Daiwa

Reply to Still think Saddam had WMD's? in Politics JoeUser Forums

If you read the full Duelfer report, as opposed to the headlines, you'll find out that it actually s upports most of the pre-war intelligence assessment. It confirms, for those who might have been inclined otherwise, that Saddam maintained as much of the machinery for WMD development as he could possibly hold onto in the face of the sanctions and calls for inspections, and actively tried to give the impression that he was hiding something

Reply to Draft Inevitable — “no Brainer” in Politics JoeUser Forums

For those who espouse an all volunteer service, thanks to Rumsfeld’s shameless comment: that Vietnam draftees added “no value, no advantage, really, to the United States armed services…it took an enormous amount of effort in terms of training, and then they were gone.” The fact is the “no value” draftees in the last cent

Reply to Money trail behind Kerry's Iran stance in Politics JoeUser Forums

Kerry's approach to this is one of the dumbest things I've ever heard. Even if the mullahs have no relationship to any Kerry supporters whatsoever, they must be laughing their asses off. The notion of giving Iran the capability to make nukes as a test of their faithfulness to nuclear disarmament is stupendously idiotic. This is absolutely the scariest thing that has popped out of his mouth so far and needs to be trumpeted far and wide

Reply to The rest of the story on Cheney and Halliburton in Politics JoeUser Forums

WSJ tends to be conservative in its views, given it is a "business" journal, but in part because it is a business journal it tends to be relatively evenhanded politically, favoring those who are or would be good for the general business climate, whether Democrat or Republican. Republicans in general being historically more "business-friendly," WSJ has understandably tended to be more Republican in view than not. That does not undermine their p

Reply to The VP Debate: Too Bad Dick Cheney's Best Line Was A Lie in Politics JoeUser Forums

The sad truth is that both sides (all? sides) in a political campaign routinely make claims that opponents can call lies, because they are trying to cast "facts" in a light favorable to them. Getting into these "liar, liar, pants on fire" exchanges largely misses the point. Us poor voters have the job of sorting it all out and deciding on the basis of the preponderance of evidence (such as it exists) and our personal values and beliefs who is the bet

Reply to Still think Saddam had WMD's? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Also for the record, this should have been finished in 1990, when the WMD was a real threat. Would have been, if Bush 1.0 hadn't done the show under the terms of the Kerry Doctrine (as Kerry has recently espoused it). Acting unilaterally or with a smaller, more deferential coalition would have g

Reply to Apples and Oranges: Administrative and Senatorial Actions in Politics JoeUser Forums

Odd that few questioned John Kennedy’s credentials, though he was a relatively nondescript legislator.[\quote] Actually, if you review the history of the time, [bold]many[\bold] people questioned his credentials and commitment to his legislative duties. The current popular notion of Kennedy's political sainthood is the result of viewing history through the prism of his assassination, which elevated him to a status he had not really earned in

Reply to Cheney trumps Edwards in Politics JoeUser Forums

BakerStreet - I don't know if it was a rout, but I think the overall picture of the two left Cheney looking much better as a leader, and Edwards much better as a lawyer... Good nutshell. Sums it up well from my view. Cheers, Daiwa

Reply to Cheney trumps Edwards in Politics JoeUser Forums

Daiwa,. A good start to a plan for securing Iraq would have been--as Shinseki argued for and Bremer now admits--putting more troops on the ground to prevent the looting and to provide security. I think they honestly expected to be welcomed as liberators...fools. This just shows that they were wrong to go in and beyond that, they

Reply to Cheney trumps Edwards in Politics JoeUser Forums

Edwards repeatedly dodged questions by expanding on replies to previous questions, abusing the rules, such as they were. I also think Cheney did a good job of not rising to the bait of the Halliburton accusations. Edwards' effort to tar Cheney with Halliburton's alleged transgressions, the most serious of which occurred off his watch and some of which were first addressed with corrective action on his watch, just didn't work in my opini

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

The New York Post has disproved the claim -- by the rightwing spin machine -- that Kerry cheated. So THAT's what proof looks like! A report of a claim by a Kerry spokesman that he pulled out a pen. Wow, that was easy. Cheers, Diawa

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

It would be pretty tough to tell the difference between a single notecard and 6 or 7 in these video shots, so who knows. And I can't reconcile the notion of what is seen in the video being his hand or cuff - just doesn't look like that to me. I have no clue what it actually was, either, but it didn't look like that. In any event, I doubt this will bubble up into anything significant, though I, too, would like to see some better-resolution video.

Reply to The arrogance of the left in Current Events JoeUser Forums

Soros' money is reserved for social experiments, like legal drugs and testing to see if zombies can be elected President. And the problem would be?... Seriously, it is possible to support both Soros and Bush, technically speaking

Reply to Kerry 1, Bush 0 in Politics JoeUser Forums

I've been interested to note some of the aftermath of the debate. In listening to some talk radio and watching some of the television interviews, Kerry's various surrogates and supporters have taken the perceived "trouncing" of Bush (their word) as a green light to resurrect all the discredited lies and propaganda from months ago. It was pretty damn silly; suddenly the "tax breaks for the top 1%" (nevermind the top 10% pay nearly 80% of all tax reven

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

well. I guess you have you rmind made up then. I personally think that he was removing a cap from a pen. But if you want to really get into the whole cheating thing...(which I am sure he did not do), How would Kerry know what the questions were going to be to even paln on cheating.Like I said before though...it's crap. He did not

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

Can't they just admit Bush blew it and move on? Drag and many others have conceded Kerry "won" the debate, whatever that means. Whether Kerry tried to get a leg up, given the widespread belief that he's such a good natural debater, is a legitimate question, particularly given the video. Doesn't rise t

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

BigD & firefly - It stretches the imagination to say the video clearly shows anything. Whatever Bush is doing when he first steps to the podium is definitely not clear, but the motion looks like he's picked up a pen already on the podium and tested it, at least to me. Kerry is clearly taking something out of his jacket pocket and placing it on the podium. According to the rules, as they were, nothing was to be brought i

Reply to Did Kerry cheat in the debate? in Politics JoeUser Forums

No reason whatsoever for him to have anything in his pocket to place on the podium other than reminder cards. Looks pretty convincing to me. Wonder what the camera focused on Kerry during Bush's remarks during the debate showed? Worthy of someone in the MSM looking into - it might look a bit churlish if Bush or his campaign did the whining. As has been said ad nauseum, Kerry the Kameleon will do anything to get elected, so learning t

Reply to Florida Voter Fraud AGAIN!!! in Politics JoeUser Forums

Bush lost Florida and thereby the election in 2000, but he is still officially labeled the president. Guess he can thank the supreme court for that. I wonder if the same will happen this year. Amazing how, even now, nearly 4 years later, this fiction persists. Some believers just won't let facts get in

Reply to Kerry 1, Bush 0 in Politics JoeUser Forums

2 cents, here. I just don't believe, come Nov 2, that the electorate will allow looking & sounding good, in any or all of the debates, to run interference for Kerry's lack of principles. I still believe the election has almost nothing to do with Kerry and everything to do with Bush - it is Bush's election to lose. The short-sighted left could care less who their candidate is, just so long as Bush loses. They'll worry about Kerry if & after

Reply to Bush and debating in Politics JoeUser Forums

The ONLY REASON terrorists are killing Americans and the Iraqie people today is because George W. Bush invaded IRAQ! There was No terrorist operation in Iraq before we started the WAR. COL, you've lost your mind. Tell that to the families of the thousands of victims whose bodies were found in the mass

Reply to Bush and debating in Politics JoeUser Forums

Don't despair, Drag. Style may have carried the day in the past when TV was more of a novelty and we had fewer sources of information, but if style alone were what people are & have been paying attention to in this campaign, Kerry would already have been way ahead. Everyone likes to pretend that Nixon lost the election because of his debate appearance, but the fact is Kennedy won the election because of Daly. All that stuff about him sweatin

Reply to blogic: Debate Result II -- Kerry Appears Presidential in Politics JoeUser Forums

Funny - the most important thing to accomplish in the debate was to "look" presidential. Never mind he was an empty suit with a good tan. At least his supporters are openly admitting there is no substance there, that his only hope was to "look good." What an insult. Makes you better understand the significance of the phrase "appearances can be deceiving." Cheers, Daiwa

Reply to GUSHING DEMS. DROWN IN GLEE... in Politics JoeUser Forums

I don't have a problem with Bush's record being challenged. Comparing the records of the two candidates, Bush is the winner hands down. Is the incumbent a bit handicapped in these debates by virtue of the LOTFW/Candidate conundrum? Always. I, for one, think the majority of people will work their way past the style points scored by Kerry and remain focused on the substance. Just like it was too soon to consider the election over on Wednesday, it's

Reply to Fox News Busted for Posting Nasty Smear of Kerry to Web Site in Politics JoeUser Forums

As anyone who's spent some time @ JoeUser over the past couple of months will recognize, blogic is grasping at any conceivable straw that comes in range. That he'd call this a "smear" is really funny. Contrast that with what our righteous Senator Ted has had to say recently and tell me who's doing the smearing; talk about having gall - calling Bush a liar with his history? - spare me. Cameron's attempt at satire may have been politica