Politics As Usual

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Interesting how the Wahhabi Repubs think that it's okay expressly to compare Clinton to Saddam, but start screaming "Traitor!!!" when their overactive imaginations lead them to conclude that anyone is comparing Bush to Saddam.

See context.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
the fact that Clinton built the greatest military in world history

Can I get cite on this? Please.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Of course, if I was a Repub confronting the facts of the Clinton economic expansion and budget surplus and the fact that Clinton built the greatest military in world history, I guess half-assed "separated at birth" type pictures would be the only thing I'd have to say too.

Point of fact, regardless of what "facts" I may or may not be confronting, much like a Hallmark Greeting Card, "half-assed separated at birth type pictures" are always appropriate. I learned that from Spy Magazine in the late 70s, you short-fingered vulgarian you!

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Alternately, we could talk about how Clinton was brave enough to say that gay people should be allowed to serve in the military

Clinton was never brave, he was a craven vote whore.

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Tell me, which of those would Saddam support?

Neither, he would just exterminate them. Your point is way off the mark.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by the Spartan
Can I get cite on this? Please.

Ask someone in the military to explain to you what they did recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or, better yet, put down that issue of Lesbian Oenolitigatrix Monthly and read the last few years of Time.

[Did you just call me Coltrane?]

...your moment of Zen:



Colin Powell performs Village People song in Jakarta.

[sgtclub]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Ask someone in the military to explain to you what they did recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or, better yet, put down that issue of Lesbian Oenolitigatrix Monthly and read the last few years of Time.

How do you square the fact that Clinton significantly reduced the size of the military (i.e., number of soldiers), while still harping that we need more troops to do the job right?

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by Did you just call me Coltrane?
...your moment of Zen:



Colin Powell performs Village People song in Jakarta.

Is it possible for a person to jump the shark? Cuz if so, I think we just saw it.

[SlaveNoMore]

Sexual Harassment Panda
Is it possible for a person to jump the shark? Cuz if so, I think we just saw it.

That's just mean.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
Ask someone in the military to explain to you what they did recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. Or, better yet, put down that issue of Lesbian Oenolitigatrix Monthly and read the last few years of Time.

Ty. We don't read, and we sure don't read Time. We watch TV. All we remember is your overweight minions down in Fla. methodically eliminating absentee military votes in 2000. didn't those military guys know what side their bread was buttered on?

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
That's just mean.

Hey, I didn't force him to wear the outfit, much less dance.

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by sgtclub
How do you square the fact that Clinton significantly reduced the size of the military (i.e., number of soldiers), while still harping that we need more troops to do the job right?

And the damage he did to our intelligence capabilities due to his disdain of the CIA and by extension the damage this did to our defense capabilities offsets anything he did to bolster the military.

OTOH, I do remember reading in either Lesbian Oenolitigatrix Monthly or Juggs, that most of the military during his tenure had a great deal of respect for him as the CinC. Especially his text book skills at saluting.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by the Spartan
the military during his tenure had a great deal of respect for him as the CinC.

Marines admire a guy who gets the ole willie washed on his down time.

[the Spartan]

:flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: :flag: (bon jour monsieur Chirac!)

DUBAI, July 2 (Reuters) - A purported statement from an al Qaeda-linked group vowed to carry out attacks in Europe after the expiry of a three-month truce offered by Osama bin Laden in April, London-based Asharq al-Awsat newspaper said on Friday.

[the Spartan]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
the fact that Clinton built the greatest military in world history

Ok, now I see what you and Ty were talking about, although I think that perhaps you meant to say "third world history":

The Facts About Military Readiness

CONCLUSION

The Clinton Administration has damaged the U.S military with a dangerous combination of reduced budgets, diminished forces, and increased missions. The result has been a steep decline in readiness and an overall decline in U.S. military strength. Nearly a decade of misdirected policy coupled with a myopic modernization strategy has rendered America's armed forces years away from top form.

To deny that the United States military has readiness problems is to deny the men and women in uniform the respect they deserve. America's military prowess can be restored. To do so, America's leaders must first admit there is a problem. Only then can the President reestablish America's military readiness.

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

Originally posted by the Spartan
Ok, now I see what you and Ty were talking about, although I think that perhaps you meant to say "third world history":

[URL=http://www.heritage.org/Research/MissileDefense/BG1394es.cfm][b]The Facts About Military Readiness

The Heritage Foundation? Why don't you just quote something from the Limbaugh Report?

[Atticus Grinch]

Ever wonder what would happen if an American president were confronted with a European (non-WH-pool lapdog) journalist --- the kind who actually press their questions until they're answered, and become confrontational in order to represent the confrontational questions being asked by their readers?

• On the eve of his departure for the European Union-U.S. summit in Ireland late last week, George W. Bush gave a sit-down interview to Irish TV journalist Carole Coleman in the White House Map Room. (Radio Television Eire; video clip may not work with all players)
  
  Unlike American reporters, who lob softball questions Bush can field with prepared, rehearsed answers, Coleman performed as most European broadcast interviewers normally do -- in a naturally engaging, intellectually rigorous, conversational manner. However, Bush bristled at Coleman's questions and interviewing style, about which the White House (which posted a transcript of the session on its Web site) later "lodged an official complaint with the Irish embassy in Washington." (Times; subscription required)
  
  "[T]he majority of our public do not welcome your visit because they're angry over Iraq, they're angry over Abu Ghraib. Are you bothered by what Irish people think?" Coleman asked as the interview began. If such questioning set the encounter's tone, so did Bush's tendency to respond by testily demanding, "Listen ...." At one point he commanded, "Let me finish. Let me finish, please. Please. You ask the questions, and I'll answer them, if you don't mind." (White House transcript)
  
  Reminding Bush that U.S. forces never had found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq after toppling Saddam Hussein, Coleman noted, "Mr. President, the world is a more dangerous place today. I don't know whether you can see that or not." Bush replied, incredulously, "Why do you say that?" Sounding defensive, he insisted that subsequent terrorist bombings in Bali, Istanbul and Madrid were not related to his invasion of Iraq. (White House transcript)
  
  Coleman tried to pursue her theme, saying, "But I think there is a feeling that the world has become a more dangerous place because you have taken the focus off al Qaeda and diverted [it to] Iraq. Do you not see that the world is a more dangerous place? I saw four of your soldiers lying dead on ... television the other day ...." (White House transcript)
  
  "Listen, nobody cares more about the death than I do ...," Bush retorted.
  
  And so it went for what, for Bush and his aides, turned out to be an excruciating 15 minutes. "Bush and his media handlers" were "furious" at Coleman, the first Irish reporter in 20 years to land a White House interview with a U.S. president. They bemoaned what they felt had been her "lack of respect." (Times; subscription required)
  
  As a result, "journalists traveling with ... Bush ... in Europe noted," the White House canceled an interview First Lady Laura Bush had been scheduled to do with Radio Television Eire after arriving in Ireland with her husband. (EU Business)

Penske cite.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by sgtclub
How do you square the fact that Clinton significantly reduced the size of the military (i.e., number of soldiers), while still harping that we need more troops to do the job right?

That's a good question, although since no one else is proposing that the number of soldiers in the military be increased much, the hint that there's something partisan about it is off-base. There are some things that we might conceivably want to do with our military for which we do not have enough men. For example: occupy Afghanistan,* occupy Iraq, go to war with China to protect Taiwan, etc. The answer in those situations is to go in with allies willing to support us with troops, and to recognize that there are real-world constraints on our power.

* The population of which is greater than that of Iraq.