Comments Posted By headhunt23
Displaying 11 To 20 Of 79 Comments
WINNING WARS AND FIGHTING TERRORISM WITH 'HUMILITY AND RESTRAINT'
You know, I served one year in Bosnia in '96 as part of the Implementation force for the Dayton Accords Clinton sent. Everything was peaceful and we called it "groundhog day" as everyday was just a boring routine. I got a lot of reading done. i was single and had no one waiting for me.
I served one year in 2004-2005 in Iraq training the Iraqi army and taking them on combat missions. There was lots of excitement, and I have images I will always remember. I was married and had a beautiful 2 year old daughter at home.
But, i resent my time in Bosnia a lot more. There was no American interest in going there and we were only there because Western Europe can't get its collective head out of its butt and organize. If I had been killed in Iraq, at least my daughter would someday be able to figure out why. Had I died in Bosnia, nobody ever would have been able to explain what the heck I was doing there.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 21.01.2009 @ 17:21
I WILL MISS THE LEFT'S BUSH DERANGEMENT
Michael -
There was a lot of criticism of Bush for a long time on the right, much more than just "now that he is toxic". The Harriet Meyers thing, his inability to defend his policies, expanding federal control over education, and abysmal fiscal managment were all points of criticism of Bush on the right for a long time.
However, a lot of folks on the right reflexively defended Bush, as did a lot of lefties reflexively defended Clinton and will end up defending Obama, even when each does the indefensible.
What is truly ironic on both scales is the Clinton probably had the most conservative government record in the Whitehouse since Coolidge, and Bush the most liberal since LBJ, or Nixon at the worst. (Mind you - I'm talking about RESULTS, not intentions, and in cases where the president's policy was enacted, I'm not talking about success or failure of the policy, and I'm talking about liberal vs. conservative POSITIONS, where the more of a veering away from the status quo a policy is, the more liberal it is).
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 19.01.2009 @ 15:57
RIGHT OR WRONG, BUSH MADE AN IMPACT
Rick - Rice was at State when Bush gave his 2005 inaguration calling for the expansion of democracy.
The problem isn't a lack of strategy, but rather the lack of will and ability to implement it.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 15.01.2009 @ 15:43
I'd say that Bush's strategy of promoting and pursuing democracy in the middle east IS a long term strategy aimed at steming the tide of Islamic Fundamentalism.
I would agree - if he was still pursuing that policy. Since Rice took over at state, I don't think you can point to much democracy promotion - even in Iraq.
ed.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 15.01.2009 @ 13:23
INVESTIGATING THE BUSH ADMINISTRATION A PARTISAN MINEFIELD
5Chuck Tucson Said:
"Yeah? And what of the people who don’t support him, and don’t accept this? Outside of every other moral, ethical, logistical, and judicial point made about this that utterly and completely destroys your “sophisticated” logic, it has a negative effect on commerce. Stand down, and truly put some thought into what you’re saying."
A negative effect on commerce? Really? That is so stupid I don't even need to respond to the rest of it. Yes, the people we do most of our business with really give a crap about whether or not we put some sketchy illegal aliens in jail at Gitmo.
Oh, in response to your earlier post #2, I can probably guess now that Rick doesn't actually hate you. He is most likely just exasperated by having to respond to your idiotic points.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 15.01.2009 @ 12:32
Quite frankly, if after 9/11 we hadn't tourtured some people (like the Qhatani that Susan Crawford was wringing her hands over yesterday, I'd demand an investigation of my government.
The biggest problem with "torture" is how is it defined? Certainly electric shock, cutting, pullout out finger/toe nails are all agreeable. Waterboarding? Boarderline in my view. Sleep Deprevation, humiliation, cold therapy...eh. Loud Music, solitary confinement, a slap, the chest punch? Not really buying it.
Frankly, Obama would be well advised to stay far away from this briar patch. Because he knows - and he's smart enough to know it - that if some big show is made of investigating the current administration and overturning the current way of doing business, and then 6 months later a major terrorist attack occurs on US soil, the Dem's won't get elected to anything in 2010.
He's a lot smarter to leave the air of mystery out there that we might be continuing with some of Bush's more aggressive policies so if an attack happens, he can try to get Bush policies to take some of the blame.
However, I do question whether his supporters are sophisticated enough to accept this.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 14.01.2009 @ 16:30
CHLOE SLAUGHTERS GARAFALO IN GEEK SHOWDOWN
Secret Source of CTU Support - Noah Daniels. He has the connection, he probably has the moxie, and he might want to expose the corruption in the government to build his own legacy. Far fetched, but not as far fetched as Logan or Motobu.
The mole won't be garafalo...she isn't a good actress and one of the rules is that the super spy/murder needs to be an experience, capable actor to handle the moment of truth plausibly. She wouldn't be able to pull it off. When you see a veteran character actor introduced into the FBI in a higher-level capacity, you'll have your mole.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 14.01.2009 @ 08:40
You have to have the dissatisfaction of the base first - get their dander up if you will. In the meantime, you can build some mechanisms to take advantage of some of the resulting early energy of the bas after it gets pi$$ed off, but most of those will be disregarded and new avenues will be created by the grass roots.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 2.12.2008 @ 14:38
SAVE THE AMERICAN FUR COMPANY!
Well, Chevy and Ford each make a vehicle that outsells the Corolla - the F150 and the Silverado (at least thru 2007).
I don't want to get into the business of defending the Big 3, but I will point out that the direct labor costs per hour for the Big 3 are 73 dollars, for Toyota and Honda - here in America - the direct labor costs are $48.
The Big 3 did what they had to do in the mid 1990s to survive, push to larger vehicles with bigger margins to absorb those costs. Had they not done so, we'd probably just would have had this conversation in 1997 rather than now (although the Japanese makers probably didn't have the same infrastructure here that would ahve allowed the to absorb the Big Three market share, if they were allowed to fail).
I'd also like to see your stats on the unionization levels for Toyota and Honda here in the US. Those companies had only one rule when they started building plants here - they would not hire anyone who worked for the Big 3.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 15.11.2008 @ 12:46
WILL THE HARD LEFT PUSH OBAMA OVER A CLIFF?
Actually, I feel better about the Obama administration based on this, and his recent backing off of cessation of forced interrogation techniques.
Obama is only interested in his power. I don't think - and I believe you agree - that he actually has a hard core set of beliefs. I'm sure there has been some assimilation based on where he has spent his formative years and adult life, but I get the feeling had he moved to Houston after college, he'dhave taken a much more conservative view on most things.
He isn't going to do anything that will upset his applecart for 2012 - which is why we aren't going to see a radical change of our policies towards captured terrorist. Obama knows that if he shuts down Guatanamo, outlaws waterboarding, and stops wiretap activities - and we get hit again, the Dems will be voted out of office in a landslide that made 1994 look tame.
Comment Posted By headhunt23 On 11.11.2008 @ 14:56
