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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Apr 13, 2009 - 08:40pm PT
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While sitting in on a children's reading class Bush was told "The country is under attack".
The moron sat there for SEVEN MINUTES continuing to read to the children until he was AGAIN told "The country is under attack".
What an incredible moron.
What incredible morons who voted for him
What incredible morons who voted for Caribou Barbie.
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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Apr 13, 2009 - 08:56pm PT
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Americans More Optimistic; Still Hate GOP
The latest New York Times poll is loaded with good news for the Obama administration and news that would be devastating for the GOP if it were ever able to penetrate the conservative-media echo chamber. While the public is still pretty pessimistic about the future, it's considerably less so than it was before Barack Obama took office. Thirty-nine percent of respondents in the Times poll think the country is going in the right direction and 53 percent say the wrong direction, a substantial improvement from January, when the numbers were 15 and 79, respectively. Similarly, 20 percent of those polled think the economy is getting better and 34 percent worse, versus 7 and 54 in January.
But it's the political numbers that are truly striking. Obama has a 66 percent approval rating, which is the highest this poll has recorded, while the GOP's favorability is at 31 percent, the lowest the poll has recorded in 25 years of asking the question. Arguably more remarkable still is that, asked whether Obama or the GOP Congress would be more likely to make "the right decisions about the nation's economy," respondents broke for Obama 63 percent to 20 percent. That means that even within the 31 percent rump that holds a positive view of the GOP, at least a third trust Obama's instincts on the economy equally or more. And why shouldn't they? Despite Rush Limbaugh's best efforts just 2 percent of respondents blame Obama for the state of the economy, compared to 33 percent who blame George W. Bush. (Wall Street and Congress come in for 21 and 11 percent, respectively.)
The Democratic Party, while not as popular as its leader, is still pretty popular, with 56 percent favorability. Moreover, 19 percent fewer respondents think the Democrats are too heavily influenced by "big business" than feel the Republicans are, and the Dems have a massive 35-point edge on the question of "which party is more concerned with the needs and problems of people like yourself." The poll also gives the Dems a 16-point edge in respondent self-identification, up from 10 points in February, and just a tick off the inaugural high of 18 points. (Without sifting through the figures too obsessively, this looks like the largest edge since 1992.)
There's more along these lines on taxes (74 percent of respondents think raising them on those earning over $250K is a "good idea"), health care (57 percent say they're willing to pay higher taxes themselves for universal coverage), foreign policy, and the like. The usual caveats all apply, of course--it's just one poll (though others seem to generally conform), public sentiment is volatile, etc., etc. Still, I encourage anyone interested to give the whole poll a look.
--Christopher Orr
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 06:46am PT
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oh right, it was "an inside job"...explain how, please...how could the "moron" plan and execute such a highly complex attack FROM THE INSIDE without leaving any evidence? how could the "moron" plan and execute such a highly complex attack that REQUIRED the cooperation of hundreds without a leak or a whistleblower?
"Why aren't there terrorists setting wildfires all over the west? 1 guy with a book of matches could do incredible damage."
ah, yes, the new face of the terrorist...oops, i mean, "man-caused disaster causers"...i guess you're right; we aren't any safer as evidenced by all the wild fires and house fires and car fires that have struck terror in the hearts of americans over the last 7 years
"Because the terrorist threat has been blown WAY out of proportion. They got very lucky using our own planes against us in a suicide attack that can't happen again."
Terrorist Acts Suspected of or Inspired by al-Qaeda
1993 (Feb.): Bombing of World Trade Center (WTC); 6 killed.
1993 (Oct.): Killing of U.S. soldiers in Somalia.
1996 (June): Truck bombing at Khobar Towers barracks in Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, killed 19 Americans.
1998 (Aug.): Bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania; 224 killed, including 12 Americans.
1999 (Dec.): Plot to bomb millennium celebrations in Seattle foiled when customs agents arrest an Algerian smuggling explosives into the U.S.
2000 (Oct.): Bombing of the USS Cole in port in Yemen; 17 U.S. sailors killed.
2001 (Sept.): Destruction of WTC; attack on Pentagon. Total dead 2,992.
2001 (Dec.): Man tried to denote shoe bomb on flight from Paris to Miami.
2002 (April): Explosion at historic synagogue in Tunisia left 21 dead, including 11 German tourists.
2002 (May): Car exploded outside hotel in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 14, including 11 French citizens.
2002 (June): Bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12.
2002 (Oct.): Boat crashed into oil tanker off Yemen coast, killing 1.
2002 (Oct.): Nightclub bombings in Bali, Indonesia, killed 202, mostly Australian citizens.
2002 (Nov.): Suicide attack on a hotel in Mombasa, Kenya, killed 16.
2003 (May): Suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2003 (May): 4 bombs killed 33 people targeting Jewish, Spanish, and Belgian sites in Casablanca, Morocco.
2003 (Aug.): Suicide car-bomb killed 12, injured 150 at Marriott Hotel in Jakarta, Indonesia.
2003 (Nov.): Explosions rocked a Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, housing compound, killing 17.
2003 (Nov.): Suicide car-bombers simultaneously attacked 2 synagogues in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 25 and injuring hundreds.
2003 (Nov.): Truck bombs detonated at London bank and British consulate in Istanbul, Turkey, killing 26.
2004 (March): 10 bombs on 4 trains exploded almost simultaneously during the morning rush hour in Madrid, Spain, killing 191 and injuring more than 1,500.
2004 (May): Terrorists attacked Saudi oil company offices in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, killing 22.
2004 (June): Terrorists kidnapped and executed American Paul Johnson, Jr., in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
2004 (Sept.): Car bomb outside the Australian embassy in Jakarta, Indonesia, killed 9.
2004 (Dec.): Terrorists entered the U.S. Consulate in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, killing 9 (including 4 attackers).
2005 (July): Bombs exploded on 3 trains and a bus in London, England, killing 52.
2005 (Oct.): 22 killed by 3 suicide bombs in Bali, Indonesia.
2005 (Nov.): 57 killed at 3 American hotels in Amman, Jordan.
2006 (Jan.): Two suicide bombers carrying police badges blow themselves up near a celebration at the Police Academy in Baghdad, killing nearly 20 police officers. Al-Qaeda in Iraq takes responsibility.
2006 (Aug.): Police arrest 24 British-born Muslims, most of whom have ties to Pakistan, who had allegedly plotted to blow up as many as 10 planes using liquid explosives. Officials say details of the plan were similar to other schemes devised by al-Qaeda.
2007 (April): Suicide bombers attack a government building in Algeria's capital, Algiers, killing 35 and wounding hundreds more. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb claims responsibility.
2007 (April): Eight people, including two Iraqi legislators, die when a suicide bomber strikes inside the Parliament building in Baghdad. An organization that includes al-Qaeda in Mesopotamia claims responsibility. In another attack, the Sarafiya Bridge that spans the Tigris River is destroyed.
2007 (June): British police find car bombs in two vehicles in London. The attackers reportedly tried to detonate the bombs using cell phones but failed. Government officials say al-Qaeda is linked to the attempted attack. The following day, an SUV carrying bombs bursts into flames after it slams into an entrance to Glasgow Airport. Officials say the attacks are connected.
2007 (December): As many as 60 people are killed in two suicide attacks near United Nations offices and government buildings in Algiers, Algeria. The bombings occur within minutes of each other. Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, formerly called the Salafist Group for Preaching, claims responsibility. It's the worst attack in the Algeria in more than 10 years.
2008 (January): In the worst attack in Iraq in months, a suicide bomber kills 30 people at a home where mourners were paying their respects to the family of a man killed in a car bomb. The Iraqi military blames the attack on al-Qaeda in Iraq.
2008 (February): Nearly 100 people die when two women suicide bombers, who are believed to be mentally impaired, attack crowded pet markets in eastern Baghdad. The U.S. military says al-Qaeda in Iraq has been recruiting female patients at psychiatric hospitals to become suicide bombers.
2008 (April): A suicide bomber attacks the funeral for two nephews of a prominent Sunni tribal leader, Sheik Kareem Kamil al-Azawi, killing 30 people in Iraq's Diyala Province.
2008 (April): A suicide car bomber kills 40 people in Baquba, the capital of Diyala Province in Iraq.
2008 (April): Thirty-five people die and 62 are injured when a woman detonates explosives that she was carrying under her dress in a busy shopping district in Iraq’s Diyala Province.
2008 (May): At least 12 worshipers are killed and 44 more injured when a bomb explodes in the Bin Salman mosque near Sana, Yemen.
2008 (May): An al-Qaeda suicide bomber detonates explosives in Hit, a city in the Anbar Province of Iraq, killing six policemen and four civilians, and injuring 12 other people.
2008 (June): A female suicide bomber kills 15 and wounds 40 others, including seven Iraqi policemen, near a courthouse in Baquba, Iraq.
2008 (June): A suicide bomber kills at least 20 people at a meeting between sheiks and Americans in Karmah, a town west of Baghdad.
2008 (August): About two dozens worshippers are killed in three separate attacks as they make their way toward Karbala to celebrate the birthday of 9th-century imam Muhammad al-Mahdi. Iraqi officials blame al-Qaeda in Iraq for the attacks.
2008 (August): A bomb left on the street explodes and tears through a bus carrying Lebanese troops, killing 15 people, nine of them soldiers. No one claims responsibility for the attack, but in 2007, the army fought an al-Qaeda linked Islamist group in Tripoli.
2008 (August): At least 43 people are killed when a suicide bomber drives an explosives-laden car into a police academy in Issers, a town in northern Algeria.
2008 (August): Two car bombs explode at a military command and a hotel in Bouira, killing a dozen people. No group takes responsibility for either attack, Algerian officials said they suspect al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb is behind the bombings.
2008 (September): In its first acknowledged ground attack inside Pakistan, U.S. commandos raid a village that is home to al-Qaeda militants in the tribal region near the border with Afghanistan. The number of casualties is unclear.
2008 (September): A car bomb and a rocket strike the U.S. embassy in Yemen as staff arrived to work, killing 16 people, including 4 civilians. At least 25 suspected al-Qaeda militants are arrested for the attack.
2008 (November): at least 28 people die and over 60 more are injured when three bombs explode minutes apart in Baghdad, Iraq. Officials suspect the explosions are linked to al-Qaeda.
yes, just call obl "lucky"; just look at the streak of good luck he's had...except in america, the unluckiest place in the world
"W could have stopped 911
Thats a fact"
how could a "moron" accomplish in 8 months in office what the first boy genius couldn't accomplish in 8 years in office? by the way, have you shared this information with barry? apparently your definition of "moron" is waaaay different than barry's; if you explained to him what a moron is, he'd probably stop making fun of the special olympics (right, probably not)
"He dealt with 911 like a coward and a traitor
Thats a fact"
facts need to be validated by...well...facts...got any?
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UncleDoug
climber
No. Lake Tahoe, CA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 08:35am PT
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Bookworm,
So if we take your argument as "truth" what do you suggest "we" do?
Stay on the track Bush started us on or some other route?
What do you think is the causation for these attacks being perpetrated and/or planned?
I think everyone can agree that attacks have happened, (obvious), and are still being planned.
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 10:53am PT
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i do, and commend obama for "staying on the track W started us on"
1) so-called "domestic surveillance" remains in place
2) gitmo ain't going anywhere anytime soon
3) rendition continues
4) no habeas corpus for our "overseas contingency operations" special guests
5) using the full might of the american military to protect american citizens from terrorists...oops, i meant pirates
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 12:30pm PT
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"I'm not advocating any conspirancy theory."
"If you look in to more, it seems that it was more than just allowed, but even set up to make it easier for the terrorists to complete their mission"
i'm not saying obama has completely reversed himself on W's national security policies...especially the most controversial ones
obama has completely reversed himself on W's national security policies...especially the most controversial ones
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 14, 2009 - 01:31pm PT
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"Rome was not built in a day." Nor was the "city on the hill" that the Pilgrims had a thing about.
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the Fet
Supercaliyosemistic climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Apr 14, 2009 - 03:13pm PT
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bookworm, your cut and paste job still didn't address that the risk of terrorism is less than being killed by lightning.
It must suck to be afraid of something that has so little risk. But I guess that's why the call them terrorists. They terrorize the gullible.
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 04:34pm PT
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perhaps so few people are killed by lightning because so many take precautions against it
but if you think the terrorism threat is overrated, then 1) why aren't you railing against obama's continuation of key Bush security policies like "domestic surveillance", rendition, no civil rights for our guests in gitmo, etc.? 2) when will you begin protesting the fascist tsa security checks at the airport? 3) when will you start pressuring your representative and senators to close gitmo immediately and give all detainees full trials in YOUR local courthouse? 4) why don't you call for the dismantling of dhs--why do we need a whole cabinet department to oversee a lie?
by the way, dr. f, why would rush and hannity go to jail? do you oppose free speech?
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 04:45pm PT
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from the recently released report from obama's sec of homeland security:
"The possible passage of new restrictions on firearms and the return of military veterans facing significant challenges reintegrating into their communities could lead to the potential emergence of terrorist groups or lone wolf extremists capable of carrying out violent attacks."
this is the woman who, in her first report to congress, never once referred to terrorism/terrorists (which i'm sure makes dr. f and fet happy) but insteand used the term "man-caused disasters"
but here, in an official report, specifically refers to "military veterans"--you know, the guys over there fighting the TERRORISTS and keeping us safe from TERRORISM--as "potential...TERRORISTS"
so orwell was right, just 25 years too early
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 04:46pm PT
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we're all entitled to our own opinions, dr. f, but not our own facts
give me some facts to validate your accusations against rush and hannity
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the Fet
Supercaliyosemistic climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:02pm PT
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1) I am, and they should and seem to be returning to American values asap.
2) I complain everytime I have to take my shoes off. What a stupid frickin waste of time. I moron tries a shoe bomb that didn't work and now everbody needs to remove their shoes. Stupid.
3) you can't close the mess that is gitmo immediately, and Obama seems to be working on it. The accused should get rights to a fair (military or a newly create type of)trial. There have been many innocent people locked up there, and that's what rights are most about - protecting the innocent. And we should still treat terrorist with more fairness and justice than they are willing to show us.
Sacrificing our ideals, justice, and privacy is unAmerican and unnecessary. Those are actions of the weak minded and fearful. America is strong enough to defeat anyone without resorting to evil actions.
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the Fet
Supercaliyosemistic climber
Tu-Tok-A-Nu-La
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:06pm PT
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'never once referred to terrorism/terrorists (which i'm sure makes dr. f and fet happy)"
Bookworm, are you really so simplistic to think that I'm a liberal? Nevermind, don't answer that, I know you are.
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Mighty Hiker
Social climber
Vancouver, B.C.
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:07pm PT
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You can hardly object to resources being used to reintegrate veterans into communities, and provide services to them. The US has learned the hard way that not doing so has higher costs.
The US military loves to do studies - the whole industrial warfare thing. After World War II, they did some studies to try to determine why the US army was less effective, man for man, than the German. There were a variety of causes - better training, much better junior officers, large professional army, superior equipment. (The US outproduced Germany, with generally inferior equipment.) One thing they found that was only about 10% of front line infantry troops admitted to deliberately shooting at enemy soldiers. Their social conditioning was too strong to allow them to do so.
Naturally the US army managers made use of this information. They developed programs to desocialize as many recruits as they could, and break down their conditioning, so that they'd shoot to kill. They forgot to develop programs to un-de-socialize these people after they returned to civilian life. That's one of the reasons why so many Vietnam veterans ended up with PTSD and related problems, although combat experience tends to leave scars on everyone.
Since Vietnam, and the Gulf War, the military knows it has to help veterans readjust. Otherwise, the number of angry if not asocial veterans is high, and the chances of their coming to grief, and causing others to come to grief, are high. The Oklahoma City bombing being just one example of what can happen.
Helping veterans re-adjust, and being aware that some of them have been temporarily or permanently f*#ked up by their training and experience, does not dishonour them.
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:09pm PT
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like three hot meals prepared by a chef and strictly following islamic rules? hot showers and warm beds? free korans? undisturbed time to pray? exercise?
tell you what, fet, how about if i willingly allow myself to be locked up in gitmo and receive the exact same treatment as the detainees (dr.f can be your observer to verify) and you take a climbing trip to waziristan...i'll stay in gitmo for as long as you want to climb...or until you get your head chopped off, whichever comes first
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bookworm
Social climber
Falls Church, VA
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:10pm PT
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i don't know what you are, fet, i just respond to your posts:
"It must suck to be afraid of something that has so little risk. But I guess that's why the call them terrorists. They terrorize the gullible."
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Norton
Social climber
the Wastelands
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:29pm PT
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Bookworm, have you given more thought to the changes your party has to make to expand your core voting base in order to compete again someday in national elections?
A month or so ago I asked you about this.
Do you have any new ideas to make more people vote Republican?
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dirtbag
climber
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:31pm PT
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Besides coming up with a new way to scare people?
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apogee
climber
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:38pm PT
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{crickets}
Weeelllll, don't feel too bad about not having any ideas, booky-ol-pal, 'cause you've got lots of company...the entire GOP is just as clueless as you are (in regards to ideas, that is).
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Bob D'A
Trad climber
Boulder, CO
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Apr 14, 2009 - 05:42pm PT
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Norton...bookwornout can't answer that. The public isn't buying the Republican's brand of crap anymore. Their base continues to shrink at a rapid rate and they continue to use tactics that made people leave the party.
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