LostInSpace

Good article.

quote:Originally posted by Takvah: 1: OK, you are saying that Syria received Iraqi WMDs. One story has to do with Iraq supposedly shipping crates of WMDs to the Assad government. That was the first story from WorldNet Daily. WORLDNET DAILY! Wow now there's a highly respected and sought after news source if I ever saw one. 2: Do you know who runs WorldNet Daily? 3: Then you put up a link to a second story. I suppose that the second story was going to somehow support the first. Welp, I'm sorry it didn't. SYRIA is a SCUMBAG country, of this there is no doubt. Do I believe that Syria might be engaged in terrorism and perhaps the manufacture of WMDs ... ABSOLUTELY. What I am not convinced of however, is that the Iraqi WMDs somehow got funneled to Syria, and NOWHERE IN THAT CNN STORY IS THAT EVEN ALLUDED TO. 4: Another rookie effort. I won't accept anything that isn't reported by mainstream media? No. Let me clarify. I won't support anything reported by the WHACKO FRINGE, on either side of the aisle. Period, the end. 5: NO WMDs is NO WMDs. I know he had them, why? Because Reagan gave them to him. Saddam's biological arsenal was US made. However these things have a shelf life and between the UN inspections (more WMDs were destroyed by UN inspectors than by the US during Gulf War I and Gulf War II it's a fact check it out!) and bombings conducted by US and British planes from time to time his arsenal was DESTROYED. 6: It is even in major debate if he had anything beyond 1991 that was of sufficient quantity or quality to deem that he even POSSESSED WMDs after that date. General Kamel's report to the UN and CIA says NO WMDS Funny nobody reported about this story! How the hell did that happen? 7: Remember the lovely coloring book like illustrations of mobile weapons making labs that he presented to the Security Council? Remember how he showed you those satellite photos of the decontamination vehicles. Did you know that they've fact checked Powell's information? LIES, LIES, LIES YEAH. 8: You guys want to color EVERYBODY that says, "Hey wait a minute, none of this was TRUE," as a bunch of morons. Funny coming from guys that still believe it even though there is not ONE shread of evidence to support the WMD argument. Farah doesn't have EVIDENCE. He has some "source". BRING ME THE EVIDENCE. PRODUCE IT. Otherwise just move it along like Bush did (why didn't he cart out Farah to explain this funneling thing to us) to the, "He was a bad man," argument. Sure that's not the REASON WE WENT (because nobody would have agreed to it) but now that we're there what the hell... right? 9: Gentlemen, I kick you in the nuts and send you to the mat hard in every argument we ever have and still you maniacs somehow think you're on a moral and intellectual high-ground. You're as deluded in your assessment of the outcome of our debates as you are in your belief that G.W. has the goods on WMDs. HERE ARE THE FACTS AS THEY ARE KNOWN. I stated them. Your facts are CRAP... where are the WMDs? I'll say it again and again and again. You can tell me Santa Claus took them to the North Pole but you better have some HARD FACTS AND INTEL to support it. Looks like Little Grasshopper is on top, Game, Set, Match. 1: I'm not saying it myself. I have no first hand knowlege of this. I am providing the link so all can see other news besides that which is on CNN etc.... Take the links I post the way you want I don't care. 2: If you notice, I post links from a wide variety of sources including CNN. 3:The second link was just a follow up. I could care less if it supports the first link or not. I mainly posted it to see if someone would have any current info on the state of the syrian sanctions. 4: You know the phrase "Fear is the mind killer"? Well you fear the other sources because they may speak the truth. You fear to venture out from your safe haven that is the mainstream media. I read and watch things from all manner of sources. From average everyday sources all the way to radical babblings. I don't fear any source of information. I approach each and every source with an open mind. I will either agree with that source or disagree with it. 5,6,7,8: I'll get to these in a little bit. 9: I didn't know this was suppose to be a dirty street fight (no not the street that posts here ). Leave it to you to kick people in the nuts. As Triumph the insult dog has said, "My you've got quite an immagination." You're "facts" are just that "Yours" as is mine. How people handle the information I post is up to them. And that as they say is that. quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: quote:Originally posted by Takvah: Brownback...... oh no... this can only end badly. Foot Washing NUT. Nuff said. Yip, Yip, I see little grasshopper is turning into little Chihuaua attack doggie, yip, yip...... Watch those ankles boys, he just might bite them..... Cleanup on aisle 2 please.......... ROTFLMAO!! Oh no, that is going to send him into a tirade. oppps, I think it already has... Me thinks someone is suffering from a massive superiority complex. (see next post). [ 08-16-2004, 09:58 PM: Message edited by: LostInSpace ]

quote:Originally posted by Takvah: 1: OK, you are saying that Syria received Iraqi WMDs. One story has to do with Iraq supposedly shipping crates of WMDs to the Assad government. That was the first story from WorldNet Daily. WORLDNET DAILY! Wow now there's a highly respected and sought after news source if I ever saw one. 2: Do you know who runs WorldNet Daily? 3: Then you put up a link to a second story. I suppose that the second story was going to somehow support the first. Welp, I'm sorry it didn't. SYRIA is a SCUMBAG country, of this there is no doubt. Do I believe that Syria might be engaged in terrorism and perhaps the manufacture of WMDs ... ABSOLUTELY. What I am not convinced of however, is that the Iraqi WMDs somehow got funneled to Syria, and NOWHERE IN THAT CNN STORY IS THAT EVEN ALLUDED TO. 4: Another rookie effort. I won't accept anything that isn't reported by mainstream media? No. Let me clarify. I won't support anything reported by the WHACKO FRINGE, on either side of the aisle. Period, the end. 5: NO WMDs is NO WMDs. I know he had them, why? Because Reagan gave them to him. Saddam's biological arsenal was US made. However these things have a shelf life and between the UN inspections (more WMDs were destroyed by UN inspectors than by the US during Gulf War I and Gulf War II it's a fact check it out!) and bombings conducted by US and British planes from time to time his arsenal was DESTROYED. 6: It is even in major debate if he had anything beyond 1991 that was of sufficient quantity or quality to deem that he even POSSESSED WMDs after that date. General Kamel's report to the UN and CIA says NO WMDS Funny nobody reported about this story! How the hell did that happen? 7: Remember the lovely coloring book like illustrations of mobile weapons making labs that he presented to the Security Council? Remember how he showed you those satellite photos of the decontamination vehicles. Did you know that they've fact checked Powell's information? LIES, LIES, LIES YEAH. 8: You guys want to color EVERYBODY that says, "Hey wait a minute, none of this was TRUE," as a bunch of morons. Funny coming from guys that still believe it even though there is not ONE shread of evidence to support the WMD argument. Farah doesn't have EVIDENCE. He has some "source". BRING ME THE EVIDENCE. PRODUCE IT. Otherwise just move it along like Bush did (why didn't he cart out Farah to explain this funneling thing to us) to the, "He was a bad man," argument. Sure that's not the REASON WE WENT (because nobody would have agreed to it) but now that we're there what the hell... right? 9: Gentlemen, I kick you in the nuts and send you to the mat hard in every argument we ever have and still you maniacs somehow think you're on a moral and intellectual high-ground. You're as deluded in your assessment of the outcome of our debates as you are in your belief that G.W. has the goods on WMDs. HERE ARE THE FACTS AS THEY ARE KNOWN. I stated them. Your facts are CRAP... where are the WMDs? I'll say it again and again and again. You can tell me Santa Claus took them to the North Pole but you better have some HARD FACTS AND INTEL to support it. Looks like Little Grasshopper is on top, Game, Set, Match. 1: I'm not saying it myself. I have no first hand knowlege of this. I am providing the link so all can see other news besides that which is on CNN etc.... Take the links I post the way you want I don't care. 2: If you notice, I post links from a wide variety of sources including CNN. 3:The second link was just a follow up. I could care less if it supports the first link or not. I mainly posted it to see if someone would have any current info on the state of the syrian sanctions. 4: You know the phrase "Fear is the mind killer"? Well you fear the other sources because they may speak the truth. You fear to venture out from your safe haven that is the mainstream media. I read and watch things from all manner of sources. From average everyday sources all the way to radical babblings. I don't fear any source of information. I approach each and every source with an open mind. I will either agree with that source or disagree with it. 5,6,7,8: I'll get to these in a little bit. 9: I didn't know this was suppose to be a dirty street fight (no not the street that posts here ). Leave it to you to kick people in the nuts. As Triumph the insult dog has said, "My you've got quite an immagination." You're "facts" are just that "Yours" as is mine. How people handle the information I post is up to them. And that as they say is that. quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: quote:Originally posted by Takvah: Brownback...... oh no... this can only end badly. Foot Washing NUT. Nuff said. Yip, Yip, I see little grasshopper is turning into little Chihuaua attack doggie, yip, yip...... Watch those ankles boys, he just might bite them..... Cleanup on aisle 2 please.......... ROTFLMAO!! Oh no, that is going to send him into a tirade. oppps, I think it already has... Me thinks someone is suffering from a massive superiority complex. (see next post). [ 08-16-2004, 09:58 PM: Message edited by: LostInSpace ]

Jag, they are not going to believe a word anyone says unless it comes from CNN and/or the other news outlets except for FOX. This is an older article but it's still good A relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad is hiding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in three locations in Syria, according to intelligence sources cited by an exiled opposition party. Labeling Syria "an unusual and extraordinary threat" President George W. Bush has prohibited the export of U.S. products other than food and medicine to Damascus. It also prohibits flights between the two countries. Can't seem to find any recent updates on the Syrian sanctions from anyone including CNN.

Jag, they are not going to believe a word anyone says unless it comes from CNN and/or the other news outlets except for FOX. This is an older article but it's still good A relative of Syrian President Bashar Assad is hiding Iraqi weapons of mass destruction in three locations in Syria, according to intelligence sources cited by an exiled opposition party. Labeling Syria "an unusual and extraordinary threat" President George W. Bush has prohibited the export of U.S. products other than food and medicine to Damascus. It also prohibits flights between the two countries. Can't seem to find any recent updates on the Syrian sanctions from anyone including CNN.

quote:Originally posted by Jaguar: LIS, can you believe these guys? The sad fact is yes I can. It's funny they were ready to rag on me about the other articles being "Right wing propaganda" until I threw in the CNN report then it made them stop and think. If they would only dig deep and hard for Kerry as they do with Bush, believe me there's plenty there on Kerry and not just from "Right Wing propanda" sources. Everything I have posted in all the other threads are readily checkable from multiple sources not just from "right wing" sources. Like I've said before Bush may be an a$$ at times but Kerry is a bigger one and Kerry's wife is even a bigger one than him. I'd rather vote for the smaller one thank you.

quote:Originally posted by Soback: Why is nobody saying that minimum wage effects prices as well. I've been waiting for someone to say just that. So you raise the minimun wage, now the shop owners must raise their prices to still make a good profit. Raising these prices make the raise in pay null and void and people are right back where they were before the Minimum wage increase. It's a vicious cycle. Sure making $7 and hour is better than $6 and hour on paper but in reality it's still as if you are making $6 an hour because the prices of what you buy has just gone up too. Example: I live in NY okay I got a $1 an hour raise. Since then the Subway Fare went up to $2.00 (up 50 cents), pizza is up to $2.00(up 50 cents) a slice, bread is up to $1.79-$2.00 (up 50 cents) and milk has gone up to $4.00-$4.19 a gallon (up $2 dollars or more). And these are just a few things that have gone up. Some much for the raise. [ 08-14-2004, 09:11 PM: Message edited by: LostInSpace ]

An article from May 15, 2004 SENATOR SPECIAL INTEREST: NBC EXPOSES MORE KERRY SCANDALS If ever for a second you thought that John Kerry wasn't bought and paid for, then listen up. Not only is Kerry's fund-raising Clintonesque, but so are the people involved. The list of principals reads like a greatest hits of the Clinton scandals. NBC reporter Lisa Meyers told us that "Kerry now brags about standing up to special interests, he actually has sat down with many of them, inviting a who's-who of special interests to his home for dinner." Well, it's about time. We've been telling you for weeks that Kerry was a phony. Maybe the mainstream media is finally waking up. Nice to see NBC finally joining the party. Turns out in the summer of 2002, Kerry hosted a bunch of wealthy corporate donors at his home for a weekend on exclusive Nantucket Island. Among those attending, five representatives of companies under investigation by the SEC for accounting irregularities and misleading stock ratings. Let's see...parties for crooked corporate types...and this guy rails against Enron on the stump? Unbelievable. Then, there's Johnny Chung. Sound familiar? Same Johnny Chung that was at the center of the Clinton-Gore fund-raising scandals. In 1996, Kerry met with Chung, faxed a letter on his behalf to the SEC, and thanked him for helping him with his campaign. Within weeks, Chung holds a Kerry fund-raiser. You scratch my back, I'll scratch yours. Unbelievably, at one point Kerry denied he had met Chung. I get it - we're all supposed to remember George Bush's National Guard service in Alabama over 30 years ago, but Kerry can't recall something that happened 8 years ago. Right. The corrupt ways of John F. Kerry continue to be detailed. And the election is over 8 months away. ------------------------------------------------- Remember everyone making a big deal over Bush's video tape with him still reading to school children after being told of the attacks in Sept 11th. Well here's what more leaders where doing at that time: Here's what the Massachusetts Democrat said July 8 when Larry King asked where he was on 9/11, according to CNN's own transcript: 'Nobody Could Think' "I was in the Capitol. We'd just had a meeting - we'd just come into a leadership meeting in Tom Daschle's office, looking out at the Capitol. And as I came in, Barbara Boxer and Harry Reid were standing there, and we watched the second plane come in to the building. And we shortly thereafter sat down at the table and then we just realized nobody could think, and then boom, right behind us, we saw the cloud of explosion at the Pentagon. And then word came from the White House, they were evacuating, and we were to evacuate, and so we immediately began the evacuation. the second plane hit the World Trade Center at 9:03 a.m., and the plane hit the Pentagon at 9:43 a.m. By Kerry's own words, he and his fellow senators sat there for forty minutes, realizing 'nobody could think." [ 08-13-2004, 01:08 PM: Message edited by: LostInSpace ]

Good luck (keeping my fingers crossed).

Aug. 12, 2004ÔÇö New Jersey Gov. James McGreevey rocked the political world today by announcing that he is gay and will resign in November. ABC News has learned that a male former aide is filing a sexual misconduct lawsuit against the governor in a New Jersey court. New Jersey Gov. James E. McGreevey announced his resignation Thursday afternoon, saying he had had an extramarital affair with another man that could leave the state government vulnerable to undue outside influences. Yeah, yeah I know it's a right wing conspiracy....

What you think only people with problems take Viagra? Hah.... Besides, I was just making a general statement, nuttin to do with me, I swear, really, I swear...

Too bad it wasn't Viagra.

Oh man!

Washington, D.C.-Misusing government power to transfer private property from one business to another, Pittsburgh's City Council today authorized the condemnation of the 87-year-old Pittsburgh Wool Company and four other small businesses to give to the H.J. Heinz Company. The vote will speed the way for the Heinz-directed but government-imposed destruction of five businesses. The Heinz Company wants to construct a warehouse for its Pittsburgh manufacturing facility on the site. According to the Washington, D.C.-based Institute for Justice, the vote demonstrates yet another abuse of eminent domain-the government power to condemn private property. "The Constitution allows government to take property for public use," explained Dana Berliner, senior attorney at the Institute for Justice, a nonprofit public interest law firm located in Washington D.C. that has offered to represent the Pittsburgh Wool Company in any court proceeding for free. The Institute last year won a similar case on behalf of a widow whose property was sought by Donald Trump and a New Jersey government agency. "Doing a favor for a politically connected private company is not what the founding fathers had in mind." More to come.......

quote:Originally posted by Race Bannon IV: Perhaps Kerry might be less quick to send American jobs overseas than your boy Bush. Tying all of the nation's economic woes to outsourcing is simplistic. Many economists estimate that only about 1 in 100 layoffs are caused by outsourcing. By contrast, the bulk of job losses stem from domestic factors -------------------------------------------------- That's not all. Campaign finance reports reviewed by the Congressional publication, The Hill, reveal that executives at 25 companies identified by CNN's Lou Dobbs as prime outsourcers have contributed more than $370,000 to Kerry's presidential campaign. Among them are executives of Citigroup (who contributed $68,250 to Kerry), Morgan Stanley (gave $38,000) and Goldman Sachs (gave $50,300). Direct investments and trusts controlled by Kerry list assets of $124,026 to $636,000 in companies that outsource jobs, according to his financial disclosures. Trusts held by Teresa Heinz Kerry hold at least $8.5 million in outsourcing companies. Among them are General Electric, IBM and AIG which have big operations in India and China . All this has led analysts to believe that Kerry's anti-outsourcing stand is just election season posturing. "Our view is that this is just a lot of political talk. Restrictive legislation will be limited, and the outsourcing trend will continue to be robust," Lehman Brothers analyst Louis Miscioscia wrote in a recent research note to investors. Ashish Thadhani, an analyst with Brean Murray & Co in New York who tracks Indian outsourcing companies has also given a thumbs-up to firms such as Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant, saying they are good bets for investors if their horizon looks beyond the current political debate. Meanwhile, domestic critics have excoriated Kerry for his duplicity and doubletalk. If Kerry is true to his word, he would be bringing back Heinz operations to the US and create American jobs. By the same token, the nearly seven million US workers who are employed by foreign companies such as BMW, Toyota and Honda would also lose their jobs if these firms pulled out. "I don't think Kerry should shut down the Heinz 57, but he might drop the rhetoric and talk about trade responsibly," says free market maven James Glassman, who has taken a public stand against the anti-outsourcers. "He should support not trade's contraction but its expansion, like George W Bush, Bill Clinton and every president since Herbert Hoover." It looks unlikely though that Kerry will pay attention to such advice till after the election.

quote:Originally posted by Race Bannon IV: Perhaps Kerry might be less quick to send American jobs overseas than your boy Bush. Tying all of the nation's economic woes to outsourcing is simplistic. Many economists estimate that only about 1 in 100 layoffs are caused by outsourcing. By contrast, the bulk of job losses stem from domestic factors -------------------------------------------------- That's not all. Campaign finance reports reviewed by the Congressional publication, The Hill, reveal that executives at 25 companies identified by CNN's Lou Dobbs as prime outsourcers have contributed more than $370,000 to Kerry's presidential campaign. Among them are executives of Citigroup (who contributed $68,250 to Kerry), Morgan Stanley (gave $38,000) and Goldman Sachs (gave $50,300). Direct investments and trusts controlled by Kerry list assets of $124,026 to $636,000 in companies that outsource jobs, according to his financial disclosures. Trusts held by Teresa Heinz Kerry hold at least $8.5 million in outsourcing companies. Among them are General Electric, IBM and AIG which have big operations in India and China . All this has led analysts to believe that Kerry's anti-outsourcing stand is just election season posturing. "Our view is that this is just a lot of political talk. Restrictive legislation will be limited, and the outsourcing trend will continue to be robust," Lehman Brothers analyst Louis Miscioscia wrote in a recent research note to investors. Ashish Thadhani, an analyst with Brean Murray & Co in New York who tracks Indian outsourcing companies has also given a thumbs-up to firms such as Infosys, Wipro, and Cognizant, saying they are good bets for investors if their horizon looks beyond the current political debate. Meanwhile, domestic critics have excoriated Kerry for his duplicity and doubletalk. If Kerry is true to his word, he would be bringing back Heinz operations to the US and create American jobs. By the same token, the nearly seven million US workers who are employed by foreign companies such as BMW, Toyota and Honda would also lose their jobs if these firms pulled out. "I don't think Kerry should shut down the Heinz 57, but he might drop the rhetoric and talk about trade responsibly," says free market maven James Glassman, who has taken a public stand against the anti-outsourcers. "He should support not trade's contraction but its expansion, like George W Bush, Bill Clinton and every president since Herbert Hoover." It looks unlikely though that Kerry will pay attention to such advice till after the election.

Let's not forget that the presidential wannabe Kerry was also instrumental in dismantaling the intelligence agencies as well.

Umm, I think this was already posted some time back. But it is good though.

quote:Originally posted by Takvah: 1: *snip* What you seem to want to say is that this phenomenon is squarely reserved for politicians with a D before or after their name. 2: As for saying that Americans should suck it up and work two and three jobs.. that is so ridiculous that I won't even bother to comment. Your occupation is listed as "Playing games" I suppose when you get out in the real world you might have an awakening. 1: Well if it walks like a (D)uck and talks like a (D)uck, it's a (D)uck. 2: Well there's something unique (sarcasm). A liberal who can't tell the difference between a joke and a serious statement. Typical. Listen where is it written that it's your birthright that you will get a job? You're born, you die everthing in between is a risk. No one is beholden to any one else to give anyone a job that my friend is call socialism. To expect anyone to give you a $15-$20 an hour job just because you're a single parent (male or female) with kids and don't wanna work two-three jobs to support "your" family is no one's problem but yours. If you can find a $15-$20 an hour job that's great, if not, you gotta do what you gotta do. Simple as that. This may sound cold and heartless but life is like that.

quote:Originally posted by Takvah: 1: *snip* What you seem to want to say is that this phenomenon is squarely reserved for politicians with a D before or after their name. 2: As for saying that Americans should suck it up and work two and three jobs.. that is so ridiculous that I won't even bother to comment. Your occupation is listed as "Playing games" I suppose when you get out in the real world you might have an awakening. 1: Well if it walks like a (D)uck and talks like a (D)uck, it's a (D)uck. 2: Well there's something unique (sarcasm). A liberal who can't tell the difference between a joke and a serious statement. Typical. Listen where is it written that it's your birthright that you will get a job? You're born, you die everthing in between is a risk. No one is beholden to any one else to give anyone a job that my friend is call socialism. To expect anyone to give you a $15-$20 an hour job just because you're a single parent (male or female) with kids and don't wanna work two-three jobs to support "your" family is no one's problem but yours. If you can find a $15-$20 an hour job that's great, if not, you gotta do what you gotta do. Simple as that. This may sound cold and heartless but life is like that.

I have one thing to say to some of you: how in heck did we get talking about the economy when this thread is suppose to be about the Kerry Documentary? Which is about Kerry's stance on the Iraq war. You can go around in circles again about all the other crap in the fine threads we've already created for that. It would be nice to have at least one thread that stayed focus in the topic. Anyway, in answer to some of your posts, Americans have become soft in the belly. I live in Manhattan and there is a strong mexican community here. Most of them have two or more kids. The husbands and wives work 2-3 jobs. Jobs that no one else wants. They have that old spirit that made this country great and put the rest of us to shame with their drive. Like my grand parents and parents have said quite often "A Job is a Job". It's better than earning zilch. Oh and before you blame Bush again for the outsourcing and lost american jobs remember that the sucking sound of jobs started with the Democrats. Namely Nafta.

I have one thing to say to some of you: how in heck did we get talking about the economy when this thread is suppose to be about the Kerry Documentary? Which is about Kerry's stance on the Iraq war. You can go around in circles again about all the other crap in the fine threads we've already created for that. It would be nice to have at least one thread that stayed focus in the topic. Anyway, in answer to some of your posts, Americans have become soft in the belly. I live in Manhattan and there is a strong mexican community here. Most of them have two or more kids. The husbands and wives work 2-3 jobs. Jobs that no one else wants. They have that old spirit that made this country great and put the rest of us to shame with their drive. Like my grand parents and parents have said quite often "A Job is a Job". It's better than earning zilch. Oh and before you blame Bush again for the outsourcing and lost american jobs remember that the sucking sound of jobs started with the Democrats. Namely Nafta.

This is an extremely detailed piece on how Bush is wrong for America. Pretty much what I expected from liberals. Language Warning!! How Bush Failed America

Okay back to the issue of this thread IT'S AN ODD campaign gimmick, but Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., often tells voters that he was "misled" and that's why he voted for an October 2002 resolution authorizing military force against Iraq. Kerry at the convention. He was complacent, arrogant and humourless. How they loved him At one level, what's happening is very unfair. Three-quarters of Democratic voters opposed the Iraq war; 86 per cent of convention delegates opposed it. But they've wound up with a presidential ticket comprised of two Senators who both voted in favour of it. And, after being for-and-against the war for the last year according to political necessity, Kerry seems to have settled on a position of doing pretty much what Bush is doing while simultaneously spending more time on the blower to Kofi, Jacques and Gerhard. If I were a principled anti-war Democrat, I'd be furious. ------------------------------------------------ Say what you like about Bush, but on Iraq he stood by his principles and rallied the British, Australians, Poles, Italians, etc, to join him. He also rallied Kerry and Edwards to join him. They voted for his war, as the columnist Debra Saunders of The San Francisco Chronical drolly pointed out: "Kerry and Edwards followed. Bush led." Kerry now says that Bush "misled" him on Iraq. But, if he was that easily suckered by a renowned moron, how much more susceptible would he be to such wily operators as Chirac. They would speak French to each other, and Jacques would blow soothingly in his ear, and Kerry would look flattered, and there'd be lots of resolutions and joint declarations, and nothing would happen. We'd be fighting the war on terror through the self-admiring inertia of windbag multilateralism. As for the home front, Kerry says: "As President, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that [the 9/11] commission." Whoa, hold on there. There's a ton of recommendations, and some of us don't like the part about concentrating all US intelligence under one cabinet secretary who serves not at the President's pleasure but for a fixed term. That effectively institutionalises the groupthink resistance to alternative ideas that led to the 9/11 failures. Leadership is about hearing different viewpoints and reaching a judgment. But Kerry gives the impression that, as long as he enjoys the perks of the top job, he's happy to subcontract his judgment to others. He moans endlessly about the "outsourcing" of American jobs but, when it comes to his own job, he's willing to outsource American foreign policy to the mushy transnational talk-shops and to outsource homeland security to some dubious intelligence tsar. There's no sense of any strategic vision, no sense that he's thought about Iran or North Korea or any of the other powder kegs about to blow. I tried to ask him about some of these matters during the New Hampshire primary and he intoned in response, "Sometimes truly courageous leadership means having the courage not to show any leadership." (I quote from memory.)

Okay back to the issue of this thread IT'S AN ODD campaign gimmick, but Sen. John F. Kerry, D-Mass., often tells voters that he was "misled" and that's why he voted for an October 2002 resolution authorizing military force against Iraq. Kerry at the convention. He was complacent, arrogant and humourless. How they loved him At one level, what's happening is very unfair. Three-quarters of Democratic voters opposed the Iraq war; 86 per cent of convention delegates opposed it. But they've wound up with a presidential ticket comprised of two Senators who both voted in favour of it. And, after being for-and-against the war for the last year according to political necessity, Kerry seems to have settled on a position of doing pretty much what Bush is doing while simultaneously spending more time on the blower to Kofi, Jacques and Gerhard. If I were a principled anti-war Democrat, I'd be furious. ------------------------------------------------ Say what you like about Bush, but on Iraq he stood by his principles and rallied the British, Australians, Poles, Italians, etc, to join him. He also rallied Kerry and Edwards to join him. They voted for his war, as the columnist Debra Saunders of The San Francisco Chronical drolly pointed out: "Kerry and Edwards followed. Bush led." Kerry now says that Bush "misled" him on Iraq. But, if he was that easily suckered by a renowned moron, how much more susceptible would he be to such wily operators as Chirac. They would speak French to each other, and Jacques would blow soothingly in his ear, and Kerry would look flattered, and there'd be lots of resolutions and joint declarations, and nothing would happen. We'd be fighting the war on terror through the self-admiring inertia of windbag multilateralism. As for the home front, Kerry says: "As President, I will not evade or equivocate; I will immediately implement the recommendations of that [the 9/11] commission." Whoa, hold on there. There's a ton of recommendations, and some of us don't like the part about concentrating all US intelligence under one cabinet secretary who serves not at the President's pleasure but for a fixed term. That effectively institutionalises the groupthink resistance to alternative ideas that led to the 9/11 failures. Leadership is about hearing different viewpoints and reaching a judgment. But Kerry gives the impression that, as long as he enjoys the perks of the top job, he's happy to subcontract his judgment to others. He moans endlessly about the "outsourcing" of American jobs but, when it comes to his own job, he's willing to outsource American foreign policy to the mushy transnational talk-shops and to outsource homeland security to some dubious intelligence tsar. There's no sense of any strategic vision, no sense that he's thought about Iran or North Korea or any of the other powder kegs about to blow. I tried to ask him about some of these matters during the New Hampshire primary and he intoned in response, "Sometimes truly courageous leadership means having the courage not to show any leadership." (I quote from memory.)