved into syria before we finally invaded, after 18 months of diplomatic efforts through the UN, will probably never be known until the government declassifies intel reports.  If we really want to go after global terrorism, then we needed to go after the largest state-sponsor of terrorism, Iran.  We missed that window of opportunity.  I think both McCain and Obama are talking tough when it comes to defeating the Taliban and Al Qaeda in Afghanistan.  That would require invading the Peshwar valley in Pakistan and I don’t see either of them willing to go that far. 

The even bigger issue coming down the road is the Russians and their attempts to reclaim the territory and resources they lost when the Soviet Union dissovled.  McCain is the only choice when it comes to that problem.  Obama is a secret communist and will only attempt to help Russia in their efforts.

CHarles and Lady Texan - you MISSED The article on the 500 lbs of YELLOW CAKE that was found in Iraq and taken under guard to a safe location until it recently was removed from Iraq:

AND there was NO BILL OF GOODS - Clinton, Madeline Albright, Sandy Berger, were talking about his WMD’s as far back as 1998 - I have quotes from their talks.  Go to any major newspaper in that time period and look this up.  Just like the good McCain and Palin do you didn’t hear about this in the major media as they chose to withhold it!! 

On July 5, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) released a story titled: Secret U.S. mission hauls uranium from Iraq. The opening paragraph is as follows:
The last major remnant of Saddam Hussein’s nuclear program – a huge stockpile of concentrated natural uranium – reached a Canadian port Saturday to complete a secret U.S. operation that included a two week airlift from Baghdad and a ship voyage crossing two oceans.
See anything wrong with this picture? We have been hearing from the far-left for more than five years how, “Bush lied.” Somehow, that slogan loses its credibility now that 550 metric tons of Saddam’s yellowcake, used for nuclear weapon enrichment, has been discovered and shipped to Canada for its new use as nuclear energy.
It appears that American troops found the 550 metric tons of uranium in 2003 after invading Iraq. They had to sit on this information and the uranium itself, for fear of terrorists attempting to steal it. It was guarded and kept safe by our military in a 23,000-acre site with large sand beams surrounding the site.
This is vindication for the Bush administration, having been attacked mercilessly by the liberal media and the far-left pundits on the blogosphere. Now that it is proven that President Bush did not lie about Saddam’s nuclear ambitions, one would think the mainstream media would report the story? Once the AP released the story, the mainstream media should have picked it up and broadcast it worldwide.
This never happened, due in large part I believe, to the fact that the mainstream media would have to admit they were wrong about Bush’s war motives all along. Thankfully, the AP got it right when it said,
The removal of 550 metric tons of “yellowcake” – the seed material for higher-grade nuclear enrichment – was a significant step toward closing the books on Saddam’s nuclear legacy.
Closing the book on Saddam’s nuclear legacy? Did Saddam have a nuclear legacy after all? I thought Bush lied? As it turns out, the people who lied were Joe Wilson and his wife.
Valerie Plame engaged in a clear case of nepotism and convinced the CIA to send her husband on a fact finding mission in February 2002, seeking to determine if Saddam Hussein attempted to buy yellowcake from Niger. The CIA and British intelligence believed Saddam contacted Niger for that purpose but needed proof.
During his trip to Niger, Wilson actually interviewed the former prime minister of Niger, Ibrahim Assane Mayaki. Mayaki told Wilson that in June of 1999, an Iraqi delegation expressed interest in “expanding commercial relations” for the purposes of purchasing yellowcake.
Wilson chose to overlook Mayaki’s remarks and reported to the CIA that there was no evidence of Hussein wanting to purchase yellowcake from Niger.
However, with British intelligence insisting the claim was true, President Bush used that same claim in his State of the Union address in January of 2003.
Outraged by Bush’s insistence that the claim was true, Wilson wrote an op-ed in the New York Times in the summer of 2003 slamming Bush.
Wilson did this in spite of the fact that Mayaki said Saddam did try to buy the yellowcake from Niger. The Senate Select Committee on Intelligence disagreed with Wilson and supported Mayaki’s claim. This meant nothing to Wilson who was opposed to the Iraq war and thus had ulterior motives in covering up the prime minister’s statements.
It was a simple tactic really. If the far-left and their friends in the media could prove Bush lied about Hussein wanting to purchase yellowcake from Niger, it would undermine President Bush’s credibility and give them more cause for asking what other “lies” he may have told.
Yet, the real lie came from Wilson, who interpreted his own meaning from the prime minister’s statements and concluded all by himself that the claim of Saddam attempting to purchase yellowcake was “unequivocally wrong.” Curiously, the CIA sat on this information and did not inform the CIA Director, who sided with Bush on the yellowcake claim. This was made public in a bipartisan Senate Intelligence Committee report in July 2004.
Valerie Plame also engaged in her own lie campaign by spreading the notion that the Bush administration “outed” her as a CIA agent. Never mind that it was Richard Armitage—no friend of the Bush administration—who leaked Plame’s identity to the press. Never mind that Plame had not been in the field as a CIA agent in some six years.
The truth is, due to their opposition to the war, Joe Wilson, Valerie Plame, the mainstream media and their left-wing friends on the blogosphere engaged in a propaganda campaign to undermine the Bush administration. Now that Saddam’s uranium has been made public and is no longer a threat to the world, do you think these aforementioned parties will apologize and admit they were wrong? Don’t count on it. The rest of the American people should hear the truth about Saddam’s uranium. It is up to you and me to inform them every chance we get.
As far as the anti-war crowd is concerned, the next time they say that,
“Bush lied,” we should tell them to, “Have the yellowcake and eat it too

Helen Sabin:
“On July 5, 2008, the Associated Press (AP) released a story titled: Secret U.S. mission hauls uranium from Iraq… It appears that American troops found the 550 metric tons of uranium in 2003 after invading Iraq. They had to sit on this information and the uranium itself, for fear of terrorists attempting to steal it. It was guarded and kept safe by our military…”

I don’t know if you really believe what you are writing, or you are intentionally lying to deceive people. First, let’s understand that yellowcake is not WMD.

The US military first arrived at the Tuwaitha site on April 10, 2003. The reason they went there was because the IAEA told the US that the twin complexes at Tuwaitha were “at the top of the list” (washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/12/AR2006061200918_4.html)of nuclear sites requiring protection of U.S. and British forces when entering Baghdad.  The IAEA knew the yellowcake was there because they had it safeguarded since before the first Gulf War. The very article you refer to says this:  “Later, U.N. inspectors documented and safeguarded the yellowcake, which had been stored in aging drums and containers since before the 1991 Gulf War. There was no evidence of any yellowcake dating from after 1991, the official said.” (msnbc.msn.com/id/25546334/) Maybe you should read the articles you quote. See also: “The administration knew full well what was stored at Tuwaitha” (accessmylibrary.com/coms2/summary_0286-8186898_ITM). So what did the US do when entering Baghdad? Was the yellowcake “guarded and kept safe by our military” as you claim? Not quite. The truth is that the US military left Tuwaitha unguarded and open to looters while they sent teams out to look for real WMD (not yellowcake). Instead of finding WMD, the US teams found vacuum cleaners. (See the WaPo article linked to above). “The Tuwaitha story makes a mockery of the administration’s vaunted concern with weapons of mass destruction. The U.S. military hastened to secure the Ministry of Oil in Baghdad from looters. But Iraq’s main nuclear facility was apparently not important enough to get similar protection.” (Philadelphia Inquirer article above). Even when the US Army found out about the looting that had happened at Tuwaitha, they were ordered to “leave at once.” (WaPo article above). So what was the result of the US leaving Tuwaitha unguarded when they knew full well what was there? The looters, not knowing what was in the blue barrels, dumped the yellowcake on the ground and used the barrels (csmonitor.com/2003/0710/p07s02-woiq.html) for drinking water and storing food. (telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/iraq/1429779/Villagers-suffer-radiation
-sickness-after-looting-nuclear-power-plants.html) “It may take years to determine the health effects from the radiation poisoning that occurred here before American military forces arrived to seal off this nuclear complex.” (query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C01E0D81439F93BA35755C0A9659C8B63)
Once the damage had been done, the US finally realized that they had to call the IAEA to handle the situation, even though they resisted as long as possible and tried as best as they could to keep it a secret:

“The administration didn’t want to let inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency back into Iraq. U.S. officials finally recognized, however, that they needed the help of the IAEA, which has been monitoring Tuwaitha for years and is best prepared to assess how much uranium is missing. But the United States is trying to keep the IAEA mission totally under wraps. The inspectors are kept isolated in the Rashid Hotel and are not allowed to speak to the press. Nor did U.S. officials permit them to bring a press officer from their Vienna headquarters. When I try to drive toward Location C, where the IAEA team is working on a limited two-week assignment, I am stopped by Sgt. Steven Collier. Standing in front of a tank, he tells me his superiors ‘don’t want nobody here right now. They don’t tell us why.’” (Philadelphia Inquirer article above)

(See also the NYTimes article above: “Yet continuing reports of lax security here and the discovery that villagers were bathing from contaminated barrels from uranium storage facilities appear to have prompted American officials to relent and allow narrowly defined access for international inspectors, who examined and sealed this facility more than a decade ago.)

And what did the US do when they found out that Iraqis were getting sick, and probably getting cancer, from the barrels they were using for food and water? The generous Americans offered the Iraqis $3 a barrel to return them to the Americans, when the market price for the barrels was $15. (See CS Monitor article above). How generous! I guess Americans don’t consider the lives of Iraqis worth more than $3. (Why do they hate us?)
So who took care of the problem? Those Greenpeace bastards! They exchanged over 100 contaminated barrels for clean ones. (See CSMonitor link).

So you take an incident where the US once again commit war crimes and try to make people believe it is evidence that Saddam had WMD. Awesome.

Helen,

As for me, it isn’t that I don’t believe you when you post the article, but there have been so many things this government has said and done regarding Iraq, there is no reason to believe anything THEY say.

As for Iraqis wanting us there - it isn’t my impression, and I will admit some of the impression came from the media.  Although, my husband talked with two different recently returned soldiers, different towns, different times, and both said the same thing. They said they were mostly fighting Iraqis who simply wanted us out of their country.

Certainly, they were glad Saddam was gone.  I’m also thinking they remember that we helped keep him on the throne because he was our junk yard dog for a while.

The ME has been warring since recorded time, but the US has been there fomenting chaos for a very long time.  I personally know they were as early as 1958. 

I have never heard anyone even suggest that Saddam was not a mad, vicious piece of garbage. The fact is, though, he was just that when he was our ‘friend’ and we were helping him.

I’m thinking if Saddam had agreed to sell the US all his oil and deal in dollars, all this other stuff wouldn’t matter. His cruelty to his people didn’t matter to us when he was doing our bidding against Iran.

Also, I can’t for the life of me see the difference between throwing people off a building to kill them and using guns miles away to blow innocent people, children included, to bits.

Our politicians actually stood there and applauded ‘shock and awe’.  That wasn’t Saddam we were bombing, that was Iraqi population. That was children being blown up, burned, and maimed.

We have to look at those speeches in context of what our government has and is doing in this country.

We fought several wars - large and small - killing tens of thousands of Americans, wounded tens of thousands, destroyed the life of countless of them.  We did all this to ‘defeat communism’.  Now communism hasn’t changed, it is still communism and Red China is still communist China.  What happened?  It seems communism wasn’t all that bad when they offered up their considerable population as slave labor for US corporations to make billions.

We are supposed to be in danger from terrorists, yet our borders are open and inviting.

How can we not doubt the truthfulness of those flagwaving speeches.  It’s almost like the speeches should have a ‘we must go to war against __________ (fill in the blanks, and insert a flag motif).

We could destroy Iraq totally, return it to the desert sand, and it won’t bring peace to the ME.

LT - whether you believe it or not, you can go to the AP and look up the article. 

And as far as our government,  I take the good with the bad in our government and rail agasint the bad as I have traveled all over the worldand have seen what our government and country is like as compared to the rest.  And I will take the USA with all its bad and hope to change it.

Most Americans are SOOOO negative yet when asked why, most can’t tell you other than they “hate” the government.  Yet they are the ones who VOTED or worse, didn’t vote and let those corrupt ones in congress now take over and runrough shod on us.

Lady Texan -have you written your congressperson lately or called their offices to complain?  Have you gotten involved in politics? 

Have you really RESEARCHED your candidates?

Fortunately I am now retired (somewhat except for teaching on line at the graduate level) and I have the joy and PRIVILEGE of being able to read widely and to get involved.  I even subscribe to Al Jazerrah and Russian News Today to get a more international point of view. I also have many friends that are involved in national security and what I transmit via this blog is the “intent” and “thinking” behind issues affecting our country. 

I just had a friend return from Iraq who was involved in training the police department and he will tell you what they think.  My son was over there and was given aid by iraqis when attacked, my other son has buddies over there who write regularly about the Iraqis and their attitude. 

OF course there will be those who want us out - they want their particular “tribe” to be dominant and there will be some who see us as invaders.  But they are a minority from what I am told and sent by those present there.

The son of a friend who is a medical doctor gets gifts of food, a scarf, a woven basket when he helps their children or aunts or family memebers and that is thanks enough for him. 

You need to read widely and then generate your own thoughts about what you see and hear.  ONE POLL does not tell you all and YES I don’t believe in polls.  ONe time I did census taking and found people lie all the time on that information so a POLL?  Have you ever been called?  I haven’t!!  So who are they reporting?

IF you call NY where most of my husband’s cousins live -they are rabidly in favor of Hilliary - and can’t stand Obama.  What kind of poll results would that give you if answering questions about Obama?

I do know this Lady Texan - this is the GREATEST country on earth and the millons of illegals and legals who want to come here recognize that even if YOU don’t!

HS

DAVE - polls are unreliable at best to believe as they change constantly.  I hae NEVER been called about anything, have you?  Have you had YOUR chance to express your opinion?

What I DO BELIEVE is that the United States is the best country in the world to live in.  I have been blessed by this country, by the hard work of my ancestors and parents and husband to be able to have had good jobs, a good education, been able to teach others who have gone on to successful careers, I have a wonderful husband, great kids of whom I am terribly proud and a country that works through its problems and allows ALL to have a voice.

I have a cell phone and a house to live in and enough food to eat and am fairly healthy!  Thus I am blessed.  My husband and I worked hard through our lives to provide such to our kids and we don’t take welfare but work for what we want.

Consider this:  IF you had lived in Iraq when Saddam was in charge, you wouldn’t be alive today if you had voiced comments about his leadership!

  Many good Americans have fought for the right for YOU and Lady Texan and me to be able to voice our opinions toward the US.  I don’t know why you have such enmity in your soul but I do think you are good caring people who need an outlet for your anger and the disillusionment you have for the US. 

Rather than be negative, why NOT change things just like our forefathers did?  Many of them were simple people - farmers, tavern owners, etc. 

Have you considered getting involved in politics yourselves?  You both have posted good ideas, apparently care where the country is headed, (Thank GOD that you do) .  Have you ever considered doing that?  How about starting locally?  City council?  commissions?  Etc? 

OR join some of the groups such as Citizens against government waste or NUmbers USA who are trying to make a difference? 

I am putting my money, time and effort where my mouth is and I have researched BOTH candidates to the point that my computer is almost full of aticles, copies of their voting records, praise and condemnation of both sides, etc. 

How about you?

From Iraq-today.com:  GO online folks and look up this local newspaper in Iraq -

Home   >  Opinion   >  Article
Harsh truths starting to dawn in Iraq
August 19, 2003

 
Saddam’s defeat has shown Iraqis the extent of Arab self-delusion and duplicity. 

  But here’s what is new and will have a big impact on inter-Arab politics, if Iraq can be rebuilt: many Iraqis today express real resentment for the other Arab regimes, and even toward the Palestinians, for how they let themselves be bought off by Saddam. They feel that Saddam used the Iraqi people’s oil wealth to buy popularity for himself in the Arab street - by giving Palestinians and other Arab students scholarships and nice apartments in Baghdad, and by paying off all sorts of Arab nationalist writers and newspapers.

And then these same Arab intellectuals and media gave Saddam a free pass to torture, repress and starve his own people. In other words, “Arabism,” in the minds of many Iraqis, is the cloak that Saddam hid behind to imprison them for 35 years, and now that they can say that out loud, they are saying it.

You’d never know this from watching Arab satellite television like Al Jazeera. Because although these stations have 21st-century graphics, they’re still dominated by 1950s Nasserite political correctness - which insists that dignity comes from how you resist the foreigner, even if he’s come as a liberator, not by what you build yourself.

But the truth will come out. “Iraq is going to be the Arab libido,” a Lebanese aid worker in Baghdad said. “You know, when you have those naughty dreams that you can’t tell anyone about and then suddenly you’re on the couch talking about them - that’s going to be Iraq.” It’s going to be where all the taboos that are not supposed to be spoken get spoken. Indeed, they already are.

Hassan Fattah is a young Iraqi-American journalist who has returned to Baghdad to start a terrific newspaper called Iraq Today (http://www.iraq-today.com). Before the fall of Baghdad, though, he worked as a reporter in the West Bank. “I sympathise with the Palestinian cause,” he said, “but after the fall of Baghdad, when I told Palestinians that I was an Iraqi, they would say to me, ‘You sold us out. You sold Iraq for nothing.’ I was called a traitor. The average Palestinian wanted to see us fight - to resist - America, and the American ‘occupation,’ because that is what they understood.”

Of course, Iraqis want to run their own government as soon as possible, said Fattah - but not in order to join the old Arab nationalist parade, but rather to focus on themselves.

“Iraqis know Saddam was a fake,” he explained. “His Arabism came at their expense. For Iraqis it was not Arabism; it was torture and subjugation. [Now] there is this feeling that the Arab world has lashed out at us because we did not ‘resist’ the Americans. It was because Iraqis have learned the lessons of phony Arabism - that Saddam could send $35,000 to the families of [Palestinian] suicide bombers, while leaving his own people starving and living on two dollars a day.

“That’s why there is a dramatic gulf now between Iraqis and a lot of other Arabs. Young people here want to move on. In 10 years, this will be a very different place. If I can be a part of it, it will be like Hong Kong or Korea - but with an Iraqi face.”

Talking to young Iraqis such as Hassan, you sense how much they want to break the old mould - how much they want to be Arabs, with an Arab identity, but to build a modern state that actually focuses on tapping its people’s talents and energies, rather than diverting them, and one that seeks to base their dignity on what they build, not on whom they fight. Cheer for them to succeed, for having such a state in the heart of the Arab world would be a very, very good thing.

Helen,

We have areas of agreement and disagreement, I hope we can discuss without assigning thoughts and feelings to each other that are not there.

I have no enmity - although I do know that is the mantra of this administration and it’s minions.  Any criticism is called ‘hate America’, or ‘Why do you hate America so’, or ‘America bashing’.

I even remember the vile, ‘If you don’t support the PResident, you don’t support the troops.’  How horrible!!!

Far from being hate, I love this country and that is why I criticize, or point out,  where I feel it is needed.  It is our right and our solemn duty to do just that.  Otherwise, we are not doing what we should.

I love my children more than life itself, but I still (age 40 and 33) speak to them when I think they are doing something not in their best interest.  That’s not enmity toward my children, just the opposite.  That’s loving them enough to try to keep them from doing something that will hurt them.

I am not willing to judge actions of countries, ours or anyone elses, solely on the last 5-10-20 years.  History has shaped countries and people and we must speak and think with that history as part of the process.

As I said, no one to my knowledge, has ever said Saddam was not a horrible human being.  That has never been disputed.  I’m not sure why it is really part of the discussion - except that somehow it became one of the ‘reasons du jour’ given for going to the war.  They seemed to change those everyday for a while.

Remembering history, as we simply must, Saddam was that horrible person and despotic dictator when we were helping him with weapons and when he was doing our bidding.  This country,  Pres. Bush I, Rumsfeld, and Cheney were very aware of what he was, and how his people were treated.  The government said they went to war on ‘flawed intelligence’, because Iraq was closed to our intelligence.  I don’t believe that for a moment, but it certainly wasn’t closed at the time he was our great good friend because we wanted him to go to war with Iran. Under the theory that ‘the enemy of my enemy is my friend’, we have caused ourselves a lot of grief.

His viciousness to his people didn’t seem to matter to our government then.  Some of the same people doing business with him then and turning a blind eye to his terror, are the same ones standing up there telling you how horrible he was and how we must destroy him. 

Are Iraqis good people?  Certainly, I believe they are.  Would they help a wounded soldier or anyone, I believe some certainly would.  That doesn’t translate into being happy about the death, destruction and horror we have brought down on that country.  That doesn’t translate into wanting to be an occupied country forever.  That doesn’t translate into their wanting our culture imposed on them.  It doesn’t mean they want democracy imposed on them - you can’t impose democracy.

We were friends and aiders of Saddam.

We put the bloody Shah on the throne in Iran, who brutally killed many of his people.  We may pay a very heavy price for that before it is all over.  WE may choose to forget history, but apparently these people do not.

We made a folk hero of Bin Laden during the occupation of Afghanistan.  That was a pretty costly action as well.

We even befriended Castro and helped him until he told us to kiss off, he was going communist.

Then there was Noriega - remember him?

Can we talk about Muggabe.  That country had fair elections and elected a black man.  The Carter administration, Andrew Young, didn’t think he was ‘black enough’, so another election was held, without the protection of the UN, and Muggabe and his bloody reign of terror was unleashed there.

I don’t know about all the machinations in South America that has resulted in the death of many innocent poor people, and earned the hatred of many South American people.  We might learn just how much someday as many of our illegals are from those countries.  Some of the vicious gangs on our streets today were born in the blood and terror of these actions.

Again, many lives and much money has been spent to defeat communism, yet it seems now the only communist country we don’t love is the small, third world island of Cuba.  When corporations find a way to exploit the people of Cuba, I think it will be ‘loved’ as well.

The older of us know what America was and what it should be and what it can be.  It cannot be those things if we simply sit back and vote party line as usual.

I, too, think America is the greatest country on the planet, but that doesn’t blind me to realizing how far off course we have come and to the problems we have.

We are not the only people that can speak out against our government and we are not the only country that enjoys a high standard of living.

I am not sure why pointing out the wrong actions of a government is considered ‘negative’.  I’m thinking in a country where we can voice our opinions and our job is to run the country, it would seem that would be the most positive thing of all.  It means we care, we are aware, we still have hope, and some of us are still truly trying to execute the duties the constitution assigned us.

Because I have many creature comforts and good health (as far as I know), all of which I worked and still work to achieve, I’m not willing to put blinders to the things that are wrong.  I want my grandchildren and their children to have a better country than I did.  Sadly, I’m thinking that isn’t going to be possible, but at least I want to preserve some of it for them.

I do study candidates, but more than candidates, I realize the parties are holding the power and I look at who is financing the parties.  I also look at the results.  These two parties have held sway for all my life and I see things going terribly wrong.  I see us straying from the intent of the founders.  Results are far more important to me than campaign speeches, self-serving books that they write, and planted PR releases in the media.  Past history is better for making judgments than present hype.

I do think we are obligated to rebuild Iraq, even though I realize my great grandchildren will probably being paying for it.  In other words, ‘we broke-we fix’.

The fact that the soldiers were willing to say they were fighting Iraqis who didn’t want us there, was probably pretty hard for them.  I realize many soldiers believe differently, but I also think it would be pretty hard to go through that hell and then realize it was not exactly as advertised.

The fact that it is some factions, tribes, etc., that do not want us there really makes little difference.  Those people are Iraqis as well.

Suppose our being there is actually the catalyst that is causing much of this fighting, as some believe? 

Suppose they had an election and rejected democracy?  Would we recognize their right and leave?

helen sabin,

How arrogant of you to suggest that Lady Texan should get involved by running for political office, joining groups, etc.!!!
The act of casting a well thought-out vote for a quality leader is the most important responsibility of a good American and the most effective way of changing things for the better. And the ability to be independent-minded enough to point out when your own party is wrong is all too rare in this country. If most Americans held their politicians to account by criticizing and voting them out, such as Lady Texan and others like her do, the quality of our political leadership would be drastically improved.

Your statement that most Americans are SOOOO negative
is not true, rather, most Americans unfortunately, are indifferent. Only thinking Americans who see the unconstitutional treachery being practiced by most of our politicians are negative and angry. And what’s wrong with that?
It was anger and negativity of our forefathers towards the repressive monarchy of King George III that drove them to fight for independence.

Just because we Americans enjoy a better existence compared to the rest of the world doesn’t mean that we should look the other way when our politicians enact or attempt to enact policies that could take that all away.

Your suggestion that she write her congressman would do no good. They only answer to pressure groups. The only way they understand is when they’re voted out.

Asking someone like Lady Texan if she’s researched her candidates is like asking if a chef cooks for a living. Most of her posts in this forum has centered on critical analysis on the current politicians.

Your assertion, “I do know this Lady Texan - this is the GREATEST country on earth and the millions of illegals and legals who want to come here recognize that even if YOU don’t!” is preposterous. The illegals have no regard for this country. In the first place, they broke the law in slipping in, and then they don’t want to assimilate into our culture or learn our language.
Noticed the bilingual writing on your supermarket products?
If you criticize those of us in this forum as being negative, that tells me that you don’t want any criticism of the globalist, unconstitutional, neocon ways of the current administration.

You said, “Many good Americans have fought for the right for YOU and Lady Texan and me to be able to voice our opinions toward the US.  I don’t know why you have such enmity in your soul but I do think you are good caring people who need an outlet for your anger and the disillusionment you have for the US.”
I don’t think, Helen, that Lady Texan needs you to remind her that Americans have fought for our freedom of expression. And the ‘enmity in her soul’ remark is a code phrase for “Don’t criticize the Bush administration”, in my opinion.

Speaking of Bush, here’s a remark you made,
“You are upset about BUSH and etc who will be out of office in a few months.  He is GONE - forget him!  Focus on today and the candidates we have.
That is what is important - then start getting involved to make a difference.  Don’t just blog here about issues - go change them!
The fact of the matter is, is that since he’s still in office, he should be open to criticism.
After all, he virtually destroyed what was left of the Republican Party with his big government, open borders ways. He turned out to be a bigger domestic spender than Bill Clinton (not including defense spending), in fact, the second biggest spender since LBJ. And if we happen to get attacked again by terrorists after Bush leaves office, they most likely will have come from the open Mexican or Canadian borders that he let stay unsecured during his administration.

What’s wrong with Lady Texan or any of us wanting to blog about issues. Unlike the majority of apathetic Americans who can’t be bothered with politics, we Americans who do care at least have an outlet for our frustration with today’s state of affairs, and also, I’ve learned a lot from reading these blogs.

The real object of your condescension should be those lazy Americans who can’t be bothered with politics and would rather remain ‘fat, dumb, and happy.’

(reposted without embedded reference links from Michael Yon’s dispatch “Af-Pak Reporting” comment #43 ) from michaelyon-online.com

“My ‘lazy ass’ served in Iraq twice as both Soldier and Intelligence Analyst. The truth beyond your politics:
we found a substantial amount of hidden WMD along with documents and recordings in which Saddam Hussein emphatically stated his intention to continue WMD development and deception.

1) Declassified NGIC report:
(link removed)

2) 1.77 metric tons of enriched uranium: (link removed)

3) 1,500 gallons of chemical weapons agents:
(link removed)

4) Chemical warheads containing cyclosarin:
(link removed)

5) Over 1,000 radioactive materials in powdered form meant for dispersal over populated areas:
(link removed)

6) Roadside bombs loaded with mustard and “conventional” sarin gas, assembled in binary chemical projectiles for maximum potency: (link removed)
Those weapons were previously unknown to U.N. inspectors.

Oh yeah, and his terrorist connections:
He gave thousands of dollars to families of suicide bombers and in addition, Iraqi intelligence met with al Qadea operatives and provided with training camps in Northern Iraq:
The Mother of All Connections
From the July 18, 2005 issue: A special report on the new evidence of collaboration between Saddam Hussein’s Iraq and al Qaeda.
by Stephen F. Hayes & Thomas Joscelyn
07/18/2005, Volume 010, Issue 41

Source:
(link removed)

Saddam Hussein, as evidenced by the WMD found, his previous use, continued willingness to use them, and the documents discovered which connected him to terrorists, was a threat. The fact remains that the inspectors got absolutely nowhere with regard to full disclosure of Hussein’s WMD program.

I’m an Iraq War vet, and I’m damned glad we not only invaded, but took out the sonofabitch and got those WMDs before anyone had the chance to use them. Had I the power, Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan, and Iran (for starters) would have been asphalt parking lots on 12 September 2001. But, I’m a former Soldier, not a diplomat.
Hussein wasn’t the only threat. Just one of them. But, not anymore, is he?”

posted by:

SFC Cheryl McElroy, US ARMY (RET)

Cheryl (ANON) - - Thank you for your service!  It is our freedom that we owe to you and I sincerely appreciate you being there to defend our country! 

Our military is the reason we are here being able to squabble with each other and without you and the ones who served earlier, we would probably either be speaking German or wearing burkas!  So thank you for your service and for your knowledge about WMD’s!  You affim what I have found in researching the topic and what Iraqis have told me. 

Your comments back up those I have heard from others INCLUDING MY SON,who was there at the start of the war and from other troops who have come back from the middle east war as to the issue of WMD’s. 

I am glad you made it back safely and again thank you for your service to our country!

Helen,

You know we have been able to disagree on here without ugliness which is pretty great, but I see things going downhill.

Again, why assign the word hate because someone finds fault, big faults with a politician.  That is truly just political spin and that will get us no where.  That’s Republican talking points, I have heard them too many times, in too many places not to recognize it.

To say someone hates because they criticize a politician is not really good for discourse.  It is my right and my duty to speak out where they are wrong.  I have relinquished my duty if I just go along with everything they do.  It means I still feel this country belongs to the people, and I’m not ready to cede i