Al Queada (sp.?) has used Iraq as a home to launch attacks against us and other nations. I love when people on a free message board pretend to know more than our Gov’t who has information restricted to people with very high pay-grades in the Pentagon. Sadamm was involved in a lot of things that were a threat to our very existence and is the very reason they strung him up. He was an ally to the very people who attacked NYC on 9/11. Iraq was a cesspool of corruption and radical Muslim believers. The unfortunate part is that Iraq has good people that want the same things we want for our families and I think the US truly wanted to give them that. You shouldn’t be so anti-US with your rhetoric, your knowledge of our intentions is a little as mine but I choose to believe we do things for the right reasons and which is why my wife and kid can have lunch without someone driving a car packed with C-4 into the restaurant.
Saddamm was a secular Sunni and most definitely not allies with Osama and Al-Qaeda. The terrorists were not in Iraq until after the US invaded. Don’t take my word for it, the CIA said Saddam had only circumstantial ties at best with al Qaeda. Further, Osama bin Laden rejected the idea of forming an alliance with Hussein and viewed him as an enemy of the jihadist movement because the Iraqi leader rejected radical Islamic ideals and ran a secular government. By the way, when did terrorists launch attacks on US soil from Iraq? I’m sure the people in Iraq are so relieved that people like you think their country has “good people.” Who in the hell are you to say they want the same things we want for our families? I’m sure they’d like running water and electricity–but of course they had that before we went in…so ridiculous, wasteful, and downright evil.
Lets face it… We now have a president who is just like a stubborn little child. A bully who refuses to admit defeat because it will hurt his pride. His final attempt to salvage his disastrous term as president, by travelling to the middle east only proves that he is just now realizing his mistakes. It seems that even when FACTS are presented - some people simply turn away looking for answers elsewhere. Not believing that their beloved president has deceived them. Ignorance is bliss… right? The US election process is the longest and most expensive in the world - lets not make the same mistakes again…
well said ajstamford
I love it, blaming Bush for acting upon well-informed information from “Curveball” and being proactive to prevent attacks on the US. Some of you are unbelievable, the same people who would have blamed him had he done nothing and then the US was attacked again. Suddam and Iraq were involved in WMDs whether or not they were found and most political figures agree with that sentiment and helped fund terrorism. What? Most families don’t want protection from a dictator, basic human rights, etc.? You telling me that most people want to live in fear of someone who murdered thousands of his own people, brutally tortured and raped women, and other inhuman acts? Pretty sad you believe the things you type.
"I love it, blaming Bush for acting upon well-informed information from “Curveball” and being proactive to prevent attacks on the US. " What curveball do you refer to? bush didn’t let the UN finish their inspections, which they were urging him to allow, which would have shown they had no nukes. I like how you shift your argument. You started out saying: “I atleast feel that we’ve made it known globally that there are consequences for you actions when you attack the US.” But the idiotic thing about that statement is that Iraq never attacked the U.S. Here are some facts from a BBC/ABC/USA Today poll taken of Iraqi citizens. 60% of Iraqi citizens say life was better under saddam than it is now. 80% report having been in close proximity to a car bomb or suicide bomber. 78% of Iraqis oppose the ongoing US presence. Obviously you like to burry your head in the sand and repeat whatever fox news tells you, but that won’t change the facts.
The bottom line is none of us really know the alterior motives of the US government or what goes on behind the scenes. I am no expert on politics but that I know for certain.
i don’t want to comment on the bush decision to invade iraq. in my opinion, we’re there and we need to stay there until it makes the most sense with respect to the stability of the region. hopefully that’s less than 100 yrs (via john mccain). i will say that the isses that mean a lot to me are: 1) the economy - a lot of the protectionist/populist rhetoric coming from both sides, particularly the left, scares me 2) healthcare - mostly because there is so much talk about universal healthcare and i don’t believe that is the way to go (but this isn’t the thread to go into that) 3) immigration - i consider myself republican, but i really don’t like the way we’re going about this; i just don’t see any realistic solutions out there yet
OK… I couldn’t resist. This is my second post on this thread. I have this uncontrollable urge to let people know when they are wrong… hehe. just kidding. I know I can’t change some people’s minds, but I’m going to give it my best shot anyway. So here are my opinions on the issues: Iraq - We can’t just continue to ‘STAY THERE’ until everything falls into place. The current strategy has resulted in huge casualties on both the US (3,900 soldiers lives lost and billions spent on the war) and Iraq (1.1 million dead based on independent estimates). Staying there just creates more hostility against the American government and most terrorist organizations find it much easier to recruit during times like these - when most people’s lives are surrounded by violence in these countries. You keep fighting everyone with no end in sight, you just make more enemies. More terrorists just willing to die for some cause for which they hold the Americans responsible. We need to get the different religious groups (shiaa and sunni) and the neighboring countries involved to reach a Peaceful / Diplomatic Solution. Economy - The Fed is using Monetary policy to keep us from a recession. They have a difficult task of controlling inflation and maintaining economic growth. But why is Bush just now waking up to realize that we have serious economic concerns. He still remains very optimistic and is currently putting together an ‘economic stimulus’ plan with his esteemed economic advisory to magically pull us out of recession. This ‘plan’ is obviously going to involve cutting taxes, which is too little too late. Because by the time this gets pushed through congress and actually influences the markets, the economy will already have pulled itself out of this cycle / downturn. Makes me wonder, did Bush really go to Yale, or is Ivy League Education highly over-rated. Health-Care- There is not going to be an easy solution to this. But I think most candidates are moving in the right direction but have their own unique solution to provide universal health care. It is important to provide health care to the growing middle class and poor. With health care costs increasing at an average of 15-18 percent every year more and more people wont be able to afford it soon… then it will be to late if we dont act now. I dont expect any candidate to have a clear cut and perfectly drawn out solution at this point. But just a strong desire to move towards making health care available to more people is a good idea in itself. Energy Independence - Not a likely or appealing agenda. I would like us to move towards using other sources of energy, but not at a huge costs to the consumer with fast rising costs of food. And weather you believe in climate change or not. I feel it is very important for us to move towards more environmentalLy friends sources of energy use. Immigration - Secure the borders and smooth out a way for foreigners to LEGALLY apply for permanent / temporary US residency. The current process is just too drawn out and complicated. We are all prospective or current charter holders, and I expect you all to analyze the issues with an open mind before getting emotional and jumping to conclusions. I hope I didnt step on too many toes… hehe. Peace AJ
AJ’s post points indirectly to the absolute idiocy of our politicians–AJ is CLEARLY a liberal Democrat, but EVEN this LIBERAL believes one of the solutions to the immigration problem is to, well, what do you know, secure the g-d borders! It’s beyond me why so many of the politicians in both parties are so out-of-touch with the American people on the issue of securing the border. So for me, border security is one of my top priorities–you’d think it’s something that everyone, from Left to Right, could agree on. After immigration, it’s: 1) Tort reform 2) Tax reform (not tax cuts per se, but the over all simplification of the tax code) 3) Social Security and Medicare reform (private accounts) 4) Balancing budgets 5) Total energy reform 6) War hawk (I revile the Islamic radicals–I’m fine with sending the whole of them on a one-way ticket to hell)
You realize of course that lax border and immigration law enforcement perpetrated by the bush administration is nothing more than an under the table subsidy for his corporate big wig base, don’t you?
cfastudent, if it were that simple, why does John McCain support open borders? I think Bush is genuine in his compassion for the hispanic community–he’s a Texan who speaks Spanish, has a strong relationship with the Mexican government, and he even won a significant portion of the hispanic vote in 2000 and 2004. Fact of the matter is, he’s just wrong on the issue.
Nope, bush is a phony. “liking” mexicans was rove’s idea.
Dude, this is called Bush Derangement Syndrome, where one’s hate for all things George W. Bush blinds one’s ability to think rationally. By no means am I pleased with how the Bush administration has acted with regard to at least 5 of the 7 things I listed as important to me, but as much as you hate for it to be true, Bush isn’t a racist, homophobe, misogynist bigot. This is the same guy who couldn’t help but cry at the Holocaust museum in Israel, whose Attorney General was hispanic, whose National Security Advisor is a black woman, whose Supreme Court nominees were Catholic. At what point do you quit saying Bush is a phony and admit that he’s probably sincerely not a racist, homophobic, religiously intolerant misogynist bigot? Bush knew Spanish long before he ran for president. It’s really sad to see people’s absolute hate for George Bush muddy their ability to think rationally. I mean, we always hear about Bush’s “corporate interests”–this guy’s net worth is something like $15 million and his income in 2005 was something like $500,000. IB associates are making more than him. Al Gore has made $100 million since the 2000 election. Now there’s a leer jet liberal phony.
jmerten Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > I would say Tax Reform, stopping nationalized > healthcare, and finishing the job in Iraq. As > someone with a new baby and a wife I am very proud > of our troops for protecting us and keeping > terrorism less of an issue. Im glad that your proud of ‘your’ troops for protecting your family, it must be especially comforting knowing that its extremely unlikely that you, your wife or new born will ever have to deal with the direct consequences or pay the price of politicians engaging in military actions on false pretenses. In addition to the several friends of mine who have served and are currently serving with the Canadian Armed forces in Afghanistan. I have a close family friend who is a second Lieutenent and designated marksman in the marines. He was deployed to Iraq a few weeks ago which is troubling because he’s a great guy and a much nicer person then I am. So I hope you’ll be glad in the knowledge that it is an almost certainty that in the fifteen months of his deployment that he will kill numerous ‘terrorists’ if not also lose his own life or those under his command. Its too bad that the military is now an all volunteer force, we’d probably have less unquestioning chickenhawks who are willing to put the lives of strangers on the line inorder to fullfill ill advised and ultimately damaging wars of choice. I think reinstituting the draft would probably be a good idea because its unlikely CFA’s will be fighting for anything other then power an money in the battlefields of global capitalism, no matter how strong their ideological convictions. Without getting into depth on the necessity of the Iraq war, I personally believe it is a distraction to the real war on extremism going on in Afhganistan. As citizens I think we have a duty to question our government when it comes to any policy but particularly ones concerning war. Our troops can’t question the reason they fight, it will get them killed. However, we owe it to our troops to make sure they’re arent put in danger unnecessairly.
kkent Wrote: ------------------------------------------------------- > Dude, this is called Bush Derangement Syndrome, > where one’s hate for all things George W. Bush > blinds one’s ability to think rationally. By no > means am I pleased with how the Bush > administration has acted with regard to at least 5 > of the 7 things I listed as important to me, but > as much as you hate for it to be true, Bush isn’t > a racist, homophobe, misogynist bigot. This is > the same guy who couldn’t help but cry at the > Holocaust museum in Israel, whose Attorney General > was hispanic, whose National Security Advisor is a > black woman, whose Supreme Court nominees were > Catholic. At what point do you quit saying Bush is > a phony and admit that he’s probably sincerely not > a racist, homophobic, religiously intolerant > misogynist bigot? Bush knew Spanish long before > he ran for president. > > It’s really sad to see people’s absolute hate for > George Bush muddy their ability to think > rationally. I mean, we always hear about Bush’s > “corporate interests”–this guy’s net worth is > something like $15 million and his income in 2005 > was something like $500,000. IB associates are > making more than him. Al Gore has made $100 > million since the 2000 election. Now there’s a > leer jet liberal phony. where not saying he is a misogynist or bigot, where saying he’s an incompetent, and a liar whose lucky to be making 500k a year because its clear that without his connections he’d probably only amount to tirerack’s most valuble salesman of the month.
The economy and social security are my main concerns but I guess you can say that they are intertwined with each other. Foreign Policy/Iraq War is also a really big issue for me.
I have to admit that as much as I dislike the Bush guy, I don’t see him as a racist.
kkent, You know, you may be right, he may not be a racist, but it actually doesn’t matter what his personal views are if his policies are so devastating to people affected by them. Utter incompetance and disregard for what happened in New Orleans had a disproportionate impact on african american and impoverished citizens. My ‘irrational’ disdain for bush is actually based on the damage I think he has done and how much he has set the country back. I would hardly point to alberto gonzales as a shining example by the way. More incompetance with an appointment based on his being beholden to bush–embarrassing travesty is more like it. If you are a staunch republican you better be warned about defending bush because there are a lot of people with similar ‘irrational’ views like mine ready to take back the country. the Democrats had 2x the number of voters than the republicans in Iowa – and keep in mind how much easier it is for people to vote republican in iowa. as a democrat they have to go attend their bizarre caucus thing for 2 hours at night in the cold, whereas the republicans can just show up at any time of day and take 5 minutes to cast a regular vote. Iowa is not exactly san francisco either. of course the republicans will get out the ‘swift boat’ machine, but hopefully hillary will be the candidate and if anyone knows how to combat that republican BS it’s hillary and bill.
SeanC, most of us on this forum work in an industry where connections pay the bills. I find it odd that you’d find it wrong or in anyway uncooth for a man to make money via his connections given your career in finance. Isn’t that how a third of Ivy Leaguers get into their respective schools? Aren’t connections–directly or indirectly–how most of the Bulge Bracket hire people? Aren’t connections how “imperfect” students get internships they shouldn’t otherwise have or how people get loans with slightly looser credit standards? That’s just the nature of the beast.