The Obama admnistration is high on CAFE standards. But research has suggested that making calls smaller, a requirement to meet these rushed mileage standards, will kill more Americans than the Iraq War.
The National Academy of Sciences has linked mileage standards with about 2,000 deaths per year. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration estimates that every 100-pound reduction in the weight of small cars increases annual traffic fatalities by as much as 715. In contrast in the more than six years since the Iraq war began, there have been 4,296 deaths among American military personnel.
The AP reports: “The war-zone photo opportunity produced a stunning show of appreciation for Obama from military men and women who have made great sacrifices, many serving repeated tours in a highly unpopular war.”
Stunning is an appropriate word since it appears that the scene was staged like a Broadway play. A sergeant at the event said “We were pre-screened, asked by officials ‘Who voted for Obama?’, and then those who raised their hands were shuffled to the front of the receiving line. They even handed out digital cameras and asked them to hold them up.”
Would Obama do such a thing? Since he is all about flash over substance I say hell yes he would.Were soldiers pre-screened? Were Obama voters placed at the front of the crowd? Is there fire for this smoke? Will the press cover it? I doubt it, but something similar occurred under the Evil Bushbot and it was covered even by the evil Faux News. And, as reported by Flopping Aces the Bush scandal was not a scandal at all, yet it was covered ad nauseum. To quote from this article, “Now there is evidence that Obama perpetrated an actual fraud right under the watching eyes of the press, handpicking Obama voters to represent on television the views of our soldiers, and the press reports nothing but the fraudulent story.”
Let’s hear it for transparency. Go ahead, keep the change.
[originally posted 09/10/07. What's old is new again.]
The very first paragraph in the “About” section at the DailyKOS says that the site was created “in those dark days when an oppressive and war-crazed administration suppressed all dissent as unpatriotic and treasonous. As a veteran, Moulitsas [site founder] was offended that the freedoms he pledged his life for were so carelessly being tossed aside by the reckless and destructive Republican administration.”
Let me point out two key objections of the founder:
- the “administration suppressed all dissent”
- He was “offended that the freedoms he pledged his life for were so carelessly being tossed aside…”
This would lead one to believe that the Daily KOS was a site motivated to seek the truth, promote discussion, welcome debate and strive to be everything that an ‘oppressive administration’ was not.
Survey says: WRONG
As a grown-up that enjoys sharing my opinion and engaging in debate with dissimilar opinions I thought it would be enlightening to create an account at the Daily KOS. I posted for a couple of weeks and tried to remain polite yet direct with my comments. Usually I was called crazy or clueless. Sometimes a member would counter with their own facts in a rational manner. The Internet at it’s finest.
Then I was ‘outed’ by ZappoDave. <insert dramatic music stab>
Apparently my comments supporting our troops pissed some of the loonies off. I suggested that the war could have been over years ago if soldiers were allowed to engage the enemy as they were trained as opposed to being handcuffed by the ridiculous rules of engagement that they are forced to follow today. I received three comments: an f-word laced emotional outburst plus two other less vicious yet still curse-including responses. I countered with “Curses and insults are the best you can come up with? My post and facts still stand.”
I came back a couple of days later to find that my commenting privileges had been revoked. Oh yeah… the three asinine comments and my pimp slap of the three were removed from the site. I drew out a few of the losers and they got erased along with me. Just like a good homicide bomber…
I also saw that there were several comments re: my outing. What do I mean by outing? ZappoDave had a stroke of investigative genius and checked out my member profile. He posted his ‘scoop’ in the comments section. He found my blog. <insert another musically tense stab> Note to Zappo… if I didn’t want people to know that I had my own conservative blog I wouldn’t have put the link in my KOS profile you bonehead! Yet users chimed in with “nice catch” and “this guy is a fucking troll.”
If voicing an opinion other than the liberal party line makes me a troll, color me guilty. I guess when you have nothing but your heart to argue with you can’t let things like facts our counterpoint get in the way of a good temper tantrum against the Neo-cons, right?
The site also is proud of the fact that “tens of thousands of regular Americans have used Daily Kos to lend their voice to a political world once the domain of the rich, connected, and powerful.” Um… the political world is still the domain of the rich, connected and powerful. I can only surmise that opinions like mine exclude me from the category of ‘regular Americans’ as defined by the left.
In other words, my dissent needed to be suppressed. My freedom was carelessly tossed aside.
What good is a message board if it contains nothing but redundant “atta boys” and “down with the man” posts? Where’s the intellectual stimulation? What possible value is gained by marching lock-step with a crowd of lemmings? If you truly believe what you say, if you have a rational defense for your opinions, wouldn’t you enjoy the opportunity to try and educate a non-believer? Wouldn’t you try to expose your political opposite as a fraud? I guess that’s not an option at the Daily KOS. You either tow the lefty line or you get muzzled.
We’ll see if my account regains its former privileges. (update 10/5/07: no privileges still… to disagree is to be shunned) When it does I’ll be glad to remove my Markos ‘Kos’ Moulitsas/Hitler ‘art.’ I would like to continue posting at the Daily KOS in the hope that I can foster discussion and maybe expose just some of the illogical musings of the uneducated. I’m not on a friggin’ Crusade, I’m just trying to insert a dose of perspective.
“There’s a reason the problems we face today are so much bigger than they were several years ago,” Obama said. “A big part of it is that George Bush and John McCain have been so focused on pursuing a flawed and costly war in Iraq that they’ve lost sight of our mounting problems here at home. Instead of working to fix our economy and lift up hardworking families, they’ve fought to extend a war that’s costing thousands of lives and billions of dollars without making us any safer — a war that has strengthened our enemies and distracted us from the real battle with Usama bin Ladin in Afghanistan and Pakistan.” (emphasis mine: source)
Barack Obama said this yesterday (June 1, 2008). Despite facts that prove him undeniably wrong he still marches forward to the same leftist mantras (“unjust war”, “not any safer” et al). Sadly many Americans fall victim to his charm and fail to recognize the snake oil he is selling. Let’s break this down:
“Pursuing a flawed and costly war”: True, this war has been expensive, and yes mistakes have been made. However, there is a much bigger picture that short-sighted liberals fail to see. More Democrats voted in favor of the Authorization for Use of Military Force Against Iraq Resolution of 2002 than against it. Obama was not in office during the 2002 vote, but I think we all know how he would have voted. Also, LIberals like to bring up the failure to find WMDs, despite the fact that Hussein used them on his own people in the past). However, they forget to mention that there were many other reasons America entered into this war.
- Iraq’s noncompliance with the conditions of the 1991 cease fire, including interference with weapons inspectors.
- Iraq’s “brutal repression of its civilian population.”
- Iraq’s “capability and willingness to use weapons of mass destruction against other nations and its own people”.
- Iraq’s hostility towards the United States as demonstrated by the alleged 1993 assassination attempt of former President George H. W. Bush, and firing on coalition aircraft enforcing the no-fly zones following the 1991 Gulf War.
- Members of al-Qaeda were “known to be in Iraq.”
- Iraq’s “continu[ing] to aid and harbor other international terrorist organizations,” including anti-United States terrorist organizations.
- The efforts by the Congress and the President to fight terrorists, including the September 11th, 2001 terrorists and those who aided or harbored them.
- The authorization by the Constitution and the Congress for the President to fight anti-United States terrorism.
- Citing the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, the resolution reiterated that it should be the policy of the United States to remove the Saddam Hussein regime and promote a democratic replacement.
lost sight of our mounting problems here at home / working to fix our economy: What exactly does Barack know about problems here at home? He has been campaigning for the last year and a half, has he actually done any work at all? He was voted into office to serve his constituency, yet he is basically giving them all the finger while pursuing his own self interests. And by the way, many of the problems Barack perceives are due to a lack of enough government control of your life. In Barack’s world people are not responsible for their actions, they need Big Government to help them out. Screw that.
without making us any safer: Um, check your facts Barack. This article provides proof that we ARE actually safer. Here’s a summary: Between 1988 and 2003 there were just under 20 attacks on American interests here and abroad. For the past five years (2004-2008 ) there have been no successful attacks inside the United States or against American interests abroad. Let me repeat that:
Starting in 2004
there have been no successful attacks
inside the United States
or against American interests abroad.
In my world that means that we are safer as a country than since the war started. There’s no way to deny that. There’s no spin that can change this indisputable fact. Yet the press refuses to cover it. News channels refuse to cover our actual success in Iraq. It takes editorials to point out the reality of our military success.
The war has strengthened our enemies: Not according to CIA Director Michael V. Hayden. Last week he told the Washington Post that the terrorist movement is essentially defeated in Iraq and Saudi Arabia and on the defensive throughout much of the rest of the world, including in its presumed haven along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. But you won’t here Mr. Obama talking about this. It is in direct contrast to his time-tested lie.
What’s my point? Barack Obama is willfully and repeatedly lying by repeating his mantra. How can an agent of “hope and change” be so dishonest? I guess its easy if you really are just another politician trying to win an election. Change? No chance in hell. Hope? I hope our country can survive if he wins the election.
This post is going to be a little different in tone than most of my family-friendly entries. I am ripping pissed off at Democrats and after you read this you will know why.
Liberals want to end this war at all costs, even if it means endangering more American lives. They can’t de-fund the war nor do they have the skills to negotiate a peaceful ending. In fact, nobody possesses those skills. We are fighting pure evil over there.
Yet Pelosi & Company want to pass a non-binding resolution that brings negative attention to possible the most important ally we have in the war on terror: Turkey. The House leadership does not seem to mind doing damage to our relations with the only democratic and secular Muslim state in the region at a crucial time. Although the intended measure is non-binding, and thus it avoids a presidential veto, that does not make it harmless or intelligent.
The proposed legislation is the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.316). It’s goal? “Calling upon the President to ensure that the foreign policy of the United States reflects appropriate understanding and sensitivity concerning issues related to human rights, ethnic cleansing, and genocide documented in the United States record relating to the Armenian Genocide, and for other purposes.” At least they are being honest…
Yes, Turkey did bad things to Armenians a long time ago. But I ask the House this: What purpose does this legislation serve? Why now? What will the impact of passing it truly be? Why, with the myriad of other important issues that Congress could be working on, are they trying to push through a resolution that will embarrass and alienate a key ally? Oh, that’s right. They are trying to screw the President at any cost.
W
ell Speaker Mimi, your pal Barbara Boxer is fond of saying “elections have consequences.” Well, so do votes. This legislation is the consummate example of liberal failure to be accountable for one’s actions. They are so focused on attacking the president that they are willing to make it easier for our enemies to kill our troops. They are willing to create long term problems that affect all Americans for the short term gain of attacking the president. It’s the same mindset that Republicans displayed when attacking President Clinton. This time, instead of griping about the cover up of a blow job we are talking about the lives of thousands of our soldiers, and the overall stability of the Middle East. It is bad, it is unproductive, and it is very dangerous.
HOW CAN THEY NOT REALIZE THE IMPACT OF THIS LEGISLATION?
Look at the map above. Turkey is the big green blob to the left. Iraq is the big red blob below Turkey. To the north and south ofTurkey are the Black and Mediterranean Sea. This is where you usually find things like waves, fishies and big damned American military ships that could remove any country from the map if so inclined.
Now, here is another map that shows how our military planes have to travel around the region. That little place below the name Turkey on the map is Incirlik, a place that we have an important air base in NATO’s Southern Region. To get supplies (such as improved armor) to our troops without access to Turkey we will have to rely on Syria and Iraq to let us use their airspace. Yeah, right. That’s really gonna happen.
Here is an excellent article on Turkey and the potential impact of this resolution. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has decided to bring to a vote a non-binding resolution declaring the events of 1915 in Eastern Anatolia a “genocide.” Despite its moralistic claims, this is a dangerous—indeed, in the present circumstances, a highly irresponsible—assault on U.S. national interests in Iraq and elsewhere. (source)
Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, Bill Clinton and now George W. Bush all opposed such attempts. The House leadership does not seem to mind doing damage to our relations with the only democratic and secular Muslim state in the region at a crucial time. Although the intended measure is non-binding, and thus it avoids a presidential veto, that does not make it harmless or intelligent. (source)
The administration is trying to kill this legislation before it is too late. President Abdullah Gul of Turkey is telling anyone that will listen that if this is passed it will ireversably change the relationship between Turkey and the US. Here is what the administration is saying:
- “…this resolution is not the right response to these historic mass killings, and its passage would do great harm to relations with a key ally in NATO, and to the war on terror.”
- “The passage of this resolution at this time would be very problematic for everything we are trying to do in the Middle East” Condoleesa Rice
- Turkish president, Abdullah Gul, wrote to Bush to thank him for his efforts opposing the resolution and to draw “attention to the problems it would create in bilateral relations if it is accepted.”
Hello… Congress? Please think about this before you cast a vote. There are serious consequences to this bill. Do you really want to cause more troops to die?
Oh yeah… the “selfish bitch” thing? I’m just quoting Joy Behar and her immature comment about Michelle Malkin. Behar is a has-been comedian but seems to represent the ilk that is the liberal left. So, here’s a taste of your own medicine you clueless bitch.
