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 Greetings! You are reading an article from The Mudville Gazette. To reach the front page, with all the latest news and views, click the logo above or "main" below. Thanks for stopping by! March 8, 2004 Kerry gets Tough on the IssuesBy GreyhawkCommenter "Pete", in this post, asks that we focus a bit less on Ol' Cut'n'Run's Vietnam-era cowardice and more on his feeble grasp of the modern day issues. Well Pete, your hero (I know, you don't love Kerry you just hate Bush) has certainly obliged, by coming out of the rather obvious closet as another pro-dictator Democrat. Kerry Condemns Bush for Failing to Back Aristide Aristide bolted, and we helped him leave. Maybe Ol' Cut'n'Run heard a different version? But if Jean-Bertrand (Tish, that's French! Ooo la-la!) - wants back in, what exactly is stopping Ol' Gutless John from flying him right back to Port-au-Prince tomorrow? Surely he can spare the air fare? All kidding aside, please don't worry Senator (who needs worry lines anyhow?), if the people of Haiti want him back I'm sure they'll get him back. France is there in force, after all. And does anybody know anything about that "withheld aid" line? Google? From the same article: Mr. Kerry is trying a bit of election-season pre-emption of his own, attempting to short-circuit the White House argument that he is too much of a straddler, too indecisive and too captivated by the nuances of foreign policy to defend American interests. Vote Kerry - Tough! Decisive! Nuanced! Boldly leading us beyond the limits of his personal vision! Yet, signaling how he plans to use the questionable intelligence about Iraq to chip away Mr. Bush's credibility, he added that if he committed troops to battle, he would do it with "full disclosure and full vetting of the intelligence to the American people." Yikes - we must assume the American people will be sworn to secrecy? There you go, Pete, Kerry on the issues. And there you have it folks, - the American Democratic party's presidential candidate. Posted by Greyhawk / March 8, 2004 4:11 PM | Permalink 10 Comments |
November 26, 2010America@war [Greyhawk]
I think anyone who's ever pondered the "comment" option - once only available on blogs and bulletin boards, now ubiquitous on almost any web site - will appreciate this:
The so-called faculty of writing is not so much a faculty of writing as it is a faculty of thinking. When a man says, "I have an idea but I can't express it"; that man hasn't an idea but merely a vague feeling. If a man has a feeling of that kind, and will sit down for a half an hour and persistently try to put into writing what he feels, the probabilities are at least 90 percent that he will either be able to record it, or else realize that he has no idea at all. In either case, he will do himself a benefit. That's wisdom from the past, captured for posterity at the US Naval Institute, shared via the web on the institute's 137th anniversary. From their about page:
"The Naval Institute has three core activities," among them, History and Preservation: The Naval Institute also has recently introduced Americans at War, a living history of Americans at war in their own words and from their own experiences. These 90-second vignettes convey powerful stories of inspiration, pride, and patriotism. Take a look at the collection, and you'll see it's not limited to accounts from those who served on ships at sea, members of the other branches are well-represented. I'm fortunate to have met USNI's Mary Ripley, she's responsible for the institute's oral history program (and she's the daughter of the late John Ripley, whose story is told here). She also deserves much credit for their blog. ("We're not the Navy nor any government agency. Blog and comment freely.") We met at a milblog conference - Mary knew (and I would come to realize) that milbloggers are the 21st-century version of exactly what the US Naval Institute is all about. Once that light bulb came on in my head, I mentioned a vague idea for a project to her - milblogs as the 21st century oral history that they are. "Put that in writing," she said (of course - see first paragraph above!) - and here's part of the result. Shortly after the first tent was pitched by the American military in Iraq a wire was connected to a computer therein, and the internet was available to a generation of Americans at war - many of whom had grown up online. From that point on, at any given moment, somewhere in Iraq a Soldier, Sailor, Airman or Marine was at a keyboard sharing the events of his or her day with the folks back home. While most would simply fire off an email, others took advantage of the (then) relatively new online blogging platforms to post their thoughts and experiences for the entire world to see. The milblog was born - and from that moment to this stories detailing everything from the most mundane aspects of camp life to intense combat action (often described within hours of the event) have been available on the web... And et cetera - but since you're reading this on a milblog, you probably knew that. And you know that milblogs aren't just blogs written by troops at war, that many friends, family members, and supporters likewise documented their story of America at war online in near-real time, as those stories developed. The diversity in membership of that group is broad, the one thing we all have in common is the impulse to make sense of the seemingly senseless, and communicate the tale - for each of us that impulse was strong enough to overcome whatever barriers prevent the vast majority of people from doing the same. Everyone at some point has some vague idea they believe should be shared - we were the people who, from some combination of internal and external urging, found and spent those many half hours persistently trying to write it down. But where will all that be in another 137 years? Or five or ten, for that matter. That's something I've asked myself since at least 2004 - when I wrote this:
Membership in the ghost battalion has grown in the years since, and an ever growing majority of those abandoned-but-still-standing sites are vanishing. Have you checked out Lt Smash's site lately? How about Sgt Hook's? If you're a long-time milblog reader you know the first widely-read milblog from Operation Iraq Freedom and the first widely-read milblog from Afghanistan are both gone from the web. If you're a relative newcomer to this world you may never even have heard of them - or the dozens upon dozens of others who carried forth the standard they set down. If you have a vague notion that something should be done about that, (a notion I've heard expressed more than once...) then you and I and the good folks at the US Naval Institute are in agreement. Preserving the history documented by the milbloggers is just one of the goals of the milblog project, the once-vague idea that we're now making real. And it's a big idea, if I say so myself - too big to explain in one simple blog post, so stand by for more. Likewise, it's too big a task to be accomplished by just one person. So if you're a milblogger (and exactly what is a milblogger? is a topic for much further discussion on its own) I'm asking for your help. All I'll really need is just a little bit (maybe just one or two of those half hours...) of your time, and your willingness to tell the tale. We've already made history, it's time to save it. (More to follow...) Posted 4:02 PM | Permalink |
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The Mudville Gazette is the on-line voice of an American warrior and his wife who stands by him. They prefer to see peaceful change render force of arms unnecessary. Until that day they stand fast with those who struggle for freedom, strike for reason, and pray for a better tomorrow.
 
 
 Furthermore, I will occasionally use satire or parody herein. The bottom line: it's my house. I like having visitors to my house. I hope you are entertained. I fight for your right to free speech, and am thrilled when you exercise said rights here. Comments and e-mails are welcome, but all such communication is to be assumed to be 1)the original work of any who initiate said communication and 2)the property of the Mudville Gazette, with free use granted thereto for publication in electronic or written form. If you do NOT wish to have your message posted, write "CONFIDENTIAL" in the subject line of your email. Original content copyright © 2003 - 2011 by Greyhawk. Fair, not-for-profit use of said material by others is encouraged, as long as acknowledgement and credit is given, to include the url of the original source post. Other arrangements can be made as needed. Contact: greyhawk at mudvillegazette dot com  Tending Distant Far from hearth and home, watching What tales we'll tell When things grim Some distant sunset, vision fading Saluting fallen friends whose names - Greyhawk, Baghdad, December 2004 |
I would say that one of Kerry's most attractive qualities is his indecision. Since almost every decision he HAS made has been a disaster for the United States, the fewer decisions he makes the better.
What is the use of "full disclosure and full vetting of the intelligence to" someone who has no intelligence? Kerry was in the intelligence committee when he voted to authorize the use of force.
Greyhawk.
I asked for Kerry's position which you are doing, but in a funny way, all negative implications if not distortions. This is not what I would consider fair discussion, but hey it is your Blog. Why don't you do liar Bush the same way? I take it you are interested in the nation first and foremost. So why not portray Bush as the lying and stealing son-of a-bitch he is. Why would anyone who doesn't get material benefits want him as president again. He has had his shot and he has failed. No dishonor in that failure, but there is great and lasting dishonor to send American girls and boys to get killed and maimed for his falsehoods.
Funny? Kerry's be taken seriously? I know - he's a threat to national security, and that's not funny.
What lies Pete? Please do tell. Your vague accusations pretty much define you as a Bush Hater. (Yawn) Give us something to work with.
And who are these girls and boys? Are you impugning the dignity of military men and women - heroes all? Careful here Pete...
Pete's right! You sunsabitches stop using direct Kerry quotes and his voting record! Its distorted and it ain't right! He's nuanced!
kerry 18 years of marriage, two children, has the marriage has the church enter a annulment. what did he do to his children?
Seriously, Dennis I would not intentionally degrade our military men and women. My reference to boys and girls was to convey my thoughts about the youthfulness of many of our fighters in Iraq which could not be done with the words men and women.
Lies and liars. Let's take this step by step.
10/7/07 Chief liar said, "Facing clear evidence of peril, we cannot wait for the final evidence - the smoking gun - that could come in the form of a mushroom cloud." And "If we know Saddam Hussein has dangerous weapons today - AND WE DO - ..." (caps mine).
3/6/03 Bush stated, "He (Saddam Hussein) possesses weapons of terror." And he said "Saddam Hussein and his weapons are a direct threat to this country, to our people, and to all free people."
3/17/03 Bush told the country, "Intelligence gathered by this and other governments leaves no doubts that the Iraq regime continues to POSSESS and conceal some of the most lethal weapons ever devised." (caps mine).
5/3/03 Bush says, "Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction."
5/30/03 Bush says on Polish TV, "We found weapons of mass destruction. We found biological laboratories... and we will find more weapons as time goes on. But for those who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing devices or banned weapons, we found them"
In my way of thinking Bush lied about WMDs and Saddam. But for those who want to continue to believe in Bush and consider these kind of statements are a mistake in intelligence (not taking responsibility as the Commander in Chief in my eyes) or not lies at all, consider that based on this type of thinking and rhetoric Bush has send 550 women and men to their deaths and it isn't over yet. Either Bush is culpable or he is stupid, either way he shouldn't be re-elected as President.
You know Pete, the faux concern that all the ANTI-BUSH people show for our beloved lost soldiers in Iraq just makes me tired. How many soldiers have we lost in Afghanistan? Do you know? I bet not. I bet it is of no concern to you because you can't use them as a prop in your ANTI-BUSH crusade. You know as well as anyone else with a brain that the consensus of American intelligence and policy (as well as the UN and foriegn governments) going back the past 12 years was that these weopons did exist. If Bush is culpable or imbecilic then so are Clinton, Kerry, Albright and me. I did not need to be fooled by that "liar" Bush to believe that Saddam had these weopons. I believed it from everything I had heard for 12 years. I wanted, as did a majority of people in this country, for Saddam to be eliminated so that the Iraqi people could be free and we could determine what the WMD status in Iraq was after all. We owed a huge karmic debt to the people of Iraq for being pussy multilaterists in 1991. Both America and Iraq have lost beautiful people. 25 million are freed from one of the most brutal dictatorships of all time. Quit spitting on their graves in an effort to spit on President Bush.
Pete, you are a coward and a fool. President Bush has not lied once. Not one single time. Ever. I would lay down my life on his word because he, unlike you, is a true American. It sickens me that weakling cowards such as yourself are allowed to live so well while being so ignorant and unintelligent, because real men and women fight for you. You should be eternally ashamed of yourself.
Jim, let me reply to you first. Actually I think you should relax and take it easy a bit. Get a grip. It is in the public record Bush has lied on many, many occasions.If you choose to ignore facts what more can I say to a.... Now, would you like to come visit me and say those other things to my face?
Wen. I support US fighting the Taliban and al Qaida. We and our allies are doing a pretty good job there. You are right I don't know the American death count as it is not in the news often. However, I grieve the deaths and injuries of our soldiers and all the innocents there.
I too heard the stuff over the last 12 years and thought it was probably true too. But there comes a time when we all have to use our own judgment and not believe everything that our government tells us.(From e3xperience I know that some US government employees and officials will cheat, lie and steal and more importantly some will use their power in government for personal advantage or ego or for evil purposes, like starting wars that are illegal, unnecessary or ill-advised.What got me to oppose going into Iraq this time was that Saddam was not verbally or overtly threatening us and he had done nothing for 10-12 years along that line and we had surveillance over Iraq by jets and satellites for those years. I got suspicious when there was this massive rush to war, ignoring allies and others, essentially going it alone, WHEN WE COULD HAVE WAITED FOR THE OUTCOME OF THE UN INSPECTIONS. Funny thing tho, the UN inspectors wouldn't have found a thing. We had that bastard Saddam surrounded and bottled up. What the fuck was the hurry? Looking at much of this after the fact, it seems there was a reason to invade Iraq other than freeing the Iraqis (that is about the 10th best excuse to invade). What about the neocons and the militaristic plans for continuing invasions and continual war. Christ,is that what you want? Vote for Bush then. I don't see a George Custer arrogant type as President. That George was done in by his own stupidity and yes, his arrogance. Why let this George take the American people into more slaughter that does not have to be. He has shown himself to be bad guy and/or incompetent. Take a look at what retired lieutenant colonel Karen Kwiatkowski has written about the war mongering and internal Pentagon machinations of the Bush's civilian appointees to DOD and the neocons. Frightening.Check out truthout.com for great stuff this issue. No, I don't have good words or thoughts for Bush. Let's vote him out.