“Blasts rock Baghdad” was the front page of the PBP, Fri. 11-24-06. Further inside the paper: “Before dawn Thursday, U.S and Iraqi forces searching for a kidnapped American soldier swept thru ...Sadr City, killing 4 Iraqis, wounding 8, detaining 5...”
That was the 4th raid in 6 days by Coalition Forces. The next to the last paragraph says 3 Marines were killed in Anbar province, raising the U.S death toll so far this month to 92.
Enough. As David Ignatius writes in the Opinion pages: “Like the Saudis (have done), the Iraqis will have to save themselves, working within the authentic poitical framework of their culture, religion and region. The more we try to subsitute our will for theirs, with more American troops or exhortation, the more we enfeeble them.”
The very experienced experts have had their chance. Obama makes more sense. The Chicago Tribune printed his whole statement: The president should announce to the Iraqi people that our policy will include a gradual and substantial reduction in U.S. forces. He should then work with our military commanders to map out the best plan for such a redeployment and determine precise levels and dates. When possible, this should be done in consultation with the Iraqi government--but it should not depend on Iraqi approval. I am not suggesting that this timetable be overly-rigid. We cannot compromise the safety of our troops, and we should be willing to adjust to realities on the ground. The redeployment could be temporarily suspended if the parties in Iraq reach an effective political arrangement that stabilizes the situation and they offer us a clear and compelling rationale for maintaining certain troop levels. Moreover, it could be suspended if at any point U.S. commanders believe that a further reduction would put American troops in danger.
Barack Obama, in a speech Monday to the Chicago Council on Global Affairs
A letter to the editor of the Palm Beach Post, on 11-17, said: “Today, if the president were elected by popular vote, the only states electing the president would be those on the East and West coast because they have the largest populations.”
But Kerry won California and New York in 2004. Bush voters in those states had to hand over their Electors to Kerry. Likewise Kerry voters in TX and FL had to give theirs to Bush Electors.
Sorta like if, at the end of each inning in baseball, whichever team had the most runs, got to add the runs of the other team into its own score.
With a Constitutional Amendment to elect the President by popular vote, each run by each voter in whatever state, would count toward the total score of their canditate. Whichever canditate won the most votes nationwide would win.
The wisdom of the Founding Fathers’ day, dictated bleeding as the treatment for George Washington’s sore throat. He stuck to it for several days, and died.
Robert P. King in The Palm Beach Post, 11-14-o6: Cuts in the budgets of U.S. Wildlife Refuges "are a response
to President Bush's warnings that programs unrelated to national security should expect flat or declining
budgets..." So 88 of 748 refuge jobs will be eliminated in the 10-state SE region, a drop of $736,000
from last year.
A few weeks back, we read of prison jobs being cut by the same Congress, which has made the jobs of
the guards remaining, more dangerous.
And even though the fiscal year began Oct. 1, this Republican majority congress has not passed the budget?
The back page of the Business section in the PalmBeachPost, 11-7-06, tells of marijuana being delivered by package delivery services in NY. "The phenomenon isn't new. It has long been the case around the country that those with enough money and the right connections could get cocaine or other drugs discreetly delivered to their homes and places of business".
So why isn't Marijuana legalized and taxed like cigarettes so we all benefit? The article by Tom Hays continues: "Authorities conceded the home delivery trade will probably survive because of the high demand for marijuana and the low penalties for dealing it."
The City of St. Lucie has found 166 "grow houses" so far. The last one could have killed someone, with its illegal connection to the power source. Will taxpayers have to pay to prosecute and jail all those offenders? Then more immigrants will have to come into the U.S from Mexico and South and Central America to replace them? And more children will be shot because their parents are fighting "turf wars"? We've put out faith in "Drug Czars" long enough. The people are supposed to rule, not some Caesar-imitators. Thank you
My web mail to Senator Bill Nelson of FL:
This "nation under God" says no Medicaid for babies born to immigrants until their parents fill out the proper forms? And do they have to wait until they have those papers to get medical care for their infants?
It sounds like we're saying "no room at the inn, so go out to the barn to have Jesus (I haven't figured out how to put accent marks in)? Thinking it over, my father in law, who recently died at 92, was such an "anchor baby", as were my mom and her 9 siblings, my dad also. Any in your family?
If the U.S is going to do things like this, plus lower Medicare payments, plus make our wounded soldiers wait months for treatment, please remove "under God" from the Pledge. And eliminate those House and Senate Chaplain programs,
and no more prayers before every governmental function.
The DVD, "The Goebbels Experiment" does have subtitles, lots of film footage from the 30's and 40's, and
Kenneth Branaugh's narration turns into Goebbels.
In answer to Kathleen Parker's column in the PalmBeachPost, 11-1-06
Bush doesn't sound paranoid to you, mission from God, mentally ill?
One of those annoying holes at the bottom of the newspaper was in "offense", so I had to check
twice. Shouldn't that be "defense"? Bush just being afraid of Saddam gives him the right to
bomb Bagdad. So if Kim jong Il truly believes going to bomb him,
he has the right to attack us?
"If we leave, they will follow us here". Who will? The Sunnis, the Shia? Won't they be
fighting for control of their own country? The "extremists" in Iraq are attacking each
other! As Bill Maher said, isn't that good for us? Didn't Ollie rejoice at the Ayatollah
and Saddam fighting each other for 8 years, both buying weapons from us?
Our Immigration Dept, under control of General Myers' niece, still can't tell the difference
between someone who looks like the 19 terrorist, and an overweight, retired tourist?
"It is worth recalling that even the possibility of Hussein's having WMD was unacceptable
at that time". To you, KP, maybe. Not to those of us who believed Hans Blix.
Iraq had "an alliance of reasonable people" to run Iraq, and Bremer dismissed them!
And just when are these helpful conversations with Iran and Syria going to start?
"...we tried everything else first." You believe Bush, and not Paul O'Neill, David Kay, etc.?
Bush, hearing about the first attack on 9-11, said "It's a fluke, right", to Condy who
had called him, after her secretary called her to the televison (Oprah magazine)
And he sits for 7 minutes after learning of the second attack, looking totally confused.
And where is Osama and Al Qaeda? If they are the masterminds, shouldn't we been seeing
their photos everywhere, with any possible changes in appearance? Why is Bush not
interested at all, in finding them? They're not "the extremists"? The people of Iraq are?
You still haven't read "Inside Job", by Jim Marrs'? Or looked at the hole in the Pentagon
shown only on "Loose Change" on google. Try finding that photo anywhere else in the
"land of the free".
"That our continued liberty ultimately depends on liberty elsewhere" seems unarguable to
you? Gee, having slaves didn't seem to interfere with any white American's liberty. China
taking over Tibet didn't bother us at all. We even helped Pinochet overturn an elected
President in Chile on Tuesday, Sept. 11, 1973.
And the obit of Battista's wife said he was ready to resign and leave when
Castro was obviously winning, but we wouldn't stand for that?
On the DVD, "the Goebbels Experiment", he says National Socialism is the new religion.
"fear of extremists" is Bush/Cheney's new religion, and it sounds like you're a convert.
I'm with Leonard Pitts on the Orwell comparison.
