Comments Posted By ed
Displaying 191 To 200 Of 205 Comments
FRACTURED FAIRY TALES AT THE NEW YORK TIMES
Ya sorta missed the point, didn't ya? It wasn't the gerrymandering that they were talking about, it was the professional Justice Dept. staff that were charged with monitoring the Voting Rights Act, being overruled by political appointees that is the issue. And then putting a gag order on the action to cover it up. Is this something you can defend? Or are you a defender of more Micheal Brown's doing a "heckuva of a job" political hackdom?
Comment Posted By Ed On 5.12.2005 @ 16:03
I am a little confused as to how the President's failure to successfully sell the Iraq war and the lack of trust people currently have for him on the media. The very same mainstream media was in place when he 1) was re-elected, 2)had high ratings of trust, and 3) the majority of Americans supported the war effort. If, as the current Republican narrative goes, the MSM has sabotaged Bush's support, how did he ever have support in the first place? Since the MSM has supposedly opposed Bush and the conservatives all along, wouldn't he have never been elected in the first place? You can't argue that the MSM is all powerful when things go bad, but irrelevant when things are going good (well, you can, but it would be disingenuous).
Comment Posted By ed On 1.12.2005 @ 13:57
And docdave, when the Confederate states seceded from the Union, what do you think would have happened if Lincoln had invaded Canada because it was a hotbed of Confederate sympathizer activity, Canada's leaders were secretly supporting and aiding the Confederacy, and gotten bogged down in Quebec, instead of going after the Confederate States of America? I suspect his issues with the press would have seriously intensified and the overall support for the war by the American public would have been quite low. That's an analogy for those of you in Rio Linda.
THE RIGHT WAY TO GO TO THE MOON
I am no conservative, but the privatization of space exploration is a fantastic idea. Since the federal government is going to spend NASA money anyway, why can we not force a NASA/private concerns collaboration? Part of NASA's mission should be picking the best private ideas and collaborators and working jointly toward manned space exploration.
The Apollo missions to the moon were simply political in nature. Once the Cold War objective of beating the Soviet Union to the moon was achieved, all steam fell out of the effort. We didn't even finish the scheduled Apollo flights previously funded!
Comment Posted By ed On 25.11.2005 @ 14:57
Private enterprise is the vital engine of America, and the potential financial returns of space exploration must be harnessed. Otherwise, we will spend endless billions to go to Mars, then drop it once the political hay has been made, just as we did with the Apollo program.
The last four paragraphs are fascinating. A conservative acknowledging that some non-military federal agencies actually have value and worth in modern America. This would seem to go against the Nofzinger ideals, which frankly seem quite libertarian. The Reagan era, which you invoked, also saw an generous expansion of federal government spending, despite the tax cuts and efforts to rein in bureaucracy. Perhaps smaller government is no longer a mainstream conservative value? Perhaps George Bush reflects 21st Century conservatism more accurately than the old small government wing does?
Comment Posted By ed On 23.11.2005 @ 18:54
I certainly admire the strength of faith by the conservatives. Instead of seeing the Iraq War for the monumental mistake is was,is, and will continue to be, when the faithful are handed their ass on a platter, they see a steak dinner.
Comment Posted By ed On 18.11.2005 @ 15:44
The inability to ever admit mistakes will kill the far right conservative movement's electoral successes. "Liberal" has become the boogyman that "Communist" was in the 50's and 60's. "We are never wrong" is the mantra, and if a Republican makes a undeniable mistake, then, as commenter Mr. Stanton demonstrates, they are not really a conservative, but a LIBERAL, or was unduely influenced by LIBERALS. Overall, voters are not stupid. To never admit error is a form of a lie. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes and everyone knows this to be true from our own experiences.
The born-again type of conservatives are bound to be frustrated in American politics, because ultimately, compromise is necessary between competing ideas and factions. This fact will also prevent the warring factions in Iraq from working together as a functional democracy. The Sunnis and the Shites in the Iraq area have been unable to compromise and cooperate for centuries. Thinking that a Constitution and the institutions of democracy put in place will end the hostilities is the ultimate in wishful thinking. And frankly, I would be very happy to be wrong in this assessment. However, history casts a very dark shadow.
RA, despite your proving my point about the denigration of each other's positions, I'll answer your challenge. The fact that the degradation of slavery and exploitation of child laborers no longer legally exist in the United States are beneficial gifts from liberal thinking and actions. The practice and benefits of a free public education (a literate, educated general populace) enabled our dominance in the Industrial Revolution and the economic benefits so derived and still useful in the post-Industrial age. Another liberal idea of great benefit to America.
Comment Posted By ed On 10.11.2005 @ 15:12
Since you challenged me, I'll challenge you. Let's you and I buck the downward spiral of political dialogue in the United States. Acknowledge these facts as liberal benefits to America. You can still be a good conservative. We can disagree strongly without hate and denigration. I can disagree with you without labeling everything you think as evil and false. I found good within conservative ideas. Can you reciprocate?
Since you quoted Barbara Tuchman, may I recommend reading her book "The March of Folly: From Troy to Vietnam". There are a lot of implications for the War on Terror, and particularly American involvement in Iraq.
Comment Posted By ed On 10.11.2005 @ 11:25
Regarding France, you are so accurate. France committed national suicide a long time ago. The most important thing conservatives offer the American political landscape is that the notion that the ideas and ideals underpinning western civilization still matter and have great value in 21st Century society. Of course, liberal ideas and ideals are also a part of that same history, as well as the conservative ideas and ideals. Too bad we have backed ourselves into a corner in which most liberals and conservatives feel obligated to denigrate or ignore the good in each other's positions.
TOOTING MY OWN HORN SO THAT YOU DON'T HAVE TO
While I don't have much positive to say about President Bush's policies, he is the President. CIA employees that attempt to create their own foreign policy or damage administration policy by leaks or other means are behaving in a way that borders on treason. (Internal procedures are in place for legitimate whistleblowers.) We settle our political differences by debate and ballots. Rogue operatives in the intelligence community need to be flushed like a low water volume toilet - repeatedly, until the t**** are finally gone.
Comment Posted By ed On 8.11.2005 @ 14:08
BEHIND CLOSED DOORS: AMATEUR HOUR FOR SENATE DEMS
Thank you for the response. My concern in responding in the first place is that a two party system has been useful in shaping American life for centuries and we seem to be rapidly moving away from this premise. My concerns are with the underlying structure of our political system, not with promoting Democrats. When liberal thinkers once again are in power, and they certainly will be at some point, an effective opposition party will be needed at that time as well. Those promoting the minority interest help keep those in power from abusing power (and those in the minority) and from the mistakes of hubris that come from exercising unchecked power. The post-WWII history of the Democratic party easily confirms the danger of hubris and overreaching into abusive, unproductive use of power - fill in your own examples.
I still feel that the majority party of the moment, the Republicans, try to delegitimize all efforts of Democrats, even the very pale efforts at policy, by personal attack and mudslinging. Open policy debates are out of the question, it seems, by the efforts of both Democrats and Republicans.
Comment Posted By ed On 3.11.2005 @ 20:52
By example, I came here with a straightfoward concern and questions and your commenters assail my intelligence and motives with insults and sarcasm. My first impulse is to respond in kind, but dialogue and learning is more important to me than being right or toeing any company line. You recited a litany of Democratic misdeeds. Fair enough. Any Democrat could cite a similar list of Republican misdeeds. This doesn't solve anything. We used to have dialogue and compromise between the majority and minority parties. Do we still want that, and if so, the minority party, whoever it is, must have a way to dissent and oppose that is respected and heard by the majority, or we have moved away from a two party system.
kyle:
Nice snarky comment, but nothing resembling a thoughtful answer to my questions.
Comment Posted By ed On 2.11.2005 @ 16:20
