Hey there!
2. jexster - 8/26/2002 11:28:43 AM
High Crimes and Misdemeanors Anyone?
"Two senior administration officials, speaking on condition of anonymity, said White House counsel Al Gonzales advised Bush earlier this month that the Constitution gives the president authority to wage war without explicit authority from Congress."
3. concerned - 8/26/2002 11:53:04 AM
Here's something for all 'progressives' (IO, I'm thinking about you here) who are so frightened of theocratic influences in government to contemplate thoroughly and well, referred to in the following link:
"In Georgia, McKinney Exploring Senate Run"
Excerpt:
Meanwhile, Eleanor Clift says McKinney's recent primary loss suggests there is a new political third rail in American politics: "Supporting Muslim issues this campaign season could end many a political career."
The only 'Muslim' issues which are distinct from those of supporting any other religion (what happened to the separation of church and state here?) amount to discrimination against non-Muslims. Therefore, anybody who runs on 'Muslim' issues is a professional religious bigot.
4. jexster - 8/26/2002 11:55:18 AM
This is your brain...this is your brain on rat poison
He's been leading the country, and the world, for that matter, ever since" the Sept. 11 attacks, DeLay said. "So, I think this is a time to lead. Others will join when you show strong leadership, like President Bush has shown."
5. concerned - 8/26/2002 11:55:54 AM
Re. 35001 -
Sorry, Jex. None of that for GWB. He's covered re. Iraq either way.
6. jexster - 8/26/2002 12:08:22 PM
Time to put The Exterminator out of our misery.
I hear there's a humane society in Huntsville Texas that takes care of this sort of thing
Iraq & the 9 Other Countries Tom DeLay Would Invade
And the Moronic Minions thought C. McKinney was a nut case!
7. robertjayb - 8/27/2002 12:12:31 AM
Obsession, not policy, drives Iraq scheme...By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
8. robertjayb - 8/27/2002 12:12:56 AM
Obsession, not policy, drives Iraq scheme...By NICHOLAS D. KRISTOF
9. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 8/27/2002 11:14:39 AM
10. Dr.XavierTColtrane - 8/27/2002 11:24:24 AM
Where is good Jester?
11. jexster - 8/27/2002 11:32:15 AM
Lafayette I am here
The Burning Bush
"I'm thrilled to be here in the bread basket of America because it gives me a chance to remind our fellow citizens that we have an advantage here in America—we can feed ourselves."—Stockton, Calif., Aug. 23, 2002
12. jexster - 8/27/2002 11:37:56 AM
San Francisco, Calif.: 1. An article today recounted a dispute among your colleagues concerning the possible outcomes of urban warfare with Gen Hoak being decidedly pessimistic (realistic?). Question, how effective can U.S. tactics of "a synergy of violence and speed" be in urban fighting? 13. jexster - 8/27/2002 12:14:11 PM 14. Dr.XavierTColtrane - 8/27/2002 12:16:20 PM Touche mon general! 15. jexster - 8/27/2002 12:21:41 PM
2. How might this be different from the experience of the last violently swift force to try, the German 6th Army?
Gen. Bernard Trainor: Urban warfare is ghastly. Nobody wants another Stalingrad or Grozney. The defat of the Iraqi army in the field could reduce the need to fight in the cities. As Mao did in China in 1949, he took the countryside and the Nationalists holed up in the cities facing the communists and a hostile population became discouraged and gave in. We saw the same thing in Kurst in Afghanistan.
Jeximan The Magnificent aka Commander Baba Jex and Gen. Bernard E. Trainor (USMC Ret)
Adjunct Senior Fellow,
Council on Foreign Relations
16. jexster - 8/27/2002 12:22:13 PM
Gen. Anthony Zinni - "This is Bush's Bay of Goats"
Immanuel Wallerstein - "George W. Bush is a geopolitical incompetent. He has allowed a clique of hawks to induce him to take a position, an invasion of Iraq, from which he cannot extract himself and which will have nothing but negative consequences, for everyone but first of all for the United States. He will find himself badly hurt politically, perhaps fatally. He will diminish rather rapidly the already declining power of the United States in the world. He will contribute dramatically to the destruction of the state of Israel by furthering the suicidal madness of the Israeli hawks. Of course, there will be many persons in the world who will be happy to see such negative consequences. The trouble is that, in the process, Bush will conduct warfare that will destroy many lives immediately, lead to a degree of turmoil in the Arab-Islamic world of a kind and at a level hitherto unimagined,"
Cows die, buzzard fly
17. Dr.XavierTColtrane - 8/27/2002 12:25:29 PM
Keep up the good work, mon cher. Yours truly is off to a sumpious feast of grilled salmon.
18. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 8/27/2002 12:32:12 PM
19. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 8/27/2002 12:33:02 PM
20. jexster - 8/27/2002 12:55:54 PM
Cows die, buzzards fly, pigs wear lipstick
21. jexster - 8/27/2002 1:17:15 PM
and Cheney talks loudly and carries a swizzle stick!
Spin 101
The administration is bringing 17 Iraqi dissidents to Washington for coaching in how to present the case for deposing Saddam. Many of the dissidents, who are from Europe and North America, have little experience dealing with the media. Their lessons at the State Department are intended to teach them how to compose Op-Ed pieces, speeches, and sound bites for radio and television. (8/26/02)Slate
22. jexster - 8/27/2002 1:20:36 PM
I have to laugh when I hear so called environmentalist bemoan the fact that logging companies will, god forbid, make a profit. Is lumber a viable product or not? Perhaps Liberals should fight for a law that forbids stick frame construction
Don't laugh too hard Al, you might get a hernia, have to wear a corset
"Round up the usual suspects! George W. Bush's new "Healthy Forests" plan reads like a parody of his administration's standard operating procedure. You see, environmentalists cause forest fires, and those nice corporations will solve the problem if we get out of their way.
Am I being too harsh? No, actually it's even worse than it seems. "Healthy Forests" isn't just about scrapping environmental protection; it's also about expanding corporate welfare"
Krugman
23. concerned - 8/27/2002 1:30:46 PM
Krugman is an idiot for whom politics trumps reason. He would rather have forests perish in holocausts than see people prosper.
24. concerned - 8/27/2002 1:31:20 PM
Somebody forgot their closing html tags again.
25. jexster - 8/27/2002 2:06:29 PM
Well ya know that sounds a whole lot like the Big Cali Snake Oil scam to me....
Bush regularly pumps dollars to his cronies under various guises, wildfire (as Krugman and others point out there are better ways that don't involve corp welfare), 9-1-1 (Trashcroft fascism; War for Bush's Crediblity; corporate welfare tax cuts); Big ENRON rip off (AWNR drilling); economy up, economy down (tax cuts for the wealthy); Steel Tariffs...
Its an adminisration full of con men and a few "connie's" with Kindergaten Talking Points....
That's why cows die, buzzards fly
26. jexster - 8/27/2002 2:08:20 PM
Further to my conversations with Gen Trainor at the Council on Foreign Relations....
US Unprepared for Urban Warfare - National Defense Magazine
27. Cellar Door - 8/27/2002 3:08:24 PM
28. concerned - 8/27/2002 5:00:35 PM
Hey, CD. At least FR pulled the thread. I've never seen a Lefty site pull a thread because anti-Left political comments were too extreme, and they average a good deal worse than what I've seen on FR.
29. concerned - 8/27/2002 5:01:06 PM
Hey, CD. At least FR pulled the thread. I've never seen a Lefty site pull a thread because anti-Right political comments were too extreme, and they average a good deal worse than what I've seen on FR.
30. concerned - 8/27/2002 5:02:27 PM
Please delete post 35027. TIA.
31. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 8/27/2002 5:29:37 PM
Paf**kingthetic! 
32. Cellar Door - 8/27/2002 6:50:13 PM
What on earth have you seen from the left that comes even close to the constant bile of Freeperville?
Be specific, I won't take Coulteresque hand-waving for an answer.
33. concerned - 8/27/2002 7:22:44 PM
C'mon, CD. Look at Jex, right here.
Time to put The Exterminator out of our misery.
I hear there's a humane society in Huntsville Texas that takes care of this sort of thing
Here's a few 'gems' from DU.
about Cheney:
He's an enemy combatent
turn him in to Asscroft.
State of the nation : All shitty with smirk at stolen helm
Has Chimpy suceeded in painting a bullseye on all of our backs?
Bush the nose miner, see what dumb voting gets you?
Voters in Illinois can't tell one Repug crook from the other
Liberal_Guerilla (317 posts)
Aug-27-02, 02:52 AM (ET)
Wanted!! Pictures of Bush getting his shrub polished by a teenage prostitute.
There has got to be some real bad dirt on Her Fuhrer. Out of all those years of partying and snorting that freshly imported pure CIA cocaine that daddy used to bring home, there have got to be some pics out there of little Bushie snorting coke off of some Panamanian prostitutes thigh, male, female, i'm sure he didn't care. Perhaps a pic of him at a bar drunk off his ass with his pants around his ankles and little shrub flapping about. Or Bush getting a back alley Blow job from a drag queen, with beer in hand of course. Bushie sharing an after glow moment in a love embrace with Manuel Noriega. You get the idea.
If you partied with the Fuhrer then contact me and give me the details, I will pay "big time" for pics. Though payment depends on level of filth. More dirt, more money.
These are all from today. As you can see, it's as bad as it gets on the Left side. No way can FR posters compete with this level of scurrility.
And remember, none of this gets pulled from LW sites.
As you can see, I've proved my point, CD.
34. Dr.XavierTColtrane - 8/27/2002 7:26:28 PM
> Somebody forgot their closing html tags again.
Zounds!
As long as it was not yours truly, anon the strutting jackboots shall step lightly and stamp instead all over this gray head.
35. concerned - 8/27/2002 7:38:15 PM
Environmentalism Kills - Again
What somebody (not me) had to say about this article:
Africa is hopeless. They have a small ruling elite that has embraced every concievable lunatic Left Wing theory to come out of western universities since the 50's and the results are a Sub Saharan Africa literally worse off than in 1900 on almost every social measure. And they show zero sign of going in another direction. They send their children to the West to be educated in nonsense and the crackpot theories of dilletantes and intellectual midgets and then they return- sieze total power- and try to implement what their coffee house profs taught them over sharing a Hashish huka one night. Sad.
What?!? Total Leftism worse than colonialism? The facts appear to indicate asserting so would be an understatement.
36. jexster - 8/27/2002 8:06:58 PM
It is unfortunate — but a misfortune entirely of the President’s creation — that the clearest interview he has given in the past week, perhaps the most widely read, and certainly the longest, was to Runner’s World about his athletic triumphs and frustrations. His running times had improved since September 11, he said. In a quotation which will dog his presidency, he confided that “It’s sad that I can’t run longer. It’s one of the saddest things about the presidency.”
No it isn’t. In a week when the President’s policy on Iraq remains stubbornly unclear, his fluency on a subject of such banality was no comfort; it was a source of national embarassment, even sadness.
Bush: A US National Embarrassment
Times of London Foreign Editor's Briefing: August 28, 2002
37. jexster - 8/27/2002 8:08:26 PM
TDascole knows about running dontcha?
BTW where are those pics of your butt in running shorts?
38. jexster - 8/27/2002 8:12:56 PM
NBC - US Allies fleeing from Bush...Egypt leads Arabs in open revolt...Saddam is about to cut his balls off and stick em Cheney's ass
And what are the BumbleFucks doing?
Trying to pass off a 12 Iraqi exiles as a National Front...giving them spin lessons at the State Department
39. Cellar Door - 8/27/2002 8:17:50 PM
As you can see, I've proved my point, CD.
No you haven't.
40. jexster - 8/27/2002 9:02:19 PM
Saletan with similar criticism of Cheney's banal & unconvincing performance...
Cheney vs. Scowcroft
How to duck the arguments against attacking Iraq
41. jexster - 8/27/2002 9:09:31 PM
"Cheney doesn't directly answer the questions put to him. He evades, obfuscates, changes the subject, and moves things around"
Talk, Bluff and Bluster
This unfamiliarity and heightened expectation, matched with the trappings of competence, gave potency to what has turned out to be the Bush administration's signature political tactic: the confidence game. The confidence man is a stock figure in American culture, originating--perhaps not coincidentally--in the boomtowns of the Old Southwest. He's the snake-oil salesman, the wildcat land speculator who mixes boundless optimism with quick talk, bluff, and bluster. The administration is led by such men
42. jexster - 8/27/2002 9:57:27 PM
Ain't this just GREAT FUN TD...so GIMME A W!
43. wonkers2 - 8/27/2002 10:50:26 PM
"Cheney obfuscates, etc."
Let's not beat around the bush. Cheney lies.
44. joezan - 8/27/2002 11:22:13 PM
Glad to see Toles gets it, jex.
...but when will you?
45. robertjayb - 8/28/2002 12:04:47 AM
I'm with Dick. Let's make war...(Maureen Dowd)
WASHINGTON — I was dubious at first. But now I think Dick Cheney has it right.
Making the case for going to war in the Middle East to veterans on Monday, the vice president said that "our goal would be . . . a government that is democratic and pluralistic, a nation where the human rights of every ethnic and religious group are recognized and protected."
O.K., I'm on board. Let's declare war on Saudi Arabia! Let's do "regime change" in a kingdom that gives medieval a bad name.
46. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:08:18 PM
JoeZ - 4 words for you
"High Crimes and Misdemeanors"
So Let's ROLL!
47. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:28:16 PM
Cows are dying, buzzards are circling, Bush and JoeZ are rolling..
The cartoons all tell the same story. [THREE CHEERS FOR DA WIZ!] Whenever they depict the President of the United States the same props reinforce the same message. We’ve got ourselves a cowboy in the White House.
George W. Bush is a trigger-happy, ten gallon-hatted, good ole boy....
Times of London
The General doesn't read history 
48. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:37:16 PM
Cows die, buzzards fly, and Rummy Has a Credibilty Gap....
WASHINGTON (AP) - The senior Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee ( news - web sites) said Wednesday he wants Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld to appear before the panel to present the administration's case for invading Iraq. Sen. John Warner ( news, bio, voting record), R-Va., said in a letter to the panel's chairman, Carl Levin, D-Mich., that "there appears to be a 'gap' in the facts possessed by the executive branch and the facts possessed by the legislative branch." The letter was dated Tuesday and released Wednesday.
49. concerned - 8/28/2002 2:40:14 PM
Re. 35038 -
cllrdr -
I realize that your mind is absolutely made up on the matter and, without an access of comprehension on your part, nothing anybody could post or do could convince you.
50. concerned - 8/28/2002 2:43:12 PM
Jexster is on the side of the lamebrains who believe that, absent a few months of terrorist activity, Islamic terrorism no longer poses a threat (which implies greater faith on his part in the efficacy of GWB's anti terrorism actions to date than reason or common sense would dictate). Which is why I am damned glad morons such as he aren't calling the shots.
51. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:43:55 PM
Concerned Profoundly Ignorant 52. concerned - 8/28/2002 2:45:08 PM The idiocy pump is working overtime, I see. 53. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:48:46 PM "efficacy of GWB's anti terrorism actions to date" 54. jexster - 8/28/2002 2:52:23 PM Let me try... 55. jexster - 8/28/2002 3:01:13 PM Saudi Arabia has issued a fresh warning to the United States not to attack Iraq and try to remove Saddam Hussein from power. 56. concerned - 8/28/2002 3:03:17 PM UNC Chancellor Moeser is a half wit, since he claims that Sells book will explicate the 9/11 acts of terrorism, which it won't, since, according to the NRO's James Bowman: 57. jexster - 8/28/2002 3:03:17 PM Moron yesterday, Moron today, and Moron forever 58. concerned - 8/28/2002 3:07:34 PM Jex, I figure you're just revealing your inner self. 59. thoughtful - 8/28/2002 4:10:01 PM Since W's tenure: 60. concerned - 8/28/2002 4:30:53 PM thoughtful - 61. concerned - 8/28/2002 5:02:12 PM Now, jex's solution to world Islamic terrorism is..... 62. wonkers2 - 8/28/2002 5:57:52 PM Scott Ritter said on NPR this after noon that Cheney was either ignorant of the facts on Iraq's weapons programs or was lying to the American people in his speech the other day. Ritter outlined the situation as of the date the UN inspectors pulled out and said that if the Administration has evidence of change since then they should trot it out. 63. concerned - 8/28/2002 6:08:59 PM Is there some reason that Ritter thinks Iraqi arms inspections are not important? 64. wonkers2 - 8/28/2002 6:14:46 PM Basically, he said that they are important and effective and that the UNSCOM inspectors pretty well cleaned out Iraq's chemical, biological and nuclear programs. I am sure he is in favor of resumption of inspections. I don't recall his exact words but he said that UNSCOM was not thrown out by Iraq but pulled out because of issues over Saddam's insufficient cooperation. But he said they had accomplished quite a lot. And beyond that if nuclear facilities have been re-built they should be detectable by U.S. and other intelligence efforts. The same goes for destroyed chemical and biological facilities which were extensive. 65. joezan - 8/28/2002 6:27:44 PM Ritter's a pathological liar. The interviewer was spoon feeding him regurgitated shit from his Frontline interview of two days ago, and Ritter still managed to give an entirely different story, in at least one case. 66. wonkers2 - 8/28/2002 8:04:46 PM What were the two entirely different stories? 67. wonkers2 - 8/28/2002 8:09:50 PM Ritter repeated his position tonight on the Lehrer News Hour. I found him quite persuasive. 68. joezan - 8/28/2002 10:39:12 PM The Hussein Kamel story - in the Front Line interview he gives some long, convoluted story about the Israelis in explaining how it was that he knew everything Kamel "supposedly" revealed when he defected (that Iraq was lying, that they were still actively deceiving the inspectors, etc.). But, he at least admits there that what Kamel revealed was a blockbuster. 69. RustlerPike - 8/28/2002 11:52:08 PM I wonder what they have on Ritter though. Is it just money or do they have tapes of him practicing pedophilia or something? 70. RustlerPike - 8/28/2002 11:53:34 PM The guy's not a liar, he's a traitor and an enemy agent, from what I remember reading about him. 71. robertjayb - 8/29/2002 4:45:43 PM 72. judithathome - 8/29/2002 5:06:54 PM Let's see, who to belive? Ritter, who has actually been to Iraq and seen things with his own eyes or...Joezan? 73. joezan - 8/29/2002 10:38:31 PM ...Ritter, who is now on Saddam Hussein's payroll and claims everything's hunky-dorey in Iraq or... Ritter when he was on the US's payroll and claimed that the Iraqis were lying, misdirecting, stalling, concealing, deceiving, and likely still producing? 74. robertjayb - 8/29/2002 11:50:50 PM "Just Trust Us," Bushies ask...(Paul Krugman) 75. robertjayb - 8/30/2002 12:25:54 AM Hello... 76. robertjayb - 8/30/2002 12:27:01 AM ..again 77. robertjayb - 8/30/2002 12:32:48 AM ..and again 78. wabbit - 8/30/2002 12:33:07 AM I've recreated this thread in hopes that this past week's error message problem will be alleviated. Please see Message # 4064 in thread 27. 79. msivorytower - 8/30/2002 7:57:13 AM Just what this thread needed...a fresh start! 80. robertjayb - 8/30/2002 11:51:32 AM Carpetbagger dubya's minus $12 Billion legacy---Bend over America... 81. judithathome - 8/30/2002 1:14:32 PM Eric Alterman Piece 82. Property of Jesus - 8/30/2002 1:18:11 PM The LA Weekly's astute John Powers, a self-described economic lefty, expresses his envy of right-wing journalism in his column this week. Powers celebrates the Weekly Standard, which "woos you by saying, 'We're having big fun over here on the right,' " over The Nation, which he mocks as "a profoundly dreary magazine" that is as "gray and unappetizing as homework." 83. Property of Jesus - 8/30/2002 1:20:18 PM The image of Powers tapping covetously on the window of the right-wing funhouse is a thing of wonderment. But he isn't the only envy case out there. The Nation's Christopher Hitchens, whom Powers applauds in his piece as one of the few "memorable" Nation writers (along with Alexander Cockburn and John Leonard), consummated his right-wing envy in the '90s by switching sides on a few key issues. The left-talking, right-hitting Hitchens infuriates the left rank-and-file by excoriating Bill Clinton as "corrupt," opposing abortion, and supporting war against "Islamic fascism." 84. Property of Jesus - 8/30/2002 1:22:39 PM Obviously, the right's superior financial backing accounts for much of the envy: The Weekly Standard, owned by Rupert Murdoch, prints on glossy paper and runs fancy illustrations. The Nation, owned by a liberal gaggle including Paul Newman, ships on budget. But it's not just money that makes right writing so much fun. While the right seeks converts, trying both to persuade and entertain, the left spends its journalistic energy policing the movement. Imagine The Nation running a weekly column about nothing, called "Casual," as the Standard does. Also, conservative journalists are more likely to allow readers to enjoy a magazine article without strong-arming them into signing the ideology oath that seems to come packed with most lefty journalism. For instance, when the Standard's David Brooks profiled "Patio Man," the acquisitive consumer who haunts Home Depot looking for things to buy, he both laughed at its subject and exalted him without fear of contradiction. 85. Property of Jesus - 8/30/2002 1:24:10 PM 86. Cellar Door - 8/30/2002 2:04:16 PM Obviously the Right's financial superiority accounts for everything. 87. jexster - 8/30/2002 6:01:28 PM If at first you don't suceed, try making the same mistake twice in one week. 88. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 8/30/2002 6:19:24 PM This cartoon is soooo right on target . . . 89. jexster - 8/30/2002 6:32:15 PM 90. jexster - 8/30/2002 7:36:16 PM Bush Struggles for Support War to Make Himself Believable (Iraq) 91. Cellar Door - 8/30/2002 7:59:00 PM The Theft of the 2000 Election is "Settled Out of Court" 92. jexster - 8/30/2002 8:21:55 PM 93. jexster - 8/30/2002 8:23:18 PM Die Saddam you miserable sack of shit...the War to Make Bush Believalbe will the MUTHA of all battles ... prepare to meet Allah 94. joezan - 8/30/2002 11:10:04 PM jex: 95. jexster - 8/31/2002 12:16:03 AM I realize that JoeZ. I hone talent here as I have since the Fray was Slate and Slate the Fray...since the days BA (before Ace) but A Cal, EricC ...Still I wouldn't mind a little more fight from the right around here. And you guys have the balls to play macho man to macho men! Wimps. 96. jexster - 8/31/2002 12:33:35 AM JoeZ...I used to play conservative and subvert the self styled conservatives at Freeperville those who equate thoughtful conservative political philosophy with Mindless Moronworship 97. jexster - 8/31/2002 1:17:54 AM The "Just Trust Us" Con - Reinventions, Bushonomics, and the Fine Arts of Book Cookery 98. jexster - 8/31/2002 4:56:05 AM Message # 56 99. joezan - 8/31/2002 8:06:31 AM CNN - a truly disgusting, petty little operation: 100. joezan - 8/31/2002 8:33:51 AM The current topic is Islam the book stimulates critical thinking about the early revelations in the Koran. 101. Cellar Door - 8/31/2002 11:14:52 AM Will all Mote Muslims please raise their hands? 102. RustlerPike - 8/31/2002 5:03:31 PM Farty-fart. 103. Cellar Door - 8/31/2002 6:02:21 PM You said it! 104. Cellar Door - 9/1/2002 6:50:27 PM 105. jexster - 9/1/2002 9:08:08 PM Bush Foreign Policy Aparatus Now a Shambles - An Anarchy of the Aparats in the House of the Moron's King 106. concerned - 9/1/2002 9:14:17 PM Re. 98 - 107. concerned - 9/1/2002 9:15:11 PM Btw, jex, I hate no religion, but you do. 108. Cellar Door - 9/1/2002 11:27:20 PM You Lefty shits have a lot riding on fooling the people, which is a big reason you hate it when I set the record straight. 109. concerned - 9/1/2002 11:40:23 PM Things are going poorly in LW parts of the world. 110. jexster - 9/2/2002 8:12:11 AM Things aren't going too well in Kingdom of Moronia either... 111. jexster - 9/2/2002 9:21:24 AM If you've never seen a chickenhawk being gutted, watch for an upcomign episode of David Frost on BBC America.. 112. jexster - 9/2/2002 9:24:33 AM Ohe helluva unholy mess the US has on its hands idn't it 113. joezan - 9/2/2002 9:36:37 AM Polls: Reno, McBride in Close Race: 114. jexster - 9/2/2002 10:07:00 AM A Grand Old Pigpile! 115. jexster - 9/2/2002 10:58:51 AM Jexster Wonk's Tips for Research on the Net 116. jexster - 9/2/2002 11:25:12 AM TDaschole - May a Compassionately Consrvative Cankerous Camel Crap in Your Capn Crunch Cereal 117. jexster - 9/2/2002 11:27:50 AM Ebrahim Moosa associate professorDepartment of Religious Studies at University of Cape Town 118. jexster - 9/2/2002 11:28:13 AM Book Description 119. jexster - 9/2/2002 11:30:02 AM About the Author 120. jexster - 9/2/2002 12:16:17 PM The Left and Right Have The Secretary All Wrong 121. jexster - 9/2/2002 12:43:25 PM Message # 80 122. robertjayb - 9/2/2002 5:49:04 PM 123. jexster - 9/2/2002 8:29:04 PM 124. jexster - 9/2/2002 8:55:45 PM Bush By the Balls 125. jexster - 9/2/2002 9:09:22 PM To put it another way, you cannot gain any useable perspective on the causes on 9/11 by a partial study of the early Koranic texts 126. Cellar Door - 9/2/2002 9:14:26 PM Howie Kurtz gets down to the nitty gritty. 127. Cellar Door - 9/2/2002 9:16:00 PM And the brilliant and beautiful Ann Coulter weighs in as well. 128. concerned - 9/3/2002 12:41:39 PM Re. 125 - 129. concerned - 9/3/2002 12:47:23 PM This guy's half West African and he's not 'black' enough because of his skin color to get a 'diversity' job at Loyola? 130. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 1:34:57 PM "Why, of course the people don't want war ... but, after all, it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament or a communist dictatorship ... voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."-Hermann Goering, Nuremberg 1946. 131. jexster - 9/3/2002 1:48:40 PM Blunder on Oh Ship of State... 132. thoughtful - 9/3/2002 1:48:48 PM Don't see a link to Surowiecki's NYer article of 9/2, "Bush's Buddy Economy"... 133. jexster - 9/3/2002 1:49:43 PM "See, we love—we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."—Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002 134. jexster - 9/3/2002 1:49:49 PM "See, we love—we love freedom. That's what they didn't understand. They hate things; we love things. They act out of hatred; we don't seek revenge, we seek justice out of love."—Oklahoma City, Aug. 29, 2002 135. jexster - 9/3/2002 1:52:36 PM 136. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 2:52:39 PM 137. ronski - 9/3/2002 3:14:43 PM A good column (and good for Ann), but exactly how does the life of every gay Californian depend on who's in Sacramento? 138. ronski - 9/3/2002 3:21:28 PM And for the record, homophobia isn't dead yet. While you would expect Bob Barr and his opponent to try and out-gaybash each other in the GA primary Barr lost, Norm Coleman has been threatening to try and rescind Minnesota's gay rights law, one that has been on the books for years. Paging Rask. 139. ronski - 9/3/2002 3:23:44 PM And while pundits have been writing that the White House secretly wants to see the Democrats win in the midterms, so Bush can triangulate and win in 2004, it is not looking all that good for the Democrats when it comes to the Senate. The Torch seems genuinely in trouble, and so is Carnahan. 140. glendajean - 9/3/2002 3:35:05 PM ronski -- who is the Torch? Who is Norm Coleman? 141. ronski - 9/3/2002 3:41:38 PM Coleman is running on the GOP line for Senator in Minn. When he ran for Governor, he said he would overturn the state's gay rights law. And he's a former Democrat, I believe. Gay bashing is still popular in many GOP circles. 142. glendajean - 9/3/2002 3:51:14 PM Oh, wasn't Coleman the former mayor of St. Paul, and he said he was too conservative for the Democrats so he switched parties? Do you think he will use gay-bashing as part of his platform? I cannot imagine that would work well in Minnesota. 143. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 3:57:31 PM Gay-bashing can't play across-the-board. For it to work you've got to preach to the choir. Where it loses is with straight voters repelled by any politician who would appeal to prejudice of any kind. This would include voters who aren't really all that conversant with gay issues. 144. jexster - 9/3/2002 4:00:38 PM Stocks Continue Tailspin Amid Uncertainty Over Economy 145. glendajean - 9/3/2002 4:11:24 PM cellar -- since the mid 90s, it many parts of the country, it has been painful to gay bash publicly. Wasn't the last big public episode Trent Lott's kleptomaniac comment? I cannot imagine if this guy is preaching to the choir in Minnesota that gay people are bad, etc, that it will fly in a general election there. Particularly if people are reminded of those comments. Like the fellow in California, Simon, his words will come back to haunt him. 146. thoughtful - 9/3/2002 4:25:46 PM I dunno gj, since the dems have stayed quiet, more and more gopers are coming out against attacking Iraq...maybe it's not so good for the dem party, but good for the nation. If dems spoke up it might unite the gopers and force us into a war that many on either side of the aisle think is premature at best. 147. glendajean - 9/3/2002 4:28:15 PM I wouldn't be as upset if they publicly said "yes, we support the president's policy towards Iraq and here is why." But to say nothing, to ask nothing, seems to me to put one out of the game. 148. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/3/2002 4:30:07 PM Thoughtful, you do your name honor! 149. thoughtful - 9/3/2002 4:43:34 PM thanks wiz. 150. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/3/2002 4:53:37 PM tf- Dodd & Lieberman have been bought and sold--I have no hope of them finding their backbones; sometimes however, nothing vexes the opposition more than silence--especially if there's a good plan afoot. 151. joezan - 9/3/2002 5:03:24 PM DREAM ON, WIZ! 152. thoughtful - 9/3/2002 5:07:46 PM WoW, You may be right, but i suspect it is a plan by default. Then again, if it works.... 153. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/3/2002 6:04:37 PM tf- Why distract the press from all of Junior-Jerkoff's stumbles and blunders? 154. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 6:20:06 PM Coming soon to a theater near you. 155. judithathome - 9/3/2002 6:29:20 PM Stock market sinks 350 today. Hear that, Joey? That's your retirement flushing more of its total down the toilet. 156. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/3/2002 6:41:39 PM Cellar- It looks good--I can't wait to see that! 157. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/3/2002 6:42:32 PM j@h! 158. judithathome - 9/3/2002 6:51:33 PM And Texas has a 12 Billion dollar shortfall...Bushanomics. 159. concerned - 9/3/2002 6:51:57 PM What the hell are they telling the lumpenproletariat in Europe? 160. concerned - 9/3/2002 6:53:21 PM More: 161. concerned - 9/3/2002 7:53:54 PM Missing Diversity of Ideas on America's Campuses 162. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 8:59:31 PM David Horowitz: The Embodiment of Serious Scholarship 163. jexster - 9/3/2002 9:31:46 PM The Hon. Nancy Pelosi 164. jexster - 9/3/2002 9:32:39 PM The criteria are for just war are: 165. ronski - 9/3/2002 9:45:23 PM Connie, 166. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 10:11:02 PM Molly Ivins Explains It All To You 167. ronski - 9/3/2002 10:36:20 PM Memo to Molly: 168. joezan - 9/3/2002 11:17:01 PM A pretty interesting joint American/EU poll regarding attitudes toward invading Iraq, whether the US shares any responsibility for the 9-11 attacks (three guesses what the sanctimonious scumbag Euros think), and lastly - for (unintended) comic relief, US and Euro thoughts about how many Big Boys the world needs. 169. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 11:19:36 PM And who gave him the frying pan, ronski? 170. Cellar Door - 9/3/2002 11:37:04 PM Just when you thought things couldn't get any worse for Bill Simon -- THEY DO! 171. Cellar Door - 9/4/2002 11:22:37 AM 172. judithathome - 9/4/2002 11:32:28 AM In other words, if one has a politically incorrect view on K-12 school vouchers, one must be politically incorrect on the Ming Dynasty too. This is almost a dictionary description of the totalitarian mentality. 173. jexster - 9/4/2002 11:58:51 AM The Boi Blunder Chronicles - From Decision Process, Internal Anarchy - Core Meltdown Continues- Powell Cites 'Real' Divide Internally on Iraq Policy 174. Cellar Door - 9/4/2002 12:31:44 PM ""I do believe, with all sincerity, and with every patriotic fiber of my being that these people are fascists at heart. And I'm talking about the Italian model of fascism. They believe that the government should be run by a business elite, on corporate lines, that any kind of interference should be dealt with, in whatever way they can deal with it. They're obsessed with their own power, they have utter comtempt for democracy, they have utter contempt for the constitution and if you continue to read all of what Bush says these days... you can see the evidence that came from his own mouth." 175. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:51:14 PM 176. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:56:53 PM President pledges to seek congressional approval before attacking Iraq and tells U.S. allies their "credibility is at stake" as they decide whether to back his plans. 177. jexster - 9/4/2002 1:14:02 PM Blair Fails to Stem Growing Tide of Opposition to War to Make Bush Believable - Germany Plans to Withdraw WOT Support 178. jexster - 9/4/2002 2:25:28 PM Why America's place in the world will shift -- for the worse -- if we attack Iraq 179. jexster - 9/4/2002 2:49:30 PM Same Old Compassionate Conservative Con 180. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:06:09 PM In the US Senate - Bipartisan Concern Over Boi Blunder Bungling 181. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:13:56 PM Sen. Susan M. Collins (Maine), a GOP moderate, made a similar assessment. "For the United States to launch a preemptive strike on Iraq requires the administration to present a compelling case," she said. "I am still waiting to hear that case." 182. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:25:01 PM Stupid Questions, Stupid People 183. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:45:42 PM Copyright 1998 The Washington Post 184. jexster - 9/4/2002 12:48:13 PM Counterbattery that PellePickelhaube might envy 185. jexster - 9/4/2002 1:01:06 PM NOW, they're trying to think...maybe 186. jexster - 9/4/2002 2:24:58 PM Why America's place in the world will shift -- for the worse -- if we attack Iraq 187. jexster - 9/4/2002 2:40:08 PM Ronksi...I think its time for JoeZ to substitute fact for slander...he asked for it, and I give it to him because we are the Borg 188. judithathome - 9/4/2002 3:06:37 PM Bush is calling on the world to realize Saddam has "crawfished" and "weedled out of" things he was supposed to do...if he expects the world to recognize this, maybe he should speak in words the world might have a chance of understanding. 189. jexster - 9/4/2002 3:14:35 PM I know what crawfish are. I have dodged many a water moccasin in my day as waded through the swamp to place and retrieve my nets. 190. jexster - 9/4/2002 3:17:00 PM You can never appreciate what low life comes from in Texas unless you live next door. 191. jexster - 9/4/2002 3:17:28 PM Sorry judith, robert 192. concerned - 9/4/2002 3:22:49 PM Here's a poem after Jexster's own little Ummah loving heart: 193. concerned - 9/4/2002 3:23:04 PM Days passed 194. robertjayb - 9/4/2002 4:46:27 PM 195. judithathome - 9/4/2002 4:50:47 PM Don't be...it's priceless! 196. magoseph - 9/4/2002 4:51:25 PM Difficult to look at that woman, what with her big Adam's apple going up and down her throat, it's repulsive. Of course, I hate her. 197. judithathome - 9/4/2002 5:14:45 PM Her looks are truly awful but not half as bad as what comes out of her mouth. She has a crabbed heart, if she has one at all. 198. wonkers2 - 9/4/2002 8:16:37 PM I'm getting a sinking feeling in the pit of my stomach that Bush is actually going to invade Iraq and that the Democrats don't have the guts to try to stop him. 199. Cellar Door - 9/4/2002 8:20:16 PM 200. wonkers2 - 9/4/2002 8:37:35 PM Very interesting. Why doesn't that info surprise me? 201. joezan - 9/4/2002 10:51:08 PM Gee - I couldn't say, wonk. 202. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/4/2002 10:58:23 PM GIDDYAP! 203. joezan - 9/4/2002 11:11:37 PM France against publishing secret documents on Iraq's weapons programs 204. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/5/2002 12:34:26 AM Joe you dope, you'll never get it . . . 205. jexster - 9/5/2002 1:11:07 AM FOREIGN POLICY CHERNOBYL - Bush Regime Core Fires Continue - Powell in Open Battle With Krusty the Klown 206. jexster - 9/5/2002 1:14:04 AM Message # 203 207. jexster - 9/5/2002 1:15:26 AM Coon skin caps & M-16's and send us a picture of your bloody brood so we can have a laugh 208. Wombat - 9/5/2002 9:05:45 AM I wonder whether Jexter's perfervid tone would change any if it was the Clinton Administration that was considering war against Iraq. 209. Wombat - 9/5/2002 9:07:48 AM Actually, it wouldn't. It would just be directed against Saddam. 210. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/5/2002 11:56:38 AM 211. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:11:58 PM Blair in Deep Shit - British Poodle Under Bi-Partisan Fire for Visit to the Boy Blunder 212. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:22:54 PM For those suckers and little children scared by Krusty the Klown's Crap About The Big Bad Boogey Man of Baghdad 213. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:27:04 PM 214. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:30:06 PM I have... chosen this time and this place to discuss a topic on which ignorance too often abounds and the truth is too rarely perceived - yet it is the most important topic on earth: world peace. What kind of peace do I mean? What kind of peace do we seek? Not a Pax Americana enforced on the world by American weapons of war. Not the peace of the grave or the security of the slave. I am talking about genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living, the kind that enables men and nations to grow and to hope and to build a better life for their children - not merely peace for Americans but peace for all men and women, not merely peace in our time but peace for all time... The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war." John F. Kennedy 215. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:57:13 PM It is now obvious & beyond serious doubt that the Bush Regime's bloody schemes have nothing whatever to do with weapons of mass destruction, UN Resolutions, the suffering Iraqi people, or even the much ballyhoo'ed and bandied about pretext "he gassed his own people" 15 years ago. 216. jexster - 9/5/2002 12:58:57 PM Its not for nothin that James Baker, Larry Eagleburger, Anthony Zinni, Norman Schwartzkopf, and Brent Scowcroft have been screaming to high heaven for the rot stinks to high heaven 217. joezan - 9/5/2002 1:44:54 PM Schwartzkopf's screaming to high heaven? 218. jexster - 9/5/2002 2:16:00 PM The Boy Blunder, King Moron I "I will be explaining to the American people why Saddam is such a threat to world peace" 219. jexster - 9/5/2002 2:18:43 PM 220. joezan - 9/5/2002 2:29:38 PM Gee - do you suppose it was something I said? 221. judithathome - 9/5/2002 2:41:01 PM Joezan, can you give the definition of "crawfished" as Bush used it yesterday? I mean, how has Saddam "crawfished and weedled"? I seriously want to know what he meant by those words. 222. joezan - 9/5/2002 3:01:38 PM Crawfished = back-tracked 223. judithathome - 9/5/2002 3:10:08 PM Weedled may be in your dictionary but it's not in mine. 224. joezan - 9/5/2002 3:30:32 PM Actually, both expressions are much older even than yourself, Judy. 225. joezan - 9/5/2002 3:31:02 PM Main Entry: whee·dle 226. joezan - 9/5/2002 3:33:39 PM Well - somewhat different from what I'd thought, but entirely appropriate to GWB's context and Saddam's behavior - especially of late. 227. thoughtful - 9/5/2002 3:34:53 PM That's interesting...exactly when did hussein have anything flattering to say about the US? Ack! Don't tell me the pres misspoke when he used the word "wheedle"! How uncharacteristic of him! 228. jexster - 9/5/2002 3:36:26 PM 229. joezan - 9/5/2002 3:37:49 PM Who (besides yourself) said anything about flattering the US. 230. judithathome - 9/5/2002 3:46:18 PM Perhaps our esteemed American journalistas (and their bootlicking Motie minions) would do well to learn to spell, eh? 231. judithathome - 9/5/2002 3:46:41 PM 232. thoughtful - 9/5/2002 3:52:43 PM Oh? I didn't realize Russia and Iran and Afghanistan were in charge of weapons inspections in Iraq. 233. jexster - 9/5/2002 4:05:55 PM Last November-December as Bush blahtered and certain Bushies around here blithered "but he gassed his own people" 15 years ago, I predicted the outcome -Saddam would rise from the ashes to a new and dangerous respectability in the Arab world. 234. jexster - 9/5/2002 4:14:18 PM - Iran has been hard at work cultivating close relations with Kabul. 235. robertjayb - 9/5/2002 5:33:12 PM Judiciary committee dumps Karl Rove puppet... 236. wonkers2 - 9/5/2002 6:10:00 PM Don't be too hard on Richard Perle. He had a difficult infancy and childhood. 237. TheWizardOfWhimsy - 9/5/2002 6:37:47 PM 238. jexster - 9/5/2002 7:14:28 PM Getting Serious About Iraq (pdf) 239. jexster - 9/5/2002 7:30:34 PM WASHINGTON, Sept. 5 The Senate majority leader, Tom Daschle, promised today that lawmakers would not be rushed into a decision on Iraq and would conduct a thorough debate "whether that takes a week, two weeks, a month or longer." 240. jexster - 9/5/2002 7:35:47 PM 241. jexster - 9/5/2002 7:40:16 PM Hell Missy Prissy Owens bites the dust - Cheney under investigation - the economy tanking - corrupt cronyism everywhere well I guess there's only one thing to do otherwise it'll be a Demo congress from here to the miserable end for sure! 242. wonkers2 - 9/5/2002 7:45:48 PM Ramsey Clark is spearheading an anti-Iraq war march on Washington for October 26. Phone: 212-633-6646 or 202-332-5757. We need a regime change in the United States more than in Iraq. 243. joezan - 9/5/2002 8:30:24 PM thoughtful: 244. Edmund Dantes - 9/5/2002 8:58:23 PM We need a regime change in the United States more than in Iraq. 245. joezan - 9/5/2002 9:03:53 PM Well, had he used the word WHEEDLE, I'd concede your point but he very distinctly said WEE-dle. Face Joey, you have an illiterate on your hands and yet you defend his every utterance. 246. wonkers2 - 9/5/2002 9:35:22 PM "Have you considered a location change?" 247. Cellar Door - 9/5/2002 10:04:14 PM I just adore "Regime Change." It's so Diana Vreeland: 248. judithathome - 9/5/2002 11:13:10 PM or tipsy (again). 249. joezan - 9/5/2002 11:23:17 PM So you weren't joking? Hahahaha! 250. jexster - 9/5/2002 11:41:52 PM It must be hell to disagree with Colin Powell. Powell and Vice President Dick Cheney apparently disagree about Iraq. Cheney thinks that Saddam Hussein must be toppled and any further diddling is pointless. Powell thinks … well, something else. Cheney made his opinion known by articulating and defending it in a speech. Powell's view, if you read the papers literally, has spread by a mysterious process akin to osmosis. The secretary of state is "known to believe" or is pigeonholed by unnamed "associates" or (my favorite) has made his opinion known "quietly." 251. robertjayb - 9/6/2002 12:12:50 AM Paul Krugman reviews The Bully's Pulpit... 252. judithathome - 9/6/2002 12:21:54 AM Joezan, I am neither retarded nor drunk nor consumed with hatred. I don't credit him with having enough wit to MAKE UP A WORD on the spot...you idiot, I'm saying he can't speak words normally...what is so difficult about this for you to understand? I am embarrassed FOR HIM and for this country every time he mangles the English language. 253. judithathome - 9/6/2002 12:23:28 AM See? Even those of us who know better make mistakes. 254. robertjayb - 9/6/2002 12:29:28 AM War Games, (Nicholas D. Kristof) 255. Cellar Door - 9/6/2002 1:22:18 AM Another American Taliban -- and this one's a Republican Congressman! 256. concerned - 9/6/2002 2:46:27 AM E-Gray - where California 'Rats Break the Law and Purchase Influence with Confidence 257. concerned - 9/6/2002 2:50:04 AM It's really something how the Mote Lefties in this thread are taking turns sucking on Saddam's asshole. Sorta explains how Stalin maintained his popularity for so long. 258. concerned - 9/6/2002 2:58:09 AM Re. 255 - 259. thoughtful - 9/6/2002 8:53:35 AM Joe, I know this is tough on you, but just try to follow. W. says S.H. "wheedled" to which you posted the definition as "to influence or entice by soft words or flattery". I said I didn't know SH used flattering words toward the US for any reason...you said he has with Iran and Afghanistan. But the point is SH has been getting out from under UN/US weapons inspections. But, now follow carefully, Iran and Afghanistan have not been involved in weapons inspections. 260. judithathome - 9/6/2002 8:58:16 AM See?
The ruckus being raised by conservative Christians over the University of North Carolina's decision to ask incoming students to read a book about the Koran exhibits such profound lack of understanding of what America is about.
Cuckoo in Carolina - T. Friedman>
LONDON (Reuters) -Osama bin Laden ( news - web sites) is firmly back in command of al Qaeda and the group is digging in for guerrilla attacks on U.S. troops in Afghanistan ( news - web sites), an Arab journalist with close ties to the militant's associates said.
Abdel-Bari Atwan, editor of the London-based daily al-Quds al-Arabi newspaper, said Tuesday al Qaeda associates recently told him the network had regained confidence after facing intense U.S. bombing and was ready to fight U.S. troops over the long haul.
Now I have no earthly idea how anything I have said about Bush's world-historical blunder in Iraq implies faith in GWB..perhaps TD will explain this to me and then perhaps explain on what basis his faith in the Moron WarLord rests.
Lawrence Eagleburger said yesterday that he was not at all surprised that our Allies were running away from Bush's "leadership" as fast as they could because they realized that the Little Idiot was leading them towards "disaster"...
In the mangle that TD's brain, this too must be a confession of faith in GWB's leadership.
But if that is the case, why, in Richard Perle's words, are we headed for a War to Make Bush Believable?
President Bush meets the Saudi ambassador at his Texan ranch Prince Saud al-Faysal, the Saudi foreign minister, admitted that his country had "suffered greatly from the actions of Saddam Hussein" but urged Washington not to attempt a regime change in Iraq.
The prince told BBC Radio's World at One programme: "No one can say Saudi Arabia in its policy has not given due consideration to the threat from Mr Saddam Hussein.
"Our worry, our great worry, is that if you carry this argument to its extent would be that somebody else has to dtermine the future of Iraq. This never works."
He added that only a political settlement with Baghdad, based on the readmission of United Nations arms inspectors to Iraq, would ensure stability in the Middle East.
The prince's clear warning to Washington comes a day after President George W Bush held talks with Prince Bandar bin Sultan, the Saudi ambassador, at his range in Crawford, Texas, in an attempt to enlist Riyadh's support for military strikes. Daily Telegraph
So let me be very clear what my position really is TDaschole....is and always has been...the same yesterday and today
Its all there in that last sentence...
George Bush is a geopolitical incompetent. He has allowed a clique of hawks to induce him to take a position on invading Iraq from which he cannot extract himself, one that will have nothing but negative consequences for the United States - and the rest of the world. He will find himself badly hurt politically, perhaps fatally.
....the version of Islam given in Mr. Sells's book is bowdlerized, and many of the more bloodthirsty texts from the Koran, particularly those to do with the slaying of infidels — by which is intended most of those who will read these words — are silently omitted.
Furthermore, reading of this particularly poorlyt chosen book is virtually mandatory for UNC Frosh and transfer students, according to UNC's web site:
The Carolina Summer Reading Program is designed to introduce you to the intellectual life of Carolina. Required of all new undergraduate students (first year and transfer), it involves reading an assigned book over the summer, writing a one-page response to a particular subject, participating in a two-hour discussion, and sharing your written response with others. The goals of the program are to stimulate discussion and critical thinking around a current topic, to introduce you to academic life at Carolina, to enhance a sense of community between students, faculty and staff, and to provide a common experience for incoming students.
This year's reading is Approaching the Qur'án: The Early Revelations, translated and introduced by Michael Sells.
Of course, reading Sells' book will not stimulate critical thinking about the causes of 9/11 since discussion of the relevant sections of the Koran are missing or expurgated in this book, thus UNC is guilty of proselytization of Islam rather than disseminating the relevant facts about the religion and its history relevant to the causes of 9/11, a dereliction greatly aggravated by not providing alternate subjects for reading material or allowing the inclusion of more balanced texts on the subject.
Gee TD, haven't I said that once or twice b4?
budget deficit...worse
environment...worse
civil rights...deteriorated
risk of war...higher
international accord...worse
free trade...worse
business conditions...worse
stock market...lower
global population control efforts...worse
unemployment rate...higher
consumer confidence...worse
investor confidence...worse
Hmmm...are you better off than you were 2 years ago. National policy be damned! Just so long as there's no illicit sex in the white house!
Are you pitching for speculative bubbles and political hackery here?
I get the impression that he believes there is a solution. He just hasn't seen fit to tell anybody what he thinks it is. Easier to just appease the bad guys and lambast GWB.
And neither of the stories was very believable in any case.
Concerned brings up an interesting possibility--that Ritter is undercutting Bush's effort by talking invasion/regime change to bluff Saddam into agreeing to a tight inspection regime. At least I assume that was what he meant by 35062, above??? That has occurred to me before, but Bush and Cheney, et al, have convinced me they are serious.
Then, today, all of a sudden the Kamel story was no biggie. And gone is all this nonsense about Israel, spy film, etc, etc.
But really, anyone listening to the guy today on NPR would think, WOW! This guy knows his shit - and he's so damn sure of himself - no hesitancy, no fumbling around. Everything right to the point. And Ira Flato plays right along.
It's all smoke & mirrors - he was asked the same questions two days ago (on PBS, of course). Only then, you needed a playbook to follow what he was saying, and you're still left scratching your head.
Ritter was granted an extension on his fifteen minutes of fame, and he's running to the bank with it.
He's a self-congratulating little wienie, but he's just what you lefties need right now.
So, enjoy him. 
Hmmmmm...very tough.
Hmmmm...not so tough - only a braindead lush, or a partisan hack should have trouble figuring this one out.
AUSTIN -- Texas' state budget shortfall may hit a nightmarish $12 billion by early next year, according to a key Republican lawmaker.
"I think we could very easily be looking at $12 billion," Sen. Chris Harris of Arlington told the Houston Chronicle.
On MSNBC 8/28/02 11:48am
Maj. Gen. Anthony General Zinni, Bush’s not-so-busy envoy for the administration’s Middle East war process, is also making sense. But why would the Bush Administration bother to listen to anyone who happens to be a general when it comes to war? Didn’t Dick Cheney learn everything he needed to know ducking Vietnam, when he “had other priorities in the 60s than military service”? Wasn’t George Bush boning up on the topic during that year he was AWOL from the Texas plane flying program? What the hell would a general like Zinni — or Scowcroft or Schwarzkopf, for that matter, know about the business of war?
Much better to stick with the likes of William Kristol and Richard Perle, whose military records, together when added up with that of Bush, Cheney, Trent Lott, Paul Wolfowitz, and Tom DeLay, and that of war hawks Bob Kagan, George Will, Rush Limbaugh, Marty Peretz, Charles Krauthammer, Andrew Sullivan, Jacob Heilbrunn, Christopher Hitchens, and Michael Kelly all thrown in adds up to a grand total of ahem, zero.
"Reading the average Nation editorial is like trying to gobble a box of dry muesli," Powers writes. Its "headlines are warnings, not enticements," and a "scolding puritanism" drives the magazine. Meanwhile, "high spirits course through the Standard," led by "a core of enjoyable writers, notably David Brooks, Christopher Caldwell (whose article on Islam in France is one of the best things I've read this year) and David Tell, probably the country's most compelling editorialist."
That the Weekly Standard should ascend to relative greatness and leave The Nation in its dust is, for Powers, an inversion of the natural order. He writes:
Back in the '60s, the left was the home of humor, iconoclasm, pleasure. But over the last two decades, the joy has gone out of the left—it now feels hedged in by shibboleths and defeatism—while the right has been having a gas, be it Lee Atwater grooving to the blues, Rush Limbaugh chortling about Feminazis or grimly gleeful Ann Coulter serving up bile as if it were chocolate mousse, even dubbing Katie Couric "the affable Eva Braun of morning television."
Elsewhere on the envy front we find Slate's own Michael Kinsley, who having once played a lefty on Crossfire, recently confessed his devotion to the right-tilt of Brit Hume's Special Report on Fox News. (Ordinarily, Kinsley satisfies his right-wing envy by hiring and publishing conservatives instead of watching them on television.) Mickey "kausfiles" Kaus is another local suspect, although I believe Kaus had as much fun when he was a straight-ahead lefty as he does as a neo-righty today.
Nation columnist (and MSNBC.com blogger) Eric Alterman rarely loiters far from left orthodoxy, but I sense more than a smidgen of right-wing envy in the butcher bludgeon of his work. Did Alterman, who has been known to compose measured and thoughtful copy, observe the success of cannon mouth Rush Limbaugh and say, "Yes, I can make that sort of demagogic noise from the left"? And, without a doubt, the busybodies behind Media Whores Online expose their right-wing envy by aping the methods and practices of their intellectual ancestors—Lee Atwater, Sen. Joe McCarthy, and Accuracy in Media's Reed Irvine.
Of course, lefty journalism needn't turn right to improve itself. But Powers hints that the source of The Nation's illness is the Stalinist impulse to prescribe proper attitudes toward culture, art, and journalism. A Nation writer who, say, wants to use humor or wit to make his point mustn't abuse gays, blacks, Jews, Hispanics, Ralph Nader, foreigners, women, the infirm, working stiffs, Indians, Mohammed (but Jesus is fair game), whales, or any cultural stereotype. This leaves him just one angle from which to compose his point: Stupid White Men. Such is the state of left journalism that Michael Moore has made a career out of painting and repainting this mono-mural.
How the anything-goes drug-and-sex party that the cultural left threw in the '60s segued into an Amish wake featuring stern readings from the joyless work of Barbara Ehrenreich, the scoldings of Todd Gitlin, and the catechisms of Richard Goldstein is anybody's guess. Would Emma Goldman dance with these folks? Or would she make a beeline for the house on the right, which looks like a brothel in comparison to the one on the left? I await the Powers sequel.
Review in Slate.
Cheney had intende hsi VFW version as the launch pad for King Boi Blunder Moron's upcomng War to Make Me Credible.
Didn't quite work out to be the stemwinding rally cry he'd hoped for. What if they gave a war pep rally and nobody came? Were are those war frenzied multitudes? Even the generally bellicose WFW audience, judging from the TV clips, seemed most indifferent.
So what did that numbskull do? Gave the speech again.
Lost Turkey, moved Panty Waist Powell into open revolt. Was of this collection of numbnuts born stupid or did they have to work at it.
Can anyone name another foreign policy decision process that was as fouled as this or that produced a policy intiative more impotent, and polically damaging as in this War to Make Bush Believable? 
WASHINGTON (AP) - The Bush administration struggled Thursday with an increasingly skeptical Congress and international community as it tried to gain support for deposing President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites) of Iraq.
French President Jacques Chirac said he was worried President Bush ( news - web sites) might order a unilateral attack on Iraq. And a senior Democratic senator, Patrick Leahy of Vermont called for a full debate even though Bush has yet to decide how to seek regime change in Baghdad.
Even with Congress in recess the prospect of a U.S. attack raised questions and doubts. Leahy, chairman of the Judiciary Committee ( news - web sites), said "the administration should not expect to commit American troops to war with a wink and a nod to Congress."
"There should be a full debate and a vote," he said. "That is what the Constitution prescribes, and that is what the American people expect."
White House officials are wrestling with early drafts of Bush's mid-September address to the annual special session of the U.N. General Assembly. Some are arguing the president to make a forceful case for strong action against Saddam, fearing that he is losing the public-relations battle and is allowing Vice President Dick Cheney to be the administration's most visible spokesman on Iraq.
A BUSH SPEECH!! Damn why didn't I think of that? One of those memorable Bully Pulpit offerings, complete with Orwellian backdrops and Saddam is dead meat.
Saddam has never witnessed such rhetorical power, such bold vision, such moral clarity, the sheer tactical brilliance of our Great Warrior & Lord in his Bully Pulpit. When Bush leads, moral clarity returns, nations follow, Evil Doers come to their gruesome end.
Truly, your talents are wasted here.
Break away, man! What effect can your words have - what good can they possibly do, yelled out as they are to the five of us who post in this thread?
You've gotta think BIG, dude!
With President Bush's "faith-based" legislation facing an uncertain fate, the White House is planning an aggressive effort to implement parts of the program this fall even if Congress does not approve, administration officials said yesterday.
This you expect from someone who was not democratically elected, who regularly subverts democracies where that he doesn't like, and winks at authoritarians who suit who please....
Bush Moral Clarity
One day, I filtted several slice/rip/guted the lot, about 12 in 15 minutes.
And for my sins against Bush, for being an authentic conservative, they 86'ed the thread...
Freeper is a fun place to fuck with people even at the price of pretending to be conservative... house prositute to the Temple of Moron offering daily devotions to the Imbecile Diety is too much..so here I am and here you blessed., quite
Upfront, a confession. I have never read Sell's book and may never do. Frankly, Islam does not interest me terribly. I am quite indifferent to Islam as religion or political theory or political practice or history or culture.
Though experience says that your assertions have at least 80% manure content, even if all is true, none of it supports your conclusion ...all we can conclude is that you are full of shit and hate Moslems.
Of course, reading Sells' book will not stimulate critical thinking about the causes of 9/11 since discussion of the relevant sections of the Koran are missing or expurgated in this book, thus UNC is guilty of proselytization of Islam rather than disseminating the relevant facts about the religion and its history relevant to the causes of 9/11, a dereliction greatly aggravated by not providing alternate subjects for reading material or allowing the inclusion of more balanced texts on the subject.
If all that you assert is true, it is equally certain that your conclusion is not.
The assignment's purpose is stated clearly in your quote is "to stimulate discussion and critical thinking around a current topic, to introduce you to academic life at Carolina, to enhance a sense of community between students, faculty and staff, and to provide a common experience for incoming students."
Sells wrote a introduction to the early revelations in the Koran not comprehensive study of Islamic history, or even of the Koran. The book is about approaching the Koran through the early revelations of the founder of one of the world's major religious traditions and not through the questionable theology of a lunatic goup and its heinous acts...The current topic is Islam the book stimulates critical thinking about the early revelations in the Koran.
U.S. News has learned that CNN offered to preview its sensational al Qaeda training tapes, which include scenes of puppies being gassed, to the White House before they were aired.
But, as Paul Bedard will report in his Washington Whispers column in Monday’s edition, the network’s offer was conditional: It would let the White House view five minutes of the video, only if President Bush and his national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, were in the room, and only if a CNN crew and White House reporter could tape their reactions after the screening.
The White House declined. "The president is not a prop for some reality show," a senior Bush aide told U.S. News.
How is critical thinking about the early revelations stimulated when such major "revelations" as the Muslims' duty to hate Christians and Jews - to either force them to convert to Islam or drive them out/kill them - are left out?
I mean, isn't it the lefty creed that we must have full disclosure in order to have an accurate understanding of history?
How is it that this new-found means of stimulating critical thinking is not then also applied when the "current topic" is the founding of this country, to use just one example?
I mean, is the Prophet's dalliances with pre-teens not at least as significant as, say, Thomas Jefferson's supposed trysts with slaves?
(This is my way of saying 'fuck you' to the Mote bosses, who still refuse to give the Mote a facelift).
Man, I hate the world sometimes. So much stupidity. So much stubborn mulishness. So much assininity. So many lies. So much meanness just for the sake of meanness.
Bush Iraq Policy in Disarray - A Bipartisan Consensus of Dismay and Disgust
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Already under fire from abroad, the Bush administration was criticized across the political spectrum at home on Sunday for an Iraq policy in disarray, with top advisers seemingly at odds.
The latest apparent split came as Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news - web sites) seemed to differ with Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) over the need to get U.N. inspectors back into Baghdad, and President Bush ( news -web sites) came under attack for failing to get his team in line.
"There have been nuanced disagreements from day one ... and they should be brought under control," said former Secretary of State Alexander Haig, a Republican. "He's got to lead, he's got to unify, he's got to ... start speaking with one voice."
Richard Holbrooke, the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations ( news - web sites) under President Bill Clinton, said the Powell comments, coming after Cheney last week twice made high-profile pitches for action against Iraq, pointed out the administration's inability to articulate a policy. The U.S. threats against Iraq have sparked widespread opposition overseas.
"It's more of a summer of public disarray by the administration," Holbrooke told "Fox News Sunday."
Former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger, who served under the president's father, former President George Bush, told NBC's "Meet the Press," "There is a disconnect here and I don't understand it."
jexster -
Since you hold reason and reality in such contempt, I'm posting this for other Motiers. But, perspective cannot be attained for rational discussion without having access to all of the relevant facts. To put it another way, you cannot gain any useable perspective on the causes on 9/11 by a partial study of the early Koranic texts, particularly in light of how Muhammad contradicted them in his later writings which advocated persecuting non Muslims, for starters.
You and Moeser are both culpable of deliberately ignoring this most fundamental requirement, most probably for shallow & incredibly stupid ideological motives. You Lefty shits have a lot riding on fooling the people, which is a big reason you hate it when I set the record straight.
ROTFALMAO!
Earlier this year, Secretary of State Colin L. Powell stood at an air force base outside Rome and, answering a reporter's question, explained how President Bush negotiates foreign policy differences with U.S. allies. "He tries to persuade others why that is the correct position," Powell said. "When it does not work, then we will take the position we believe is correct."
ONE YEAR : Aftermath of the Attacks
Diplomatic Gap Between U.S., Its Allies Widens>
The REAL Bush Doctrine
Little Boi Blunder's makin a helluva mess of things and refletin mayghty po'ly own hi mommuh 'n he Poppy
REGIME REACTOR DISASTER - Core Fires Spreading As Powell Burns Some Bush on BBC
MIAMI –– Janet Reno's once formidable lead in the Democratic gubernatorial primary has melted away against an upstart Tampa lawyer backed by key endorsements and an effective advertising campaign.
Two new polls released Sunday show first-time candidate Bill McBride now running neck and neck with Reno in the race for the party's nomination.
Boy! - and she hasn't passed out onstage in weeks...
Leaders Fear Simon Will Wipe Out Remains of GOP in Cali
Today's Tip - Bush Foreign Policy
Keywords & Phrases - unyielding, disengaged, "widening gulf", "support has evaporated", dismissive, distorted, confusing, inconsistent, "at war with itself", adrift, estranged, ignored, unsure, "uncomfortable impasse", despair, "not helpful", "in for a rough ride", shifted, rejiggered, died, "human rights abuses", "anti-democratic practices", betrayal, diengaged, "ruputured relations", "strained ties", "fret away", unilateralism, "no real rapport", embarrassing, immodest, arrogant, disarray, cowboy, "too many ideologues", "too many people with baggage", uncertain, "twists and turns", fig leaf, unreal, teetering, "edge of failure", railing, undermining, untrustworthy
"Dallas syndrome" - A JexieWonk Favorite!
"Bevo Steershit" - Bonus Tip
"a shambles" - Double Value Bonus Tip
Sources - extensive interviews with foreign officials and experts in seven key countries in Europe, Asia and Latin America, along with interviews with administration officials, experts and diplomats in Washington
Editorial Reviews
Karen Armstrong, author of the bestselling "A History Of God"
"Michael Sells has performed an invaluable service in making the beauty, spiritual energy, and compelling power of the Qur'an accessible to a Western audience for the first time."
Carl Ernst is professor of Islamic studies at the University of North Carolina and author of "The Shambhala Guide to Sufism"
"Michael Sells is to be congratulated for making a major contribution to religious literature with Approaching The Qur'An, the best version of Muslim scriptures available in English. This is an important and illuminating work, one that will be welcomed by scholars, students, believers, and all who seek to better understand Islam and its sacred scripture."
Issa J. Boullata is professor of Arabic Literature & Language at the Institute of Islamic Studies, McGill University
"Scholars and students interested in the Qur'an are indebted to Michael Sells for his outstanding contribution to a deeper understanding and appreciation of the Holy Book of Islam. His book, Approaching The Qur'An, with its scholarly introduction, its sensitive English translation of the early Suras, its insightful commentary on them, its analytical study of the auditory and literary aspects of selected Suras, its visually pleasing illustrations from the Arabic text of the Qur'an, and its accompanying CD is a veritable and enriching spiritual experience for everyone seeking a meaningful exposure to the Scripture of Islam."
"Approaching The Qur'An is a fluent and accessible text that flawlessly communicates the religious and literary verities of the Qur'an. The reader-listener cannot help but being carried away by the ecstasy and rhapsody that both the aural and visual 'texts' produce. Both Muslim and non-Muslim audiences, beginners as well as advanced students of Islam will no doubt appreciate the many innovative facets of this extraordinary book. It is an indispensable aid for all students of religion and Islam, with Sells again at his best."
William A. Graham professor of the History of Religion and Islamic Studies Harvard University
"Approaching The Qur'An is a sensitive and unusually accessible first book on the Qur'an and its function as scripture for over one-seventh of the human race. Dr. Sells is to be congratulated for a significant contribution to English-language materials on the Qur'an."
Approaching the Qu'rn is a translation of the early suras-the short, hymnic chapters at the end of the book. A major event in religious publishing, this book captures the complexity, power and poetry of the early suras and the majesty and intimacy of the distinctive Qu'rnic voice.
These early revelations to Muhammad involve little of the political and legal detail found in the suras of his later career. Here they speak directly to every human being, regardless of religious confession or cultural background. Approaching the Qu'rn is also designed to be as accessible as possible, to offer the full lyric and literary experience to readers: Opposite each sura is a short commentary that explores some of the subtleties and context of the Qu'rnic passages; an annotated glossary explains key Qu'rnic concepts and Arabic terms with English translations; there is even a compact disc of recordings by renowned Qu'rnic reciters chanting the early suras.
Michael Sells is Emily Judson Baugh and John Marshall Gest Professor of Comparative Religion at Haverford College and chairperson of the Haverford Department of Religion, Haverford, Pennsylvania. Sells is author of "The Bridge Betrayed: Genocide in Bosnia" (University of California Press, 1997), "Mystical Languages of Unsaying" (University of Chicago Press, 1994); "Desert Tracings: Six Classical Arabian Odes" (Wesleyan University Press, 1989). He is co-editor and contributor to the "Cambridge History of Arabic Literature, Andalusia‚ (Cambridge University Press, 2000).
Try some critical thought
Allahu akbar asshole
But I've had it right since about March, 2000.
So I guess that makes me right but lonely?
So youse assholes threw your trash out window and onto the world...
Eat Bevo Shit and Die Texas!
(Houston Chronicle) 
Below the Beltway:
Neo-Cons vs. New York Times
By John B. Judis
Critics of the bush [Regime's] Iraq policy finally stepped forward -- and they are Republicans rather than Democrats. Former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel and former Secretary of State Lawrence Eagleburger argue that the United States should attempt to contain Saddam Hussein diplomatically while giving equal, if not more, weight to securing Afghanistan and achieving peace between the Israelis and the Palestinians.
Proponents of an immediate invasion fought back vigorously -- not by advancing a clearer version of their own but by impugning the critics' credentials. Whereas The Weekly Standard branded Scowcroft an "appeaser," The Wall Street Journal identified Scowcroft's views with those of the "anti-war left." The New York Sun enumerated Scowcroft's current business ties and his founding of a "front group" that includes a "plo apologist" on its board. As for Hagel, The Wall Street Journal's editorial page accused him of trying to "grab a fast headline." And in an article titled "Sen. Skeptic (R., France)," the National Review insinuated that the Nebraskan was more European than American in his views.
Or to put it another way you cannot get the wacko demonizing perspective TD has unless you exalt the Theology of Muslim Wacko OBL..mainstreaming the marginal...
But of course, OBL Theology wasn't of any CONCERN to UNC or Dr. Sells and probably not the Prophet (his name be praised!) either.
jexster - when half assed is all he can be.
Let's take the diversity programs out of the hands of the Lefty racist morons.
On Sunday, the BBC broadcast excerpts of an interview in which Secretary of State Powell said that, as a first step to any other action, U.N. weapons inspectors should return to Iraq. This seemed to contradict Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion last week that weapons inspections would be useless. Being taken by surprise by Powell's comments, the White House rebounded quickly. "Will weapons inspectors alone guarantee that [Saddam Hussein] doesn't have weapons of mass destruction?" Fleischer said. "That's why the secretary said it's a first step." (9/3/02) Slate
Ship of fools more like it
In fact, the Bush economic policy looks a lot like what the political scientist Theodore Lowi called 'interest-group liberalism.' ...As long as the government is as big and as active as it is in the US, the incentive for interest groups--like big oil and big steel--to seek succor from it will exist. And the Bush Administration seems especially amenable to such blandishments...Mind you there's nothing inherently corrupt here. Lobbying, fixing, finagling: it's just business, of a kind. The point is that such ways of doing business have very little to do with free-market capitalism. They have more in common with crony capitalism, in which whom you know is more important than what you do and how you do it. That's the world Bush's key policymakers come out of: they've made their careers by circumventing the free market. Why expect them to suddenly embrace it?"
The Torch is NJ's Bob Torricelli. A lot of people still expect him to hold on to his Senate seat, in the end. He is the incumbent, the state is pretty liberal these days, and he has tons of money.
But he's tied in the polls with a lackluster Republican because of his ethics problems. A few weeks ago, when he visited a senior citizen center (he is running ads about prescription drug benefits right now), many of the nice elderly women walked out.
Sorry, I've never heard of Torriceli as being calledThe Torch. But he is a crook and he shouldn't be elected. I agree with the little old ladies.
All this chatter about who wants who to win and why is just chatter. Everything is up in the air in this election cycle. Especially because many voters are still smarting over the Presidential appointment.
By JONATHAN FUERBRINGER
Stocks plunged today as new data showed that the manufacturing sector is still very weak, heightening investor concerns about the recovery.
Can't too many of these stories for too long now can we?
What oh what to do about this?
I agree with you that things are up in the air about the election, particularly since war (or another war) and the economy have the effect of boostering politics one direction or another.
I am very disappointed in the Democrats right now and their total absence from talking about the war with Iraq. (see my rant in The Inferno). Their timidity in being a national voice, or to even question the President's policy towards going to war without allies is striking.
Bush may be right about attacking Iraq alone. But he should answer questions about it to the public, imo. In this case, questions should be coming from the Democrats. That's the the role of the opposition party, but they are sitting it out.
But from a strategy standpoint, you may be right. 
But maybe gj is right. With dodd and lieberman both talking about running if perpetu-al gets out of the way, then it would seem the dem silence reflects a lack of leadership rather than a well-designed strategy.
(Wasn't it Will Rogers who said he doesn't belong to any organized political party...he's a democrat?)
If the dems have nothing better to offer to oppose the marionette, expect another toss-up come 2004.
By the size of JoeZero's type and color, I'd say he's scared.
Cuomo dropped out in NY.
j2h- And the rela estate bubble expands somore!
From de Volksrant online:
I personaly think Bush is a greater scumbag than Osama bin Laden. And these are the reason why:
1. The American gun-laws. Without the support from the arms-industry, Bush even would not be president.
2. Bush seems to value the life of an American more than those of other people
3. Bush thinks that oil is more important than the lifes of humans and peace, otherwise he would retreat his troops from Saudi-Arabia. These troops have got no business there.
4 Bush manipulates his people by showing the Osama video a few hours after retreating from the ABM treaty. This will draw attention from this unthought and selfcentred deed.
5 Bush is hindering every international conferention. (Racism, Biochemical weapons, Observers in Israel, Kyoto etc.) It seems that Bush is not acting in the best interests of the world.
To be short: Osama is an angel compared to the spoiled brat Bush that alway wants to have his way, even if it's against the will of everyone else.
Go Osama
Real jexsterfare here.
Today it's monday 17 december. Again I have spend a weekend angering myself over the egoism of Bush and America.
What is the case now of the slef-centrism of the US: the US has used it's veto against a proposal to send observers to the Middle East, because in this proposal the UN states a critical tone against Israel. And the UN is right about it.
When will the US stop with disrupting and stopping playing the boss? Europe, the Arabic League and the UN not seem to have any influence over the US policies.
There is only one solution, and it is named Osama bin Landen. Let him be in Pakistan, please, so he can continue his attacks on America. Attacks on governementbuildingss, multinationals and especialy George W. Bush. If America doesn't want to listen to the opinion of others, they msu suffer the consequences, and bleed for their egoistic politics. Bush has done enough disrupting and boycotting (ABM, Kyoto, Observers in Israel, Conference on racism in Durban, etc.)
It won't take long before Al-Qe'ada is no longer the only enemy of the US. Jihad, Hezbollah, Hamas..., they will follow, and tehy are right. What do the American troops still have to search in Saudi-Arabia? Protecting peace? I don't think so! Accept for the oil they have got no business there. Get out!
I am already longing to see the first political and economic institutions of America will be hit by attacks and thus paying for their criminal deeds. I can only say" Go Osama, give America a lesson, because they evedently did not learn from 9/11.
Looks like Eurolefties are doing a great job handing their continent off to Islamic whackjobs.
excerpted:
The liberal academy of the 1950s and 1960s, whose ideals were shaped by Charles Eliot and Matthew Arnold and whose mission was "the disinterested pursuit of knowledge" is no more. Leftists tenured after the 1960s first transformed these institutions into political battlegrounds and then redefined them as "agencies of social change." In the process, they first defeated and then excluded peers whom they perceived as obstacles to their politicized academic agendas.
The professor went on: "This year we had an opening for a scholar of Asian history. We had several candidates but obviously the most qualified one was from Stanford. Yet he didn’t get the job. So I went to the chair of the search committee and asked him what had happened. ‘Oh,’ he said, ‘you’re absolutely right. He was far and away the most qualified candidate and we had a terrific interview. But then we went to lunch and he let out that he was for school vouchers."
In other words, if one has a politically incorrect view on K-12 school vouchers, one must be politically incorrect on the Ming Dynasty too. This is almost a dictionary description of the totalitarian mentality.
The present academic monolith is an offense to the spirit of free inquiry. The hiring practices that have led to the present situation are discriminatory and illegal. They violate the Constitution, which prevents hiring and firing on the basis of political ideas and patronage laws that bar state institutions from servicing a particular political party. Yet university administrators have not shown any inclination to address this problem, or to reform the practices that perpetuate it. Nor have self-identified "liberal" professors who are themselves the source of the problem.
Dear Rep. Pelosi:
In recent weeks, several prominent Republicans, among them Brent Scowcroft, your colleague Dick Armey, Lawrence Eagleburger, and James Baker have boldly and decisively spoken out against Bush plans to invade Iraq. Over that same period, prominent Democrats have remained embarrasingly silent. As a Democrat and constituent I am ashamed, and I am angry.
Over the next days and weeks, you will be meeting the President and leading House deliberations. I urge you in the strongest terms to speak out; to put Bush his proof, and to examine justifications that have thus far amount to nothing more than deceptiive pretexts for a gravely immoral adventurism.
The consequences for the US and the world should Bush's schemes remain unchecked are grave indeed. Perhaps you read Immanuel Wallerstein's OpEd in Los Angeles Times last April His opening parapaph has, in the event, turn out to be eerily prophetic:
"George Bush is a geopolitical incompetent. He has allowed a clique of hawks to induce him to take a position on invading Iraq from which he cannot extract himself, one that will have nothing but negative consequences for the United States - and the rest of the world. He will find himself badly hurt politically, perhaps fatally. And he will rapidly diminish the already declining power of the US in the world."
No citizen, no representative can anything to do with any unprovoked, preemptive invasion of a sovereign nation unless the following criteria met. In no case, has the Bush admistration advanced a justification for war that comes close to satisfying a single one.
the damage that is lasting, grave, and certain;
all other means must have been shown to be impractical or ineffective;
the prospects of success must be significant;
the use of arms must not produce evils graver than the evil to be eliminated, and
the decision for war must be made by legitimate authority, in this case, both the United States Congress and the Security Council of the United Nations.
Please note that Bush's promise to "consult" with the UN and Congress is insufficient. You must not be a party to any consultation without a sure and certain committment that the Administration will seek not only congressional approval but Security Council sanction for any Bush schemes to enforce UN resolutions.
As the decision for war is yours, so too the responsibity for its consequences.
Thank you very much.
John C. McC
San Francisco, CA
cc: Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club
Please, re: Message # 159, jexster isn't that stupid.
I mean, he's a leftist, but he's not a European leftist.
In words that even connie can understand.
If he thinks hard enough.
Duplicitous Dictator is not what Cheney is warning us about.
Frying an American city, is.
Check the transcripts.
Also, see Rumsfield, Blair and the Kuwaiti government.
Get back to me.
Dick Cheney.
But I suppose you think it's fine to dump candidates for the local school boards who think teaching that God didn't create the world in 7 days and that the world is older than 4,000 years is heresy. There is stupidity on all sides, Concerned, not just on the ones you think are leftist.
In the US Senate - Bipartisan Concern Over Boi Blunder Bungling
-- Mark Crispen Miller
t is suddenly de rigueur for US officials to say, "Saddam Hussein gassed his own people." They are evidently referring to the Iraqi military's use of chemical weapons in the Iraqi Kurdistan town of Halabja in March 1988 during the Iran-Iraq War, and then in the area controlled by the Teheran-backed Kurdish insurgents after the cease-fire in August.
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Dilip Hiro
Iraq
War & Peace
Since Baghdad's deployment of chemical arms in war as well as peace was known at the time, the question is: What did the US government do about it then? Nothing. Worse, so strong was the hold of the pro-Iraq lobby on the Republican administration of President Ronald Reagan, it succeeded in getting the White House to frustrate the Senate's attempt to penalize Baghdad for violating the Geneva Protocol on Chemical Weapons, which it had signed. This led Saddam to believe that Washington was firmly on his side--a conclusion that paved the way for his invasion of Kuwait and the 1991 Gulf War, the full consequences of which have yet to play themselves out.
Poisonous Gas About Iraq's Poison Gas - Never Realized They Could Stack Longhorn Pies That High!
No his credibilty is at stake...what a pathetic joke ... what an unprecedented mess of a strategery...what a slimy load
Bumblefucks 'r Bush
Under intense pressure from the religious right, GOP candidate for governor Bill Simon on Tuesday dropped his backing for a Gay Pride Day and softened his support for several other gay rights issues.
Simon's reversal came a week after the Los Angeles businessman backed the idea of a statewide Gay Pride Day, said he would not challenge current laws on gay adoption and supported domestic partnership laws as long as they weren't based on sexual orientation.
Simon's positions on those gay rights issues were detailed in a questionnaire to the Log Cabin Republicans, a gay Republican group.
But, in the latest misstep for his campaign, Simon said Tuesday that he never saw the questionnaire released last week that endorses some gay rights, although his signature is on the document.
President Bush has yet to make a compelling case for military action against Iraq, senators of both parties said yesterday as they returned to Washington with serious questions about the administration's war plans.
Several, including Minority Leader Trent Lott (R-Miss.), who earlier had questioned the need for congressional authorization of force against Iraq, said they believe the administration should seek Congress's approval before an attack is launched.
Some also said the United States should try again to get Iraq to accept United Nations weapons inspectors before resorting to military action. While Iraq would probably balk, senators said, the effort could help build international support for eventual U.S. action
The Just War Theory is nothing more, nothing less than a test of justification, designed to seperate sheep from goat, wheat from chaff, Truth from the fanasties of frenzied minds.
Those who scorn the test are, invariably, scorning the failure of their proferred justification to pass it. For everyone has a justification, but not everyone has a justification worth serious consideration.
Of course, the Chaotic Lady couldn't be less bothered.
Be Thee Legion or Be Thee Lamebrain?
Copyright 1998 Nationwide News Pty Limited
THE DAILY TELEGRAPH
December 18, 1998, Friday BODY:
The US and British air strikes against Iraq could spell the end of the UN Special Commission to disarm Baghdad, diplomats at the UN headquarters in New York said today.
UN Security Council diplomats indicated that even if the UN agency charged with Iraqi disarmament survives, its chairman, Australian Richard Butler, cannot.
"Butler is finished," a council diplomat said today, referring to open calls from Russia and China for his resignation after protesting his decision to evacuate arms inspectors from Iraq without council approval. France "will not miss him," said a western diplomat who also noted that the outspoken Australian diplomat had "lost the support of the (UN) secretary general."
December 18, 1998, Friday, Home Edition - LAT
SECTION: Part A; Page 17; Foreign Desk
BODY:
For the second night, 134 U.N. staffers left behind when weapons inspectors pulled out of Baghdad earlier this week took shelter Thursday in a converted hotel on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital as missiles shook nearby streets.
The workers retreated to the hotel's basement, leaving only one person to answer the telephone on a floor above.
"What can I say? There was very strong bombing," the staff member told The Times during a pause in the action. "It is very close to the building." Late Thursday night in New York, a decision was made to evacuate most of the staff members. Just after dawn today in Baghdad, a small convoy of buses pulled up in front of the hotel. A staff member in Baghdad said about 105 people boarded the buses for the long trip across the desert to Jordan.
The Washington Post
December 18, 1998, Friday, Final Edition
NAME: RICHARD BUTLER The third is that Butler ordered his inspectors to evacuate Baghdad, in anticipation of a military attack, on Tuesday night -- at a time when most members of the Security Council had yet to receive his report.
Copyright 1998 Newsday, Inc.
Newsday (New York, NY) (New York, NY)
United Nations - As bombs began falling on Baghdad yesterday, 133 UN humanitarian workers were huddled in Canal Hotel, a complex on the outskirts of Baghdad that serves as the UN's headquarters in Iraq. UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan had decided not to evacuate them yesterday despite warnings from the acting U.S. ambassador to the UN, Peter Burleigh, that they were at risk.
But their fate went unmentioned just before 5 p.m. yesterday as ashen-faced diplomats rushed out of the Security Council chamber to call their capitals when word of the attack filtered into a closed meeting. On the way, they lingered before hallway televisions carrying green-tinted images of anti-aircraft fire over Baghdad.
"I did get a call from Ambassador Burleigh saying that they are asking U.S. personnel in the region to leave. And they had also advised chief arms inspector Richard Butler to withdraw UNSCOM, and Butler and I spoke," Annan said yesterday, explaining "we have grouped all of them, for their own safety, in one location in Baghdad."
CAT Scan of JoeZ's Brain on drugs
"jex you are such a pathetic liar" - Freaky, Fried Z-Man
DUH!
U.S. Looking at Use of 'Coercive Inspections'
What a clownish amateur, what a cowboy we have!
The United Nations, international law, just-war theory -- it is not hard to imagine the impatience with which policy makers will greet arguments made on these bases
The very point I made WRT the Lady's Chaotic blather in Message # 244
I cawfished.
I don't quite see what that has to do with Saddam. If on the other hand the boi blunder had in mind the way a crawfish walks, it is a description that fits Bush not Hussein.
Crawfish walk backwards.
So load up on the Dixie beer, crawfish boil, corn and potatoes....and 
Laissez les bon temps roulez!!!
"If you don't have any ambitions, the minimum-wage job isn't going to get you to where you want to get, for example. In other words, what is your ambitions? And oh, by the way, if that is your ambition, here's what it's going to take to achieve it."—Speech to students in Little Rock, Ark., Aug. 29, 2002
The Ape
By Nasir Thabet
An ape is ruling this world
From Washington to China.
It doesn't matter,
But
The Arabs make him the prophet of the age.
Prostitution takes many forms.
* * *
The Arabs said: "He will soon become a human being."
I said: "You can count years and centuries."
* * *
They made me lose my temper when they said:
"What a just man!"
I shouted like a madman:
"Does he even know the language of reason and law?"
* * *
He [the ape] told them that day he would deliver his great speech.
They sat [waiting] like children for years in their chairs...
The accursed ape did not come.
They said: "It won't take long, he has reasons that we don't know."
And [still] the accursed ape did not come.
They left all their honor in the toilet
And kept waiting for wisdom [to issue] from the madman.
They abandoned their children, and their subjects' predicament, and their Honor.
But the accursed ape did not come.
They were heavier to bear than Sharon.
He said: "The pressure on Zion has intensified."
Is it conceivable that silly children with stones will upset him.
While he [Sharon] is the poor wronged one?
Death to the children of Palestine,
Death to you, all the Arabs of the world.
You should be like mules kicking with joy.
Your honor is cheaper than a can of sardines.
O Arabs of the world,
When Sharon spits on you…
He is the wronged one,
And you – despite your feebleness – you are "terrorists."
They said, with a stupid smile over their mustaches:
"What shall we do with the spittle of your poor, pampered Sharon?"
"Let it be a gift for the holiday, a charity, some debt."
* * *
The [Arab] leaders have been asked:
"Your excellencies, what do you think of the ape's speech?"
They tremble with joy:
"It is most wonderful in its honesty and emotion,
" It is most eloquent in its vocabulary and lofty style.
"Thanks to the accursed ape."
...just couldn't resist---I'm so ashamed.
But does this WP story surprise you?
...It relies in part on a newspaper article published July 21, 2001, in Al Nasiriyah, 185 miles southwest of Baghdad. The law firm provided The Associated Press with a copy of the article written in Arabic and an English translation.
According to the lawsuit, a columnist writing under the byline Naeem Abd Muhalhal described bin Laden thinking "seriously, with the seriousness of the Bedouin of the desert, about the way he will try to bomb the Pentagon after he destroys the White House."
The columnist also allegedly wrote that bin Laden was "insisting very convincingly that he will strike America on the arm that is already hurting," a possible reference to the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center.
France said it was against publishing top-secret evidence on Iraq's alleged development of weapons of mass destruction, saying the public arena was not the place to wage such a campaign.
Awwww - wouldn't want the entire world to have the evidence of your spinelessness tossed in its face, now would you? And from a country whose bestselling book is about how the US itself blew up the Pentagon in order to inflame anti-Islamism.
Germany Rebuffs Call to Back U.S.
"We have absolutely no reason to change our well-founded position. Under my leadership, Germany will not take part in an intervention in Iraq."
Not even waiting for the evidence to come in before he makes a blanket rejection of support.
Spineless bastards.
Chickenshit, soft, limp-wristed little fucks.
Who do they think they're fooling? These envious little Euroshits are not nearly as worried about supporting America as they are about the Islamist backlash that would hit them if they did.
Eh - fuckem.
Like I said - we don't need them. We never have - let's stop pretending.
Why do so many foreigners reject the evil perpetrators of 9/11 but still dislike America? It's because, while we have the best system of governance, we are not always at our best in how we act toward the world. Because we want to drive big cars, we support repressive Arab dictators so they will sell us cheap oil. Because our presidents want to get votes, they readily tell the Palestinians how foolishly they are behaving, but they hesitate to tell Israelis how destructive their West Bank settlements are for the future of the Jewish state. Because we want to consume as much energy as we please, we tell the world's people they have to be with us in the war on terrorism but we don't have to be with them in the struggle against global warming and for a greener planet.
The point, class, is that while evil people hate us for who we are, many good people dislike us for what we do. And if we want to win their respect we need to be the best, most consistent and most principled global citizens we can be.
Assigned readings: The U.S. Constitution, Woodrow Wilson's Fourteen Points speech and the Declaration of Independence.
[Tom Friedman]
JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - Secretary of State Colin Powell ( news - web sites), breaking weeks of silence on Iraq, said on Tuesday he was exploring proposals that would restore U.N. arms inspections despite what he called "lots of differences" inside the United States over what the administration should do.
Powell told reporters aboard his plane to Johannesburg that inspectors could play a part in disarming Iraq and that his position on this was that of President Bush ( news - web sites).
Vice President Dick Cheney ( news - web sites) said last week that the U.N. arms inspectors, who have not visited Iraq for four years, could "provide no assurance whatsoever" and could even add to the danger by giving a false sense of comfort.
Cheney and other hawks in the Bush administration say Washington has no choice but to overthrow Iraqi President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites), on the grounds that he might use weapons of mass destruction against the United States.
Bumble on!
Yea you got that right Little Legionnaire of the Boy Blunder -
That's a big GO FUCK YOURSELF you little whack job....grab your family -your gasmasks - off to the river jordan with your sick little ass 
"The leaders of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Democrats have called on the Government to recall Parliament in order to discuss action in Iraq. Philip Webster, Political Editor explains what purpose this would serve.
CBS News has learned that barely five hours after American Airlines Flight 77 plowed into the Pentagon, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld was telling his aides to come up with plans for striking Iraq - even though there was no evidence linking Saddam Hussein to the attacks... With the intelligence all pointing toward bin Laden, Rumsfeld ordered the military to begin working on strike plans. And at 2:40 p.m., the notes quote Rumsfeld as saying he wanted 'best info fast. Judge whether good enough hit S.H.' - meaning Saddam Hussein - 'at same time. Not only UBL' - the initials used to identify Osama bin Laden. Now, nearly one year later, there is still very little evidence Iraq was involved in the Sept. 11 attacks. But if these notes are accurate, that didn't matter to Rumsfeld. 'Go massive,' the notes quote him as saying. 'Sweep it all up. Things related and not.'"
The War to Make Bush Believable: A Crock of Crackpot Crap
I won't hold my breath waiting but the course for Congess is clear - hearings should pass quickly by the Bush pretexts and get to the REAL motive...call Rummy, Cheney, call Richard Perle and that Larouche whack job Perle hired..and cut to the chase...
Expose the con
That's gonna take a mayghta lot o splainin since the only imminent threat of war comes from that Bloody Blithering Idiot...
Speakin of The Bloody and Blithering...mornin Z you little fundie freak!
Bonjour Z Freak!
Weedled = obfuscated
Anything else I can help you with?
Nice that the handbook from the Republican party gives you all these answers.
Pronunciation: 'hwE-d&l, 'wE-
Function: verb
Inflected Form(s): whee·dled; whee·dling /'(h)wEd-li[ng], '(h)wE-d&l-i[ng]/
Etymology: origin unknown
Date: circa 1661
transitive senses
1 : to influence or entice by soft words or flattery
2 : to gain or get by wheedling
intransitive senses : to use soft words or flattery
Perhaps our esteemed American journalistas (and their bootlicking Motie minions) would do well to learn to spell, eh?
I'll take the Boy Blunder up on his offer of full disclosure beginning with Perle and Murwaiec(sp)...
Mr. Perle, in responding to Gen Scowcroft's remarks opposing your bloody adventurism, you stated that unless the US waged unprovoked war against Iraq, the world would "lose all confidence" in George Bush given repeated statements of his and of his minions concerning Iraq, could you tell us which statements you had in mind?
He has been wheedling the leaders of Russia, Iran, and Afghanistan, to name just a few.
Well, had he used the word WHEEDLE, I'd concede your point but he very distinctly said WEE-dle. Face Joey, you have an illiterate on your hands and yet you defend his every utterance.
And we shall learn to spell just as soon as your boy learns to speak.
sorry.
Little could I imagine then how inept Bush would be nor how effective the Boy Blunder-in-chief would be in Rehabing Saddam
What an incredible fuck up.
-The US former arab allies from GWI are in Iraq's camp without exception!
-Russia has inked a major economic deal with Iraq
- 600 Russian techs are in Iran this very moment working on a reactor the US claims capable of producing nuclear grade plutonium
- Pakistan's Busharraf announced Pakistan's opposition in no uncertain terms to Bush's misbegotten adventurism and we now face a real risk that Pakistan will fall into the hands of radical elements
The US is isolated and alone as Richard Perle whines that Americans and Iraqis are must die so that this dimwit is believable?
Good work dimwits.
WASHINGTON (AP) - Senate Democrats on Thursday voted down President Bush's latest attempt to fill federal appeals court seats with conservative jurists, rejecting a Texas Supreme Court judge criticized for anti-abortion and pro-business rulings.
"The message is this: We will confirm qualified judges," said Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle , D-S.D. "Don't send us unqualified people."
President Bush said the Senate Judiciary Committee's 10-9 party-line vote against Priscilla Owen was "shameful" and her rejection was evidence of a "pattern of obstruction" on his nominations in the Democrat-controlled Senate.
Shameful pattern of obstruction. Mercy sakes. Wonder where they got the idea?
Philip H. Gordon, Martin Indyk and Michael E. O’Hanlon - The Brookings Institution
A title which takes on an especially sharp point as the BloodyBushies seem quite incapable producing of "serious" policy from the chaotic anarchy the Boy Blunder some still call an "administration"
BloodyBushies are capable of.
"We're going to do it right, or we're not going to do it at all," Mr. Daschle told reporters a day after President Bush ( news - web sites) pledged to seek formal approval from Congress before taking action against Iraq and its leader, President Saddam Hussein ( news - web sites).
Stupid questions, stupid people
into the Valley of Death, all for a moron
Oh? I didn't realize Russia and Iran and Afghanistan were in charge of weapons inspections in Iraq.
What the hell are you talking about?
Nobody implied any such thing. Really, thoughtful -you've gotta learn to pay more attention before rushing in with dumb questions.
Have you considered a location change?
And we shall learn to spell just as soon as your boy learns to speak.
Well, I can't tell if this was supposed to be a joke. So, I'll be nice and give you the benefit of the doubt - you were either joking or tipsy (again).
Anyway, on NPR News today, they interviewed a linguist about GW's supposed cornpone malapropisms - Wheedle & Crawfish. The gentleman (to the interviewer's dismay) explained that, in fact, both words are well-established in the English language (and, judy, in the dictionary), and have been for over 200 years, and that GW used them in their most literal adjective senses.
"Crawfish(ed)", he explained, is a very common word in the south - perhaps more in use "by those over 45". But he didn't end there - GW's use of the word, he continued, was "exquisite" within its context. Because its most correct use as an adjective is when describing a person who "backtracks from previous assertions - as GW has said Saddam does". But here's the exquisite part - "along with its peculiar backwards walk, the crawfish is probably best noted for throwing up a cloud of mud and debris to obscure its getaway".
Then, the gentleman ended by saying, "All the reporter had to do was look the words up in the dictionary."
Now. You wanna riff on "stratergery", or "infridada", go right ahead. But you ain't got a nickel in this heah dime, pard.
Actually, the thought has crossed my mind.
"This Fall what every smart New Yorker is crying out for is a Regime Change!"
You are quite funny in your own way but for the life of me, I don't understand why you can't accept the fact that the Leader of the Free World said WEE-DUL, not the correct word WHEEDLE. And I can assure you I have had more sober days than Mr. Bush.
I know you'd rather believe the fool was brilliant and erudite but that ain't gonna happen, either...and you're right: I don't have a nickle in this heah dime...I've got ten whole cents. PARD.
I heard what he said, and if you think that there is any way to distinguish, from that soundbyte, between WHEEDLE and WEE-DUL (or WEEDLE, as was your earlier claim) - let alone the absolutely retarded implication - that GWB, on the spot, made up a word that just happened to sound an awful lot like its entirely appropriate homonym, then you're delusional with hatred for the guy, judy.
At Ground Zero of Boy Blunder's Chernobyl - Panty Waist Powell
The most inept foreign policy decision making aparatus in US history didn't just come unglued in June when Ariel Sharon, Bibi Netanyahu, and Billy Kristol humiliated the President of the US (sic)...its been a long process, one that began just after Inauguration, and one that I have been on top from the very first weeks.
I have have truly savored the unraveling the more because I have observed it - thread by thread to the present mess.
War is peace. Freedom is slavery. Ignorance is strength. Colin Powell and Dick Cheney are in perfect agreement. And the Bush administration won't privatize Social Security.
You may think it makes him an endearing schmuck but I don't. I think it makes look exactly like what he is: a man of slovenly habits when it comes to normal speech and a man so arrogant that he doesn't care about it.
Here is a joke (just so you know): translators all over the world are demaning hazard pay since George Bush took office.
Demanding.
I'm a wimp on Iraq: I'm in favor of invading, but only if we can win easily. So can we?
I'd feel reassured if the decision to invade was being made honestly, after a rigorous weighing of all the risks. Instead I detect a cheery Vietnam-style faith that obstacles can be assumed away.
That only works in war games.
Check this site out soon before the Fascists shut it down.
The WH Rapist is Another American Taliban and is owned by BIG OIL, too!!!!!!!!!!!
He invited them over to talk oil and gas pipelines!!!!!!!!
Guess I got you beat, huh, cd?
Get it? Wheedle would make sense if SH used flattery successfully to stop the weapons inspections but he did no such thing. There's no need to "wheedle" with allies...wheedling is for the opposition. Get it? There's no need to wheedle with those who have no power...only with those who do. See?
I could replace all the money our retirement fund has lost in recent months by bettin