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Translation: shut up about the conduct and reasoning for the nation’s first preemptive war. Be quiet about executive power during endless “War,” and most importantly vote GOP.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:35 pmThis also was in response to a SEVEN YEAR OLD.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:36 pmAbsolutely. Of course Bush will need to stop talking altogether.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:37 pmthe best way bush can help is TELL THE TRUTH! that will be the best morale boost for the troops oops, if he told the truth they would all revolt! Frist!
January 11th, 2006 at 4:37 pmFirst Amendment, anyone???
January 11th, 2006 at 4:38 pmdarn! it said no comments when i posted.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:38 pmRight. Never mind the funding for body armor. Just SAY nice things. It’s working so well for Bushie.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:42 pm#5 – Didn’t you know? The first amendment is only for people who agree 100% with Pres. Bush, or anyone who says “ditto!”
All others need not apply.
Sad, really. The constitution should apply to EVERYONE, not just the greedy, dorrupt, corporate elite who are currently in (temporary) power.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:43 pmAs a former troop, I can personally vouch that very little that is said “over here” matters “over there”. If you are a real troop in a real warzone, you should be way too busy to worry about what any of us are saying back here.
Most of the people who say this kind of crap are Chickenhawks have never been “over there”. (And over there does not include Alabama)
January 11th, 2006 at 4:47 pmRemember when O’reilly said that in times of war the media should act as an extension of the government (Or something to that effect)? Obviously, Bushie agrees, and according to Darth Cheney we are going to be at war for a LONG time, so it looks like the end of free speech, free press, freedom of religion, et al. “Temporary Wartime Measures” have a historical tendency of NOT being quite so TEMPORARY. Federal Income Tax, Anyone?
January 11th, 2006 at 4:49 pmWhat does it say about our leader when the MSM points out he “unexpectedly” answered questions (as in, non-spoon fed questions from family and friends).
January 11th, 2006 at 4:50 pmThis is off subject but it is too funny not to share
http://blogs.citypages.com/canderson/2005/12/post_1.asp
January 11th, 2006 at 4:54 pmI know if I was in harms way, I would be much less likely to fight for my own life or defend myself if I knew some politician in America had said or written something that that upset me.
-GSD
Bush is an authoritarian.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:55 pm#10 – I salute you, sir! While I’ve never been in actual combat (served from 86-90) I was fully prepared to go where I was ordered.
I also agree, the more someone supports sending our military into harms way, the less likely they are to have actually served. There will always be times in which we have no choice but to fight for our freedoms. When you claim our freedoms must be sacrificed during war, then you’re supporting all the enemies that have tried to take us out in the past.
January 11th, 2006 at 4:56 pmRobert probably has a good point, that what we say matters little to the troops, but there is some evidence that notice is taken. For example, it usually comes up, in one form or another, in the Rumsfeld ‘town hall’ sessions in Iraq, and Rumsfeld often mentions his dislike of anti-war rhetoric during his talk show interviews. In any case, we do what we can do, and much of my time for the past year has been devoted to getting the anti-war message out to as many as possible, particularly the troops, in the hope that it will (as Bush says) have an effect. As a historical note, we had to pull out of Vietnam primarily because of troop actions — mission refusal and fragging.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:04 pmBy “respectful” does Bush mean that people should call people that dissent traitors.
After all, our soldiers ar fighting for the Iraqis right to freedom of speech.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:05 pmWhat happened to that honest debate Bush was talking about?
January 11th, 2006 at 5:06 pmThat should be “shouldn’t call”
January 11th, 2006 at 5:06 pm“Love it or leave it” just dressed in a different package. What a sorry excuse for an American.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:06 pmWho placed those troops in harms way to begin with? I would call bush stupid but that would be an insult to stupid people.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:07 pmDave #13, thanks, that movie poster is great!
January 11th, 2006 at 5:11 pmI’ll never forget something I saw on the local news. It was some time after we put troops in Iraq and some activists were staging a protest march. The reporter talked to a woman who said, “We have people fighting and dying so they could do this, and I don’t think it’s right.”
Whaa-huuuhhh? She didn’t think it was right for people to exercise the very right that so many have died to defend. When will people like this understand that if you don’t exercise your right to free speech and to peaceably assemble, then all our fallen soldiers died for nothing?
We can all very easily support the troops without supporting the civilian commander-in-chief. Don’t let anyone tell you differently.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:14 pmThe most respectful thing I can say about Bush is that he’s a moron.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:21 pmThis statement is hilarious (and sad):
I mean, is he kidding? “Gee, Mr. Bush, I kinda wish you hadn’t gone in there, but what the heck …” This is an absolute joke. It’s nonsensical … it’s a little more than a “wish” that he hadn’t done that. It’s a demand for accountability and a demand for a pullout of troops to stop the unnecessary bloodshed. He diminishes the demands of more than half of Americans to mere wishful thinking. He infuriates me!
If he calls us “folks” one more time I’m going to throw up. He is an absolute embarrassment. #12, I agree – how horrible is it that he has to alert us all to the fact that he took “unscripted” questions. This is an eternal nightmare.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:22 pm…remember the effect that rhetoric can have on our troops in harm’s way.
Does he mean rhetoric like WMD? Yellow cake? Mushroom clouds? Bringing “democracy” to the Middle East? Al Qaeda ties to Saddam? “We have the terrorists on the run now”?
January 11th, 2006 at 5:22 pmThat comment is pure exploitation of our armed forces. This is thinely veiled threat , is it not? So the logic goes; don’t say anything bad about the war it might harm our troops and if you just happen to have an election, with say, an ex-Iraqi war vet as a candidate please question their patriotism. This is pure extortion. I should not be threatened or intimidated by the President of my own country.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:22 pmBush’s rhetoric dosen’t work wery well as body armor either.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:29 pmThis is the tit-for-tat response vehicle that the White House is using on a daily basis to cover their hineys for , example, the poll that CNN(See the situation room today) did that basically says only 17% believe that Iraq will have a working Democracy within the next 12 months. And guess what happens in less than 12 months?They talk to the public, maybe stooge droolers get it, like we are retarded.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:34 pmIf he calls us “folks†one more time I’m going to throw up.
Comment by CarolSoprano — January 11, 2006 @ 5:22 pm
I know what you mean, Carol. When he gave his pre-scheduled televised address the morning of 9-11, he referred to the terrorists as “folks.” I think that in his mind, “folks” are anybody who isn’t rich like him.
January 11th, 2006 at 5:36 pmRobert…
As a soldier who was “over there” I was informed of the actions of our politicians and it was ALL TOO COMMON to have someone fly in for a photo-op at the soldiers expense…
My stay in MANHATTAN was not the best experience, still, you are correct when you say that we were more concerned about living rather than the useless debates that I heard about people’s arguments about how WE felt!!!
Still, I was more upset by the fact that we had a man (who claims to be a leader) who HAS NEVER been to combat trying to describe MY feelings and morale!
So, before you denounce the discussion as pure rhetoric, I would say that THIS forum represents a fair share of the soldiers who DO NOT want to be there, have been EXTENDED ILLEGALLY beyond their separation dates, and are target practice for terrorists without the adequate protection THIS administration promised to them!!! It is funny that they would find time to insert the ANWR drilling into a DEFENSE bill…And HOW does that help troops again???
Without such forums and blogs, we would be missing the voices of independence and dissent upon which we fought for!!! Something that this administration clearly contradicts daily!
So, “if” this forum helps to shorten the tour of duty for soldiers by ONE day or exposes this war as a fraud, therefore saving lives and/or getting my friends the protection they need, then I WILL say that THIS FORUM AND DISCUSSION IS DEFINITELY MATTERS! Because even if WE are not saying the same thing, we stood for the principle of the Constuttion of the United States. Within thst text, we must fight the enemy, EVEN IF he happens to reside within the WHITE HOUSE!
January 11th, 2006 at 5:39 pmAh, Boy George, you’ve done it again. In order to protect freedom we must get rid of freedom of speech which might give aid and comfort to the enemy. Shutting up will indeed give great aid and comfort to the enemy – BUSH!
January 11th, 2006 at 5:46 pmWhat a piece of work this jerk is. As the fathers of our country, brilliant men who knew how to speak (and write) the King’s English, all roll over in their graves…we have to be subjected to this shithead’s turds of wisdom. As long as this man is in office and surrounded by the neocon thugs, we are so screwed…
January 11th, 2006 at 5:53 pmBush is really sticking it to the left. There is nothing stopping him when he’s on his game. Hillary can pretend to love the military, but everyone knows it’s a joke.
What next people? What next?
January 11th, 2006 at 6:06 pmOne way people can help as we’re coming down the pike in the 2006 elections is remember the effect that rhetoric can have on our troops in harm’s way.â€
Oh really George? Rhetoric? You mean like the foul crap you spew from your drunken lips about how much you love & support our troops, their families and believe that the government must do everything it can to protect our troops so they can return home with the honor they have earned, right?
American troops may be dying in Iraq because they don’t have the right body armor to protect them according to a secret Pentagon report revealed in Saturday’s “New York Times.†The report found that 80 percent of Marines might be alive today if they had had more body armor.
Body armor which could protect the troops had been available for two years and they didn’t spend the f-ing $107,000 to get the study published from the pathology labs to get this armor fixed.
300 dead Marines occurred because of this.
For you pathetic, Christ-less, neo-cons who still support this bastard, can you tell us what is an acceptable level of death for you? 10%? 20,40,50%?
Talk is cheap bitch.
January 11th, 2006 at 6:06 pmIf he calls us “folks†one more time I’m going to throw up.
Comment by CarolSoprano — January 11, 2006 @ 5:22 pm
I know what you mean, Carol. When he gave his pre-scheduled televised address the morning of 9-11, he referred to the terrorists as “folks.†I think that in his mind, “folks†are anybody who isn’t rich like him.
Comment by Wayne A. Schneider —
No. He’s using “folks” instead of calling us what he really thinks of us: “wordly people.”
January 11th, 2006 at 6:09 pmThat’s the term Born Agains use to describe those that have not accepted Jesus Christ as their personal savior.
Us “wordly people” will not go to heaven. Only “the Chosen Ones” will. (YAK!!!)
I’d love to sneak into a press conference and ask him, “So. All these men and women dying in your war; will they go to Heaven?” Because he’d have to answer “No.” and THAT, my friends, would bring this whole stupid, pointless war to an abrupt end.
well we got 114 now to impeach Blair we need 200 gonna be here soon …the link in the chain is gonna break …How you americans getting on with bush impeached …can i track progress anywhere like this link
http://edmi.parliament.uk/EDMi/EDMDetails.aspx?EDMID=29437&SESSION=875
January 11th, 2006 at 6:10 pmPART DEUX answer to King George’s drunken rant today:
This is how Bush and his cabal honor our troops and the sacrafice they make for his nation buliding war.
Family Upset Over Soldier’s Body Arriving As Freight
Bodies Sent To Families On Commercial Airliners
SAN DIEGO — There’s controversy over how the military is transporting the bodies of service members killed overseas, 10News reported.
A local family said fallen soldiers and Marines deserve better and that one would think our war heroes are being transported with dignity, care and respect. It said one would think upon arrival in their hometowns they are greeted with honor. But unfortunately, the family said that is just not the case.
Dead heroes are supposed to come home with their coffins draped with the American flag — greeted by a color guard.
But in reality, many are arriving as freight on commercial airliners — stuffed in the belly of a plane with suitcases and other cargo.
John Holley and his wife, Stacey, were stunned when they found out the body of their only child, Matthew John Holley, who died in Iraq last month, would be arriving at Lindbergh Field as freight.
Matthew was a medic with the 101st Airborne unit and died on Nov. 15.
“When someone dies in combat, they need to give them due respect they deserve for (the) sacrifice they made,” said John Holley.
John and Stacey Holley, who were both in the Army, made some calls, and with the help of U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, Matthew was greeted with honor and respect.
“Our familiarity with military protocol and things of that sort allowed us to kind of put our foot down — we’re not sure other parents have that same knowledge,” said Stacey Holley.
The Holleys now want to make sure every fallen hero gets the proper welcome.
The bodies of dead service members arrive at Dover Air Force Base.
From that point, they are sent to their families on commercial airliners.
Reporters from 10News called the Defense Department for an explanation. A representative said she did not know why this is happening.
January 11th, 2006 at 6:13 pmDon’t you see? America elected a Republican. If we don’t elect a Republican again, it will show indecision in the face of our enemies. Our troops need to know that once America votes Republican, we will stand behind our decision and always vote Republican. Voting against the people who sent our troops to war will tell the troops that you do not support them.
Simple, right?
January 11th, 2006 at 6:34 pmAmerica didn’t elect a Repug. They stole it. Our troops need to get out of harm’s way. That won’t happen with Bush. He has killed hundreds of thousands. I was a Vietnam veteran and relate to the troops, but Murtha was right. This “elective” war by Bush is not worth one more life, Iraq or American.
January 11th, 2006 at 6:43 pmBush’s statement that America needs to stand behind the decision of its elected leaders speaks for itself. Bush doesn’t want any checks and balances.
January 11th, 2006 at 7:06 pmAnd a large number of people did elect a Republican. And a scary lot of them still support the war.
January 11th, 2006 at 7:06 pm#23
In a similar situation, remember the attacks on Clinton for speaking out against the Vietnam war overseas when that conflict was going on? After C. was elected, a WWII vet once said on national news that Clinton should have just kept his mouth shut. I talked back at the TV: “Yeah, you are one to talk. You fought for the right of free speech that Clinton was exercising.”
January 11th, 2006 at 7:11 pm#43 WC,
That’s something I don’t understand about conservatives. Why is the right to free speech reserved only for people who want to praise the government and not for those who wish to criticize what it’s doing? Isn’t that the whole point of the First Amendment? That we have a right to tell our government that they are wrong in what they are doing? This particular president is just the type who, if asked why people don’t support him, might answer, “Well, I’m not hearing any disagreements.”
Liberals are the true patriots in this country. They are the ones who actually want to exercise the freedoms that so many died to defend. Conservatives want those who disagree to shut up and not let anyone else in the world know that our citizens are not 100% behind their president. It makes me sick.
January 11th, 2006 at 7:30 pmI suspect decent body armor and a plan, going forward, would be more valuable than some Dick Cheney / Carl Rove “message”. The troops are as confused, hurt, and scared as the rest of us, I suspect.
January 11th, 2006 at 7:44 pmRhetoric? You mean, speach? Could you mean that in the upcoming elections, we shouldn’t speak abou the lies that led us to war, the mess you got us into? Suggesting that we not bring up YOUR GREATEST BETRAYAL? Nooo. We sure won’t do that, will we?
January 11th, 2006 at 7:54 pmIn fact, I’ll bet all the liberal blogs are shutting down right now, to get an early start on silence.
Somebody, … come sew my mouth shut before I say something!
#38, John Paul Rice,
Everything you write is everything King George feels about us wordly people, as I stated previously.
We’re cattle. Nothings. Only “the Chosen Ones” matter to him.
The troops are expendable. They aren’t God’s Chosen.
This President is part of a FREAKIN’ cult!!!
He’s a whack job, and we should all be terrified.
Myself, well, I like a button I found on Northern Sun. (awesome catalog, BTW)
January 11th, 2006 at 7:55 pmMilitant Agnostic
I don’t know,
and NEITHER DO YOU!
Thought that was a riot.
This whole war casualty thing is over-reported, according to our Secretary of ‘Defense’ Donald Rumsfeld:
January 11th, 2006 at 8:07 pm“. . . in my mind, I think of the number of people who are lost to traffic accidents in the United States in a given year. . . Now, if there were a daily report about the number of traffic deaths and if the television and the press were reporting these things and photographing them and the homicides . . .But what’s being reported is the fact — not the fact that the schools are open, not the fact that the hospitals and clinics are open, not the fact that Iraq’s got a stock exchange and that their oil and energy circumstances are proceeding apace . . . Those kinds of things get relatively modest attention, and what gets the attention is the death of Iraqis and the death of coalition forces.”
Cute button. Well, at least we can say something with buttons if he outlaws speech, eh?
January 11th, 2006 at 8:08 pm#44 Wayne S.
I ask myself the same thing. I don’t think there is a definitive answer. But, if I were to pick out a few thoughts, my feeling is that there is a lack of respect from (most) of those on the right. We see it here on TP every day. Not only is there a lack of respect regarding our laws, there is a lack of basic respect for their fellow man. That, and a dash of cockyness thrown in. I’m with you, though. It makes me sick as well.
January 11th, 2006 at 8:18 pm#48
I was in a doctor’s office yesterday and was forced to read “Newsweek” (it was either that or REDBOOK!) and they had an article detailing the violent crimes that doctors in Iraq are subjected to. The government can’t offer them any protection, they are routinely murdered simply because they practice western medicine. Yeah Donald, that sounds like a smashing success….
How difficult is it to understand that you can spread an ideology with warfare. Don’t believe me?? Let me hold a gun to your head, NOW lets see if you see things the way I do! That really changed your mind, didn’t it?
IDIOTS!
January 11th, 2006 at 8:18 pmRemember when Ari Fleischer said “People have to watch what they say.”
January 11th, 2006 at 8:52 pmThe fascist dictator of America says he welcomes honest debate in America — something like the ten minutes he gave former state department officials last week — he wants “debate” but what he really wants is cheerleading. No contrary remarks, please, and certainly no marches,no signs, or bumper stickers. No we are free to worship at his feet, say “amen” to his declarations, and retreat to our hovels for which we are very grateful that he protects from “terrorists.”
He has given himself authority to declare who is aiding the enemy, and therefore a terrorist; and that is anyone who utters a word against him or his policies. It won’t be long before we are each wiretapped, our tax forms scrutinized, our mail screened, before we’re hauled off to a prison somewhere for “interrogation” with no chance to defend ourselves.
Bush’s America.
He should have thought of that before he put people in harms way for no good reason.
January 11th, 2006 at 9:58 pmand that Coming from the Kings of Rhetoric: Bushco.
January 11th, 2006 at 10:50 pmSort of reminds me of the bumper sticker wars back in the 60’s. For every “America, love it or leave it sticker”, there were 2 that read “America, change it or lose it”. Seems appropriate for today.
January 12th, 2006 at 12:07 amI’ll bet Bush is thinking that his life would be a heck of a lot easier if this was a dictatorship…as long as he was the dictator.
January 12th, 2006 at 12:12 am“Whether you agree with me or not, we’re doing the right thing.”
January 12th, 2006 at 12:19 am- President Bush, January 11, 2006.
if you voted repulican then you have blood on your hands BIG TIME
January 12th, 2006 at 4:18 amI have a question for all supporters of President Bush. The president has claimed that Article 2, Section 2, of the US Constitution, in conjunction with the authority Congress gave to attack those responsible for 9-11 (I’m paraphrasing, which for those who don’t know what it means, means I’m not quoting, just giving the gist of it) gives him the authority to conduct wiretaps on American citizens within the US. He claims even broader powers than this.
My question is: How far do those powers go? Are there any limits to his power whatsoever? Could he decide that you are an enemy combatant, have you picked up off the street, thrown into a prison cell not necessarily in this country, deny you the right to a lawyer, deny you a right to have your case brought before any kind of judge, deny you contact with your family or friends, and then, after he decided the time was right, have you executed? Can he do that? Or are there limits to his authority? (I’ll keep this question handy to post elsewhere just in case.)
January 12th, 2006 at 8:36 amStaggering, how when talking about the ‘war on terror’, he always seems to actually be warning himself against the dangers of Dick Cheney. The biggest threat to American safety is not terrorism, but our leadership, or lack thereof.
January 12th, 2006 at 10:36 am