Posting Towards Gomorrah

[sebastian_dangerfield]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Do you have even 1% belief that you can figure out what Kerry meant (on any subject) based on what he said?


Seriously, what do you think his point was? That the military is largely comprised, at least in the bottom ranks, of people who failed in the education system? (Or, viewed differently, of people who come from the poorest areas of the country, most under-served by the public education system?)*


How dare he suggest such a thing!?!


*For the record: This is all I can glean from the R rantings about this non-issue. I haven't seen what Kerry said and don't much care.

Nor does the voting public. Nobody's saying "John Kerry says the troops are dumb. I was willing to vote Dem because of the economy, the disgusting spending in DC and the Iraq mess, but when one marginalized member of the Dems calls the troops dumb, well, that just sours the whole thing for me. Now, I'm either voting GOP or staying home."

This is more a non-isssue than that silly Foley freakshow.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Tyrone Slothrop
I said that Kerry didn't mean the comments the way the GOP is claiming. You posted a link from FOX News -- oh, the irony -- quoting Harold Ford to show just how wrong I was. You were suggesting that since another Democrat was criticizing Kerry, he must have meant it. My point is that since Ford is running for Senate in a red state by trying to play off both sides -- what Dick Morris and Bill Clinton called, in a different context, triangulation -- his comments on the subject are about as probative as George W. Bush's.

oh. I meant that it seemed to me Dem candidates can end whatever Rove et al hopes will come of this, by simply saying the obvious- what Kerry said was dumb.

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
LA airport, 2002. 2 dead, six shot. It's why you don't hear Bush saying no terrorist attacks on his watch.*

And a few school schootings, but the shooters were American so it doesn't count, right.


*Other than the ones he blames on Clinton.

on Sept 12. 2001 if someone had said we can get you to 11/1/06 with 2 dead from Islamic terrorism in the US, you wouldn't have signed on?

And the 2 dead were Israeli, and really were part of that end of the fight- just in the US.

And anthrax was an internal guy, not Islamic, or we would have seen more of it.

[SlaveNoMore]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
About whether we'll have enough money to feed our gutless consumption machine society, it's probably a good idea to consider what some actually amazing people say every now and again... I just read this quote from Nelson Mandela regarding P.W. Botha, a staunch Apartheid proponent who'd been Mandela's jailer for over a decade:

"While to many Mr Botha will remain a symbol of apartheid, we also remember him for the steps he took to pave the way towards the eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in our country."

We're really a pack of insignificant boors, aren't we?

Was this before or after Winnie had all those political rivals set on fire?

[Hank Chinaski]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Do you have even 1% belief that you can figure out what Kerry meant (on any subject) based on what he said?

I'd link to the tape of it, but it's on LGF and Ty gets allergic to LGF. If you see it, there is no question what he is saying "You better study or your ass could end up in Iraq."

[SlaveNoMore]

Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
Here' a softball for the Rs:

Do you guys have anything positive you can say about what you've done the last six years?

No domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11.

Next question...

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by Sidd Finch
Given the economic background of the average military recruit, I would question whether they are at the level of the average HS graduate -- and that is a pretty low bar (again, ask Spanky for details).

That's actually not the case for the volunteer military -- as least not until the past 3-4 years when they have had to substantially lower their standards to meet recruiting goals.

Interestingly enough, and for similar reasons, the Army has also significantly raised its age limits for new recruits (up to 41, I think) -- although they won't put the old folks in combat units. This offers a wonderful opportunity for the many frustrated patriots on this Board and elsewhere to let actions speak louder than words.l

In the period I'm most familiar with -- the early to mid 1990s -- the educational background and proficiency of the "average" recruit exceeded that of the population as a whole. i.e. HS diploma was mandatory, a notable percentage had at least some college courses, and the Army offered substantial additional training and education (with some remedial aspect) in the specialized training for each MOS (Military Occupational Speciality) that every enlisted soldier attends immediately after basic training. The last part, at least, is still true. I believe the HS diploma is no longer mandatory.

S_A_M

P.S. There is an article on the whole Kerry hubbub on CNN.com which does include the report that Kerry misspoke and flubbed the line while he was trying to crack on Bush:

He was scripted to tell the students (paraphrase) that it was important to work and study hard because if you don't study hard, if you're intellectually lazy and not smart, you end up GETTING US stuck in a place like Iraq.

Bad mistake to make.

[SlaveNoMore]

Hank Chinaski
I'd link to the tape of it, but it's on LGF and Ty get allergic to LGF. If you see, there is not question what he is saying "You better study or your ass could end up in Iraq."

I'm clearly on ignore, since I alluded to this early yesterday and no one responded.

Kerry's vitriolic response to the calls to apologize are actually work. He's clearly trying to claim the mantle of "Lead Raving Dem Lunatic" from Dean and Gore.

[Gattigap]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
on Sept 12. 2001 if someone had said we can get you to 11/1/06 with 2 dead from Islamic terrorism in the US, you wouldn't have signed on.

And the 2 dead were Israeli, and really were part of that end of the fight- just in the US.

And anthrax was an internal guy, not Islamic, or we would have seen more of it.

Look out, everyone. If the correctly-spelled words aren't enough of a tip, note that it's Business Hank-The Original as the avatar today.

Someone is ready to prosecute patents and take names.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
oh. I meant that it seemed to me Dem candidates can end whatever Rove et al hopes will come of this, by simply saying the obvious- what Kerry said was dumb.

What Rove wants is a story that will get Democrats talking about John Kerry being an idiot, etc., rather than whatever else they wanted to talk about. He wants to suck the oxygen out of whatever they're burning, and he wants to create some sense of momentum.* The story itself is not convincing anyone of anything. So Democrats like Ford distancing themselves from Kerry is just keeping this story aflame and moving.

All the Republicans who are talking up this story are just wishing it could be '04 again. If they close their eyes really hard and think happy thoughts, they can be running against John Kerry one more time.


* I apologize for the mixed metaphors.

[Secret_Agent_Man]

Originally posted by sebastian_dangerfield
About whether we'll have enough money to feed our gutless consumption machine society, it's probably a good idea to consider what some actually amazing people say every now and again... I just read this quote from Nelson Mandela regarding P.W. Botha, a staunch Apartheid proponent who'd been Mandela's jailer for over a decade:

"While to many Mr Botha will remain a symbol of apartheid, we also remember him for the steps he took to pave the way towards the eventual peacefully negotiated settlement in our country."

We're really a pack of insignificant boors, aren't we?

It is useful for us all to look occasionally at most other nations, and even at most other people in this nation, to realize how lucky we are.

I remember a huge fight a few years back in which I was defending Mandela as a great man while someone (perhaps Hank's old SEF sock?) was decrying him as essentially a narrow-minded, evil socialist not worthy of any particular respect

S_A_M

[Tyrone Slothrop]

Originally posted by Hank Chinaski
I'd link to the tape of it, but it's on LGF and Ty gets allergic to LGF. If you see it, there is no question what he is saying "You better study or your ass could end up in Iraq."

Chris Mathews and Dick Armey have my proxy:

• One surprise: just heard [Chris Matthews] say flat out that reading the full transcript it's clear that Kerry was insulting the president, not the troops. Dick Armey was on at the time and essentially agreed and laughed about how funny it was that the GOP was feigning mock outrage.

[Greedy,Greedy,Greedy]

Originally posted by SlaveNoMore
No domestic terrorist attacks since 9/11.

Next question...

Nothing to run on other than this statement, which has more asterisks attached to it than a Bonds home run record?

[SlaveNoMore]

Tyrone Slothrop
What Rove wants is a story that will get Democrats talking about John Kerry being an idiot, etc., rather than whatever else they wanted to talk about. He wants to suck the oxygen out of whatever they're burning, and he wants to create some sense of momentum.* The story itself is not convincing anyone of anything. So Democrats like Ford distancing themselves from Kerry is just keeping this story aflame and moving.

All the Republicans who are talking up this story are just wishing it could be '04 again. If they close their eyes really hard and think happy thoughts, they can be running against John Kerry one more time.


* I apologize for the mixed metaphors.

Well, they definitely need to turn public attention away from the deary economy and those exorbitant gas prices.

Oh wait?

If a Dem was President, the robust economy would be the lead story of the NYT and the WaPo for the last 4 months.

[SlaveNoMore]

Greedy,Greedy,Greedy
Nothing to run on other than this statement, which has more asterisks attached to it than a Bonds home run record?

Frankly, given the platform and platitudes of most Democrat nominees, it is more than enough.