Rep. Shimkus: Iraq War Is Like ‘My Beloved St. Louis Cardinals’ Facing ‘The Cubbies’
Rep. Shimkus: Iraq War Is Like ‘My Beloved St. Louis Cardinals’ Facing ‘The Cubbies’
Today on the House floor, Rep. John Shimkus (R-IL) compared the war in Iraq to a Major League Baseball feud, asking fellow members of Congress to “Imagine my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing the much despised Chicago Cubs.”
The Cardinals are up by five finishing the top of the ninth. Is this a cause for celebration? Is this a cause for victory? No. Unbelievable as it may seem, the Cubbies score five runs in the bottom of the ninth to throw the games into extra innings. There the score remains until 1:00 AM five innings later. However at the top of the 15th, the Cardinals fail to field a batter. The entire team has left the stadium. … Who wins? We know it’s the team that stays on the field.
Watch it:
The war in Iraq isn’t a baseball game. No one gets killed in a Cardinals v. Cubs game. U.S. troops need to withdraw from Iraq not because the other “team” is beginning to catch up, but because our presence there is helping to fuel the violence and forcing our troops to referee an intractable civil war.
Transcript:
Imagine my beloved St. Louis Cardinals are playing the much despised Chicago Cubs. The Cardinals are are up by five, finishing the top of the ninth. Is this a cause for celebration? Is this a cause for victory? No. Unbelievable as it may seem, the Cubbies score five runs in the bottom of the ninth to throw the games into extra innings. There the score remains until 1:00 AM, five innings later. However, at the top of the 15th, the Cardinals fail to field a batter. The entire team has left the stadium. It seems that they are more worried about next day’s 1:00 PM game at home than finishing the game at hand. Who wins? We know it’s the team that stays on the field. Arbitrary deadlines and a date certain accept defeat before the conclusion of the contest. It is our national security interest that continue to take the field and support a moderate Arab state. Leaving prior assures a loss for us and victory for our opponents which will lead to another extremist Islamic state.
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What an a$$hole.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:21 pmEven a baseball game gets called at some point. Often just because of rain.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:21 pmMaybe this is why the congress of the USA is incapable of responding to the administration as it has been instructed to respond by the voters in Nov 06. Baseball indeed! don't sully the sport by ignorant comments.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:23 pmIraq Occupation = sucks
Baseball = sucks
I see how the comparison is accurate. : ) j/k
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 pmAs one would hear on the Stephanie Miller Show:
"Thanks for playing, 'Really Bad Analogies'
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 pmbeavis and butthead are both more aware. and they don't call their little soldier's "cubby"
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 pmPoliticians like this guy always belittle the results of their wars. They want us to think it's a game, us vs. them, and that whoever gets hurt is nothing more than an unfortunate result. (if they acknowledge the deaths at all!)
In fact, what they're really doing is reducing those who are killed into something less than human - a statistic, collateral damage - and there's little that could be more repulsive than that.
Some further reading:
"Collateral Damage is Murder"
http://www.populistamerica.com/collateral_damage_is_murder
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:24 pmWhen are these people going to sink so low that even they are embarressed at themselves?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:26 pmTell me he was drunk.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pmIt isn't about winning or losing either. It's about doing the right thing (not that the Republicans and the Bush administration know anything about that concept). Always having to "win" is for egomaniacs.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pmAnother Moron Republican waiting to be replaced.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:27 pmWhoa, that guy is f*cking crazy! He literally called the Iraq war a contest, like there's going to be some big raffel and then we all go home...
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:28 pm.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:30 pmWhat a clueless moron. Typical. Do ANY Republican policies actually work?
.
They won't be embarrassed until they're on their death bed, trying to atone for all the greed/bloodshed/selfishness/arrogance/etc etc etc...
Until then, they'll enjoy their ill-gotten gains, sleep w/ a few whores, get addicted to oxycontin (while claiming moral superiority over EVERYONE else in the world), & generally be the same d-bags they are right now.
And, the truth is, in the aggregate, most of these people & their cheerleaders will go unpunished. This is why I'm losing hope...
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmThis is complete Bullsh!t. The Cubs never come back from being down by 5 in the 9th.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmAfter so many lives have been lost it is shameful to compare the Iraq war to a baseball game. We are dealing with real human lives and we cannot keep our troops in place because of pride or a desire to "win." It's time we approach the situation in Iraq from a new angle. Poverty breeds terrorism and perhaps if we shifted our focus to fighting poverty itself, we could see improvements in Iraq that this war has failed to bring about. It's time we follow through on the UN Millennium goals and implement a plan to eliminate severe poverty throughout the world. According to the Borgen Project, this will not only help the poor, but will strengthen our security, as it will result in the reduction of terrorism.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmFirst of all let me say, "much despised Chicago Cubsâ€, let me at him, let me at him.
Now that I feel better, when you're winning at the bottom of the ninth, don't you usually just go home?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmThis would be equivalent IF:
The Beloved Cardinals first created the Cubbies in order to beat their other rival, the Mets.
The Cardinals then supplied the Cubbies with all of their equipment with which to beat you.
Showed up at the Cubbies stadium and tore it to bits, leaving an unrecognizable pile of Wrigley - except for the concession stands...which the Cards will then control.
Proceeded to capture and kill the Cubbies manager - even if the players didn't like him.
Reinstate a new manager. One that heeds the demands of the Cards.
The Cardinals manager fails to manage anything - leaving players wandering around just trying to make it to the next inning.
Refusing to leave after the Cubbies told them that the game was OVER and the fans, well all but 27% of them, went home.
That sounds about right.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:31 pmThis kind of stupidity can't be helping the Repugs.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:32 pmAre there any Republiscums that are not totally round the bend? If so, not very many....at all.
This man is a spoiled, disgusting, child. He should not be part of our government. What will it take for the American people to get rid of these blights on our country?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:32 pmWTF?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:32 pmWTF is he talking about. Nice work to the people who elected this guy!
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:33 pmOk does anyone know a good bookie? I'm curious whether the odds of the U.S. winning the war in Iraq are greater or less than the Cubs winning the World Series.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:34 pmWhat's best is that this whackjob just inferred that the Chicago Cubs are terrorists.
Perfect.
If anyone is an ace at photoshop, please do up a photo with Saddam Hussein in a Cub's uniform. It would be priceless to send to this guy's hometown newspaper.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:35 pmFurther proof that Repukes are all inbred redneck bigoted fascist imbeciles.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:35 pmblah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah and given my limited sheltered existence has colored my perspective blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah as a result of my limited dichotomous thinking as a Repuke my drivel mixed with fear and bigotry blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah blah In summarry I do not have a clue as to why I support this disaster but I support it.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:35 pmReal analogy - the Cardinals flew to Chicago, went into the Cubs players' homes, and started raping their girlfriends. That started riots in Chicago and now it's best for the Cards to get the hell out.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:35 pmBush shows even less seriousness and tops I'm the decider.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:36 pmWhat a freakin' embarassment. This is what they're reduced to? An idiotic baseball analogy that bears no resemblance whatsoever to what's going on?
Shimkus, go back to your seat and put your head down on your desk.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:36 pmCan this guy be any more clueless? Does he not know that the game between the Cubs and the Cardinals was cancelled Sunday night because a Cardinal pitcher was killed in a car wreck late Saturday night?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:37 pmCincinnati Reds are Kurds, Saint Loius Cardinals are Sunni, Mets are Shia. What are the L.A. Dodgers again and who is on first?????
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:38 pmLet us summarize = THIS IS JUST A GAME.
OK we get it now.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:42 pmShimkus is one of the people who KNEW about Mark Foley's emails to pages and did NOTHING.
NO CREDIBILITY.
Another PARTY OVER COUNTRY azzhole TRAITOR.
See YOU in hell Shimky (cause I'LL be THERE),
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:42 pmMr. Bush
MURDEROUS WAR CRIMINAL
COXUCKER PUNK TRAITOR TO THE USA (TM--BushCrimeCo, Inc.)
(with apologies to Mr.Hancock's family)
Players don't die on the field of play, you numbnutz! After the game is over, they go home to their family, and, hopefully, are thankful they get paid so well to play a child's game.
Meanwhile, the city of Muskegon lost a 19 year old soldier over in Iraq. 19 YEARS OLD!!!
Mr Shimkus (who just happens to be in my In-Laws district), why don't you tell that family about how the Iraqi war is like a baseball game, it's just that their son won't be playing.....ever.
Insenstive moron!
I don't have time to google, but I wonder what Mr. Shimkus' military record is?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:42 pmCincinnati Reds are Kurds, Saint Loius Cardinals are Sunni, Mets are Shia. What are the L.A. Dodgers again and who is on first?????
Comment by Your Conscience — May 2, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
In that case the Saudis would definitely be the Yankees - a huge payroll but they still need a designated hitter.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:43 pm#27. My guess is that's why he even used this analogy that struckout.
I thought the Cards were the US, Cubbies were all that's evil. (Cards are red and there will always be Cubby Blue). Does this make the St. Louis Rams the British?
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmThis is complete Bullsh!t. The Cubs never come back from being down by 5 in the 9th.
Comment by hellinabucket — May 2, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
sniffle, sniffle
So true, hellinabucket, so true.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmAnd Rep. Shimkus is like the dumb*ss fantasy baseball player who has nothing invested except for his meaningless reputation
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:44 pmonly a clueless chickehawker would compare a combat situation to a f*cking baseball game.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:45 pmThere is no comparison. Baseball you usually don't have to worry about someone trying to shoot you or blow you up.
This speaks volumes about the idiots that sent this Braindead Moron to Washington to represent them.
The more I watch these Republican Nincompoops "out themselves" as to their level of complicity in this war and their continued stupidity, it's beginning to resemble "comedy central". More than one has alluded to Bush not being a popular or good president....well, duh! It's well beyond unpopularity or "good"....he's THE WORST PRESIDENT EVER IN THE HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY. I'd be very careful if I were those Rethugs attempting to discredit the will of the american people. Soon these fools on the hill will find themselves out of a job when the american people oust their sorry asses out into the street.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:46 pmShimkus spelled backwards is:
SUK MI H(oly) S(taff)
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:47 pmAgain, HE was the head of the PAGE COMMITTEE who KNEW what Foley
was doing, and did NOTHING.
Until Foley was OUTED.
CRIMINAL SCUM
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:48 pmFrom his own website:
John received his bachelor of science degree in general engineering from the United States Military Academy at West Point. He served over five years active duty in the Army following his graduation, then entered the Army Reserves. John currently holds the rank of lieutenant colonel.
33. Shane, it hurt me to write it. But the Cubs won 8 to 6 in the suspended game against the Pirates today.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:50 pmRep. Shimkus
How many American soldiers have YOU murdered this month? Are you proud of your numbers?
Here I'll help you as a mother of a service member, you have KILLED over 100 US soldiers.
Ask your Republicans USA TROOP Killer friends in Congress for a napkin to wipe the blood of your bloody hands.
You must be so proud of your progress in Iraq and your accomplishments of ruining military families lives.
Mission Accomplished Killed over 100 US Soldiers in APRIL 2007, thoughtfully contributed by Rep. Shimkus!
Alert a war criminal on the lose, it is Rep. Shimkus !!!!!!!
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:52 pmSincerely
Soldiers MOM
Ok does anyone know a good bookie? I’m curious whether the odds of the U.S. winning the war in Iraq are greater or less than the Cubs winning the World Series.
Comment by toasterhead — May 2, 2007 @ 1:34 pm
Cub fans know it isn't whether you win or lose it's how you play the game. World Series, what's that? Winning the war in Iraq, what does that mean?
Might as well ask the bookie about an unstopable force meeting an immovable object.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:53 pmIn the 2006 election, 142,603 people in the 19th district of Illinois voted for this guy. That fact alone scares the hell out of me.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 pmWatching President Bush deliver his promised veto of the Iraq supplemental funding bill yesterday was akin to a bad game of Mad Libs. The President predictably demonstrated his resolve by filling-in the blanks in his speech by resorting to his repertoire of worn-out Iraq talking points, such as "surrender date" and "handcuffing the generals."
Now you too can play Bush Iraq Mad Libs!
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:54 pmwho is on first?????
Comment by Your Conscience — May 2, 2007 @ 1:38 pm
I don't know who is on first.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pmWOW people voted for him. lol
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pmI nominate this for Worst Analogy of the Year.
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:55 pmTodays lesson is in A GALLON of gasoline.
Click on the link and place in a request for a 6 year chart for the average cost of A GALLON of GASOLINE.
In Jan 2001, 1.03 A GALLON
May 2, 2007 3.00 + A GALLON
Mission Accomplished in how to
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:58 pm"rape"
the american public blind!
U.S. bill to pull out of Iraq simply electioneering - Russia MP
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:58 pmhttp://www.gasbuddy.com/gb_retail_price_chart.aspx?time=24
May 2nd, 2007 at 1:58 pmShane, it hurt me to write it. But the Cubs won 8 to 6 in the suspended game against the Pirates today.
Comment by hellinabucket — May 2, 2007 @ 1:50 pm
Hey, I live with two White Sox fans, I'm used to being demeaned about my team. Thanks for the update though, since I'm taping fishing for my husband.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:00 pmShane,
that is correct, who is on first, What's on second, I Don't Know's on third.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:01 pmYes, they voted for a PEDOPHILE ENABLER (Mark Foley).
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/1006/p02s01-uspo.html
Stupid is as stupid does...
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pmLet us see how the people in IL feel after paying 4.25 in august 2007 for a gallon of a gasoline. And after paying 6.00 for a gallon of milk in august 2007.
Just add another 35 percent to your current grocery bill in august 2007.
So many american will really love him then.
142,603 people in the 19th district of Illinois voted for this guy.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:02 pmIf he wants to be known as a team player, then he needs to put on a uniform and get his ass over to Iraq and join the troops fighting, right now... wtf is he waiting for?
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:03 pmBush is a curse! America's top war profiteer has by now a strong grip! His plans: debilitate an overstretched army to the point of collapse crash the economy bring America to total chaos out of which the New World Order will emerge. All at the expense of who? the american people
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pmComment by Lupeyg2 — May 2, 2007 @ 1:31 pm
That was quite good actually.
When the "Beloved Cardinals" lose do they then blame it on the Cubs mascot?
Also, if we're using sports metaphors now - would the 'surge' be a Hail Mary pass? Which, if it fails, can then be blamed on those pesky Democrats and their insistence on a time limit for the game?
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pmIn the 2006 election, 142,603 people in the 19th district of Illinois voted for this guy. That fact alone scares the hell out of me.
Comment by wake me when it's over — May 2, 2007 @ 1:54 pm
In defense of Illinois, can I say that part of Illinois is like living in the deep south. Well that's the spin I'm going with to save the rest of us from humiliation. Is it working?
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:04 pmIf only the terrible illegal war in Iraq could be settled by a baseball game... there wouldn't need to be bloodshed or bombs, just bats and balls.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 pmthat is correct, who is on first, What’s on second, I Don’t Know’s on third.
Comment by Your Conscience — May 2, 2007 @ 2:01 pm
Who is on first?
teehee
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:06 pmThey are either STUPID or been lied to by this Republican US TROOP KILLER.
These people will wise up after commodities SURGE another 35 percent. And they can't even afford to buy hamburger.
Surge in COMMODITIES equals WAR Time.
I'll post charts tomorrow of :
the us dollar
gold
commodities index
treasury bills
brent sweet crude oil
home heating oil
and you SHALL SEE the screaming inflation raping all americans blind.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:09 pmThe truly remarkable stupidity of the Right Wing mind still manages to amaze me.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:10 pmTo the Republicans, this is not really about losing a war with Iraq; this is about losing a war with liberals. If they admit that they've screwed up, they see that as losing an ideological war here at home. Terrorist, Islamo-facists, insurgents: these were never the REAL enemy. It is we progressives who they feel they are really figthing.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:11 pmLet us see how the people in IL feel after paying 4.25 in august 2007 for a gallon of a gasoline. And after paying 6.00 for a gallon of milk in august 2007.
Comment by Republicans are M U R D E R E R S — May 2, 2007 @ 2:02 pm
Already paying $3.24/gallon and that's outside of Cook County which is higher.
Since my daughter informed be yesterday that she is not drinking any milk that has bovine growth hormone in it, I'll be paying $10 per gallon.
And at my business, I'm already paying about $8 extra in fuel surcharges for deliveries and services each time somebody shows up.
But hey, I don't need to buy anything anyway. As long as those top 1%ers have their money to invest this trickle down economics keeps on working.
We gotta keep the war going though so those big money guys don't feel the pinch, right.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:16 pmIf Shimkus still holds rank, then he needs to have his "reserve status" activated. If and when he returns from Iraq, he can then do the war/baseball analysis.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:16 pmThis is one of those comments that just makes you want to hang your head in disgust - how on earth can anyone be this removed from reality? So sick, so amazingly sick. It brings stupidity to a whole new low...
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:17 pmMight as well ask the bookie about an unstopable force meeting an immovable object.
Comment by Shane — May 2, 2007
Hmm, good point...
Well what about an overstretched force meeting an abstract concept? I might as well put some money down on the War on Terror while I'm at it...
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:18 pmShimkus was in charge of the Congressional Page program last term remember? He represents the district just above me. I wish he wouldn't insult the Cardinals or Cubs. There is no comparison to be made. What's funny is if he were only about fifty miles north he'd be saying "my beloved Cubbies".
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:19 pmHe is forgetting the bushco rule: play ball with us or we will shove the bat up your ...
And King George the Dumb has yet to realize that Congress has changed the rule: Congress is now the shover and KGtD the shovee.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:20 pmIf the baseball game lasts long enough, it becomes Cricket -- international pass-time of imperialists worldwide! Yay!
(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cricket_%28sport%29 if you're confused. Note the "First Class Matches" entry.)
Though he does introduce an interesting idea -- let's pay all of our soldiers as if they were major league baseball players and give their managers the option to pull their players off the field when they're too tired to play this particular game well anymore so that they'll be rested when we decide to invade Shea stadium... Then we can have the players testify before congress about rampant juicing that's ruining the sport and should be cause for denying soldiers promotions... and have the President drop the first bomb of the war season! Yes, this "War as Our National Pass-Time" analogy is so ripe it's positively moldy.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:21 pmIt is we progressives who they feel they are really figthing.
Peter, I think you are on to something. Good point. Look at how quickly they attack Democrats and liberal thinkers. Whew - we scare the bejesus out them just because we have the ability the THINK, something that they are lacking.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:24 pmIf Bush was a failed football team owner instead of a failed baseball team owner, I wonder if he would at least understand that some games have time limits?!
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:27 pmSo does he think we should just "stay on the field" until the Sunnis, Shiites, and anyone who does not like America, just leaves Iraq?
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:35 pmSports are analogous to everything...
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:36 pm"I should also add that I am an idiot."
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:40 pmThat is absolutely the worst sports anolgy I have ever heard. Besides, I'm a Tigers fan.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:43 pmDumbshit hack of a Congressman. He's been so useless in the House that the Republicans had him in a do-nothing job, something about running the page program, and we all know how effective he was at that.
Seriously, this is beyond shameless.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:52 pmWhat he's saying is to continue the war until everyone on one side is dead and gone.
May 2nd, 2007 at 2:55 pmIraq is not a win by default issue mr. Shimkus
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:04 pmYou may have read a baseball manual but he knows nothing about policy.
Ha ha. And in the nineties we were afraid of being elitist. Oh to have a Rhodes Scholar back. Besides, the Cubs are lovable losers that everyone gets behind. By douchebags logic, we all be rooting for the Cubbies. But in reality, they'd find a way to lose . . . wait a minute . . . I forgot, are we talknig about sports or America's foreign policy?
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:06 pmAs even this idiot should know, eventually one team will run out of players. In his scenario, the Cards have 40 and the Cubs can keep recruiting players forever. In fact, the very fact that the game is being played serves as a recruiting tool for the Cubs and they're not limited in how many players they have on the roster, much less how many players are on the field. Furthermore, the Brewers have started to show up and there's a really good chance that the White Sox, the Tigers and the Indians will be there for late innings.
A better analogy is Pete Seeger's: "We're waist deep in the Big Muddy and the big fool says to push on." No one has improved on that line.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:14 pmWhat a crappy analogy.
Maybe more like a visitor of St Louis getting off on a bad part of town.
I guess he reads a bit too much George Will.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:41 pmFortunately, innocent fans and other bystanders attending your average baseball game are not getting killed the longer hte game goes. Imagine what MLB would do if more fans were blown up, shot, executied, etc., each inning.
May 2nd, 2007 at 3:47 pmAll the Democrats "sitting" in Congress know what will happen next via economics 101 within the USA. The longer we sit in Iraq the Storm USA Economic STORM "S H A L L be BIG".
Good Luck to all
Those Little Blue DOgs best get off their BUTTS, and fast, Vote via Feingold & Reid Bill to end the NIGHTMARE war. Cause they to shall be held liable.
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:00 pmComment by Shane — May 2, 2007 @ 2:16 pm
Hiden DEFECTS in "trickle down" effects coming to a theater near you and me.
Bush screwed this up, big time.
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:07 pmOk, if the visitors bat first, and and in his scenario, at the end of the top of the ninth, the Cardinals are up and ahead, then the Cubs score the runs to tie up the game... then the Cardinals (US) are visiting the Cubs (Iraqis) and his metaphor is at least consistent... but he's ignoring one glaring fact that a lot of Republican politicians seem to be ignoring: it's not our field!
We have to go home sometime, don't we? Or did someone find oil under Wrigley Field?
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:11 pmThe only appropriate baseball analogy would be "Casey at the Bat"
Oh, somewhere in this favored land the sun is shining bright.
The band is playing somewhere, and somewhere hearts are light.
And, somewhere men are laughing, and little children shout,
but there is no joy in Mudville --
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:15 pmmighty Casey (Bush) has struck out.
Are you kidding me? Did he just compare the Iraq war/occupation to a baseball rivalry? What a moron!
May 2nd, 2007 at 4:38 pmHis head slopes so far back and his jaw juts out far enough that you can be certain that Neanderthal blood flows through his veins. His brain case is about equal in size to that of J Fred Muggs.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:05 pmSorry J Fred, I just insulted you!
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:07 pmAnd Neanderthals as well!
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:10 pmThis is the same kind of sophomoric thinking (whatever terminology it's couched in) that resulted in the deaths of 58,000 American troops and over 1,000,000 Vietnamese in Vietnam. Multiply each of those numbers by at least three to describe the injured (many of them permanently), then multiply the total by another three, at least, (to represent each family member affected.) We currently have 3,300+ dead American troops, over 20,000 injured (many of them permanently), and at least 60,000 Iraqis killed and probably three times that injured (many of them permanently). We lost in Vietnam, not because the American public finally said STOP. We lost in Vietnam because the Vietnamese were fighting for their OWN country. That war was lost years before our troops finally left. And BOTH wars were unjustified and irrational.
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:15 pmWhat can possibly make this analogy of the deadly business of war to a baseball game more offensive. How's about doing it in the week when his beloved St. Louis Cardinals lost their star pitcher, Josh Hancock, to a fatal car accident?
Please visit the Schapira blog, "What we know so far ...
"... and tell 'em Big Mitch sent ya!"
May 2nd, 2007 at 6:59 pmThe crash comes after the war.
The big hands of corporate greed will keep it going for as long as possible. They reap for their short term benefit. They cut the crop once, and only once, since they will only want OUT to purfect escape.
You, and I will be called on the bill later.
And where will they run to?
May 2nd, 2007 at 7:30 pmWill their pardon come?
A much better analogy would be that the "cards" signed Roger Clemens to a one year contract as a free agent, and when he got to "sl" he found the manager was an idiot and the remaining members of the team incompetent. So incompetent that the catcherer wouldn't catch the pitches.
The only thing that RC could do was quit as his reputation and marketability would be injured dramatically if he stayed.
Get the picture?
May 2nd, 2007 at 8:30 pmWrigley Field has been compared to a urinal (mostly by White Sox fans), but this is the first time I've heard it compared to Iraq. My Nationals are going to the North Side this weekend; perhaps Manny Acta and company should wear combat gear.
May 2nd, 2007 at 9:22 pmYeah, it's just like that except for all the dead bodies of players and fans littering the field......and the stadium that if falling apart from bomb blasts.
Good analogy, Birdbrain!
May 2nd, 2007 at 10:07 pmI'd like him to explain his comments to the constituents who lost loved ones in Iraq. Disgusting SOB.
May 2nd, 2007 at 11:39 pmMr. Shimkus to use a baseball analogy, you are out in left field. Does this mean that war is America's favorites pasttime? Maybe, it is for the neocons but it didn't appear to be that way for the majority of Americans who voted in November 2006. You will rubberstamp everything that President Bush wants. You have increased the size of your war chest and have forgotten the fact that you "believed" in term limits. The voters of IL Congressional District 19 need to vote you out. First, Foleygate. Now Cub/Cardgate. In my opinion, you have just fouled out.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:06 amShimkus was making an analogy. When a speaker does this, he is not trying to say one thing this is exactly like another. But rather that one thing can be COMPARED to another. Military tactics are a game that is played in blood. A better analogy may be to football where you have a strategic plan to make your advance to the goalline. But to achieve this you need tactical plays to achieve your strategic goal. In war you have a strategic goal to be achieved by many tactical battles. What Shimkus was saying is that the Iraqi insurgents, many of whom are not even Iraqis, feel very strongly in thier right to kill indescriminately, and our soldiers feel equally as strongly in freedom. The mainstream media is like a handfull of fans on the Iraqi side using a stack of Marshall amps and a microphone to cheer thier underdog on. Even though many more supporters are on the other side, the players on the field can only hear the fanatics with mikes. The fans with the mikes can inspire the inferior team to win. But regardless, the game can be drawn out by the losing team being inspired to continue. I can understand the problems many have with this analogy. It is probably a concept that is hard to understand if you need help determining what the meaning of "is" is.
May 3rd, 2007 at 9:59 amWell, the number of casualties in Iraq does have to be approaching somewhere around the number of guys on the Cubs' disabled list.
May 3rd, 2007 at 2:51 pmGee, I am heading to Chicago next weekend....and I fear I don't have the right gear. Is it as safe as a Bagdad Market on McCain Shopping Day?
Is this guy for real? Is there air on his planet? Only an out-of-touch, me-and-the-family-are-on-our-way-to-mall-to-shop, did-say-there-is-a war-on, brain-dead Repug would make such a comparison. While thousands of Americans men and women are killed and injured, and tens of thousands are killed and injured, this Repug mouths off like a baying jackass.
God, save us from these insane Repugs.
May the 2008 election be like an electoral bloodbath on their house.
May 3rd, 2007 at 3:15 pmCongressman Shimkus is a personal friend of mine and I appalled that such hatred can come from the previous comments.
No analogy is perfect.
May 3rd, 2007 at 8:35 pmGlad to see such "enlightened progressives" can understand an analogy.
May 3rd, 2007 at 11:21 pmI'm embarassed that this idiot represents my district. Yes, he "promised" he would serve a limited number of terms -- he lied, he ran again (and was re-elected) because "President Bush personally asked him to". Yes, he "promised" to protect the pages as the Head of the Page Program -- yet, when parents complained to him about Foley, he went directly to Foley and did not launch ANY kind of investigation into it. Yes, he "promised" to represent the people of his district, yet, he consistently votes straight-line with Bush and the GOP, against any minimum wage income, pro-big-business. His district is the largest (in area) congressional district east of the Mississippi River, look it up on the internet, it's a gerrymandered piece of crap. It's mostly farmland (rich farmers) and hand-selected pieces of over a dozen counties. What a farce. He IS a classic example of why we need term limits and a fix to the gerrymandered districting that has left so many voters disenfranchised.
May 4th, 2007 at 9:00 amJust another straw for liberals to grasp at in their attempt to villaify anyone who is against defeatism and cut and run !!!!!! The man was merely using an example to illustrate a point; that you lose automatically by default whenever you walk off and leave when involved in any engagement of two sides in any kind of conflict!!!!!!! GET OVER IT ! USE THE BRAIN GOD GAVE YOU !
May 4th, 2007 at 11:18 amYou know, that baseball analogy would work if at the end of each inning, they killed one player from each team. (I know this is a sensitive subject re: the Cardinals this week, but anyway.)
Suddenly, stopping the game doesn't seem so stupid, does it.
May 5th, 2007 at 2:55 pmActually, in baseball, the team that stays on the field is the team giving up runs. This is a tasteless, inapt, inept, atte,[t at metaphor, and it's flat out incorrect at that. Dumbass.
May 7th, 2007 at 2:04 pmNotice the Representative is from Illinois. Last I checked Chicago was in Illinois, yet his team is the Cardinals. How can he support the troops when he's using analogies that show he can't support his HOME TEAM.
May 14th, 2007 at 10:33 am