That's the headline on the front page, linking to an article with the headline "Obama Defends Drone Strikes But Says No Cure-All."
So what the hell just happened? A big deal or almost nothing? I assume Obama wanted to appease the doves, but are they appeased and, more important, should they be appeased? I feel like TPM doesn't even know what to think. When I heard Obama's articulation of the drone policy, I thought it sounded like he was trying to say something that the left would like, but that in fact he reserved for himself all the power he needed to do anything he wanted to do, that is, that nothing had changed.
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129 comments:
So... does that mean there's no more terrorism?
Obama Declares Peace on Earth.
[Links to Obama teen prom photos.]
Oh, garsh, he's just sooo cute.
Wretchard:
...This incident illustrates, if nothing else, the endpoint of the social engineering of the West. It has been remarkably effective.
From a certain point of view, the British crowd behaved perfectly and this is the way “they” all want us to behave. The populace sheltered in place, didn’t do anything rash, talked to the perpetrators as people. They waited for the police to come and the hospital helicopter to take the corpse away. Some will doubtless get counseling to overcome their shattering experience.
And then they will congratulate themselves on how tough British society is; resilience and all that. The more caring will leave some flowers by a railing and hold a few candle vigils for healing and peace, until these wither and blow away and the news cycle washes up a new object of attention.
The attackers knew they were actors in a drama — as keenly watched in their communities as on the BBC. And in that other audience they were asking: “How will the locals behave?” We know now. And that other audience may derive an entirely different lesson from this tableau: “See? Only their women act like men. They follow orders. They are nothing anymore — these Westerners. They are a civilization whose core has been destroyed.”
And would they be right? Who will be the judge? Per C.S. Lewis:
And all the time — such is the tragi-comedy of our situation — we continue to clamor for those very qualities we are rendering impossible. You can hardly open a periodical without coming across the statement that what our civilization needs is more “drive”, or dynamism, or self-sacrifice, or “creativity”. In a sort of ghastly simplicity we remove the organ and demand the function. We make men without chests and expect of them virtue and enterprise. We laugh at honor and are shocked to find traitors in our midst. We castrate and bid the geldings be fruitful.
What could go wrong?
Obama's magic Peace Prize will save us!
So... does that mean there's no more terrorism?
Ask TPM. Obama didn't say that.
Today, Obama's talent for saying a great deal about not very much was on display.
Our enemies are licking their chops.
Ann Althouse said...
So what the hell just happened? A big deal or almost nothing?
As I noted above, our enemies are happy, so that is a big deal.
How many lives it costs is up in the air, but, as our Little Zero, walked away and let 4 good men die when they could have been saved, to him it's nothing.
That's what people are to him.
Nothing.
If he's going to overrule the few adults left in DC and totally capitulate, I wonder if he realizes there's room under the bus for him, too.
Good news for the winning side. Wars end when one side surrenders to the other. So Undercover Muslim Obama beat them to it.
It's a brilliant plan. Now Obama has time to surrender to Putin.
Obama wants to fight a covert war. Too many people are asking too many questions to which he has no knowledge to answer. He knows nothing, right?
Meanwhile, the armed conflict in Mexico continues apace. The armed conflict in Pakistan and Afghanistan continue apace. The armed conflict in Egypt, Libya, Yemen, Syria, and so on, continue apace.
What happened to North Korea?
Is he still trying to disarm law-abiding Americans?
I think we're supposed to celebrate the return of peace and forget all the recent unpleasantness with the alphabet agencies of the Executive Branch.
The Most Transparent Administration, Evah.
Obscurantist language obscures incoherence and power grabbing. Fans search for positive meaning.
Explain again why you voted for him?
Benghazi must have been the last gasp of the terrorists - no wonder Hillary and Obama aren't concerned about it.
phx said...
So... does that mean there's no more terrorism?
Ask TPM. Obama didn't say that."
Matthew didn't say he did. Why are you lying?
Since up till now at least, the Left fellates Obama no matter what he does, saying something to appease them while continuing to do what he wants is a logical strategy.
He's doubling down on recklessness.
Afpak and Iraq are winding down, Al Qaeda's on the run, Libya's a Success. Peace is around the corner.
Even drones will become obsolete one day.
Didn't you guys hear the Cairo speech?
Explain again why you voted for him?
1) It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
2) I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's - I feel safer with his administration dealing with Iran and NK;
3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama;
4) The Republicans didn't offer anyone I could get behind other than Jon Huntsman.
Why are you lying?
I'm sorry. What was my lie exactly?
Pass. Too easy.
Apparently not.
Our enemies are licking their chops.
Yup. And smacking their lips. Heck, Obama may as well given the Muzzies GPS coordinated straight to our troops in this speech.
JG
So what the hell just happened?
TPM confirmed their outrage over drones is entirely for show.
phx said...
Explain again why you voted for him?
1) It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
His Senate term gave us economic collapse.
The best thing to have done was to let the markets sort it out (y'know, that evolution thing Lefties keep telling us they believe in), but we ended up $16T in debt and lowest workforce participation since the 70s.
2) I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's - I feel safer with his administration dealing with Iran and NK;
Yes, Dubya wanted to beat them and Choom wanted to make them his homies. We see how that worked in Benghazi.
And when the Dinner Jacket sets off his first nuke, let us know how "comfortable" you are then.
3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama;
Oh, yeah, if you liked the Armed Forces under Bucketmouth and Willie, you'll love what we have now.
The Army's down 80,000, male rape in all services is way up (no pun), and the Navy needs to replace its old ships but can't because there isn't any money.
Yeah, they're doing SWELL.
4) The Republicans didn't offer anyone I could get behind other than Jon Huntsman.
The Republicans didn't offer him. Daddy's money did.
I'm beginning to think he really is Ed Schultz. What he says is just dumb enough for MSLSD.
Amazing he's been in office almost 5 years at his speech makes it sound like once he gets in office he's going to make some changes.
"More mush from the wimp"
phx: "3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama."
In what ways?
By what criteria?
How about the War on Drugs and the War on Poverty? Either or both of those still on?
TPM says Obama Declares End To Global War On Terror.
Oh, ok. That's good news I guess.
Ummm. Who won?
Mathew: "So... does that mean there's no more terrorism?"
LOL
Of course not.
However, pretending that we've-got-them-on-the-run and the-war-is-over means you can attempt to shrink the military even more to get at the money you need to buy even more votes with welfare programs.
Of course, our military commitments and requirements haven't changed.
OT but somewhat related: Can someone -- anyone -- explain why the problem with Guantanamo is that we are holding prisoners indefinitely without trial in that particular place, and not that we are, well, holding prisoners indefinitely without trial, full stop? Are we supposed to care whether they're in Cuba or Illinois or NY? Are they supposed to care?
Obama today:
"And that is why I intend to engage Congress about the existing Authorization to Use Military Force, or AUMF, to determine how we can continue to fight terrorists without keeping America on a perpetual war-time footing."
"So I look forward to engaging Congress and the American people in efforts to refine, and ultimately repeal, the AUMF’s mandate."
I think he's saying, "Stop me before I kill again."
phx: "3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama."
In what ways?
Here's the Navy blog I follow. Most of my reading about military procurements, readiness and planning is from here. Galrhan is critical of Obama, particularly for the sequester, but overall I gather our military is in solid shape, unmatched by anyone in the world by far.
www.informationdissemination.net
MDT: "OT but somewhat related: Can someone -- anyone -- explain why the problem with Guantanamo is that we are holding prisoners indefinitely without trial in that particular place, and not that we are, well, holding prisoners indefinitely without trial, full stop?"
There are really 2 quick parts to the response:
1) Unlawful enemy combatants should be held until the war/conflict has been definitively won.
2) The left wants to transfer these detainees because they (the left) WANTS to treat them as simple criminals and not as enemy combatants.
It's that simple.
MDT: "Are we supposed to care whether they're in Cuba or Illinois or NY?"
We should care because moving them to our homeland is the first step (in the lefts plan) to transition the detainees status from unlawful combatant to simple criminal.
MDT: "Are they supposed to care?"
They care because they know that if they obtain simple criminal status they will be in a position to use the courtroom to propagandize and propagate their message.
Again, this is not complicated.
And yes, in what must be (must be) another in a long line of "strange" "coincidences", the preferences of our sworn enemies just happens to align with much of the left in the US.
Coincidently, I'm sure.
This is what peak bullshit smells like. In case any graduates were wondering.
phx: "Here's the Navy blog I follow."
LOL
Well.
That's certainly "authoritative" and easily baselined for objective comparison........not.
phx never disappoints.
It appears that the fact of Islamist murder in London and like riots in Sweden have escaped his notice.
phx said...
Why are you lying?
I'm sorry. What was my lie exactly?"
Are you really *THIS* simple?
Did you not read my whole post? You accused Matthew of saying something he didn't. I asked you why you were lying about it.
but overall I gather our military is in solid shape, unmatched by anyone in the world by far.
You could have said that same thing from 2001-2009.
What silly bullshit.
LOL
Well.
That's certainly "authoritative" and easily baselined for objective comparison........not.
phx never disappoints.
So I subject myself to your interrogation, answer honestly, concisely and respectfully as I can, and that's your response?
And I'm the troll here?
Sooooooo, he Punts, and is Wide By A Mile!
The Hed: How obvious! They are doing their best NYT impression, I guess. Doesn't quite reflect the Home Page Hed, though.
You accused Matthew of saying something he didn't
No. I didn't accuse Matthew of anything.
I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's -
Which policies?
Sending drones into Yemen?
Toppling the Libyan dictator?
Sending Military hardware to the Muslim brotherhood?
What polices, and how are they at all sane?
And I'm the troll here?
Yes, in a continued bit of comedy gold, in about 10 minutes you will be accusing others of not being able to make arguments.
Note: you have never, not one time, made an "argument" on this Web site.
phx said...
So... does that mean there's no more terrorism?
Ask TPM. Obama didn't say that.
Umm, yeah. You did.
It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
Laugh out loud funny.
You're real big on making arguments though, phx
Maybe it's just another one of your badly constructed sentences--you know, the ones you blame when you say something particularly stupid.
Jeez, you guys are jonesing for Inga and Garage Mahal.
And as usual, you overplay, overplay, overplay.
We're just some people talking about foreign policy on someone's blog, right?
Get your dicks off me.
phx: "So I subject myself to your interrogation,.."
LOL
Gee, it's almost like I waterboarded you or something!
phx: "... answer honestly, concisely and respectfully as I can, and that's your response?"
I asked you by what criteria you judged how our military was doing.
You offered no "criteria" (don't worry, I didn't expect you to utilize any objective measures since that would require some sort of an attempt at real knowledge gathering). Instead you dumped a link to some guys blog site.
Very amusing.
I'm simply making note of the vacuousness of your response.
I'm sorry that my noticing your ridiculous response upsets you so.
There's really nothing I can do to avoid offending such a delicate and uninformed flower as yourself.
I will endeavor to treat you much more gingerly in the future.
As I would a child.
I hope that helps.
phx: "And I'm the troll here?"
I don't know.
Who accused you of such a thing?
And I'm the troll here?
yeah.
but hey--self awareness is a further step toward enlightenment.
phx said...
Here's the Navy blog I follow.
May I suggest SOFREP, strategypage, War News Updates (which links to just about everything credible), or Inside The Ring, which is the Washington Times' Pentagon blog)?
I'm simply making note of the vacuousness of your response.
Okay, fine. You don't like my response. Get over it. I'm not that into you.
First:
phx said...
I'm intersted in the use of reason, good faith, and intuition (when reason and good faith fail) to make political determinations and arguments.
5/23/13, 10:24 AM
Then:
It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
Again, you really can't parody the left anymore.
phx said...
Jeez, you guys are jonesing for Inga and Garage Mahal.
And as usual, you overplay, overplay, overplay.
We're just some people talking about foreign policy on someone's blog, right?
Get your dicks off me. "
Wah.
phx said...
Okay, fine. You don't like my response
Your response is pathetic.
phx said...
You got good grace sometimes edutcher.
Look out ed, it's a trap.
The military "doing well" is a very imprecise compliment. It takes years to reap the benefits of sound policies and spending, likewise to see the negative effects of poor ones. I'd leave that off the list
phx spent half the afternoon whining about reason and arguments only to top that off by asserting the US military is in good shape because she found some blog about the Navy on the Internet.
I guess the Navy is now the whole military and everything on the Internet is true.
Which is totally reasonable and representative of a good argument.
phx, can you tell us which blog you follow that would lead you to believe the Obama Administration prevented some sort of imminent economic collapse?
I'd like to find out all about these facts on the economy.
Thanks.
phx, can you tell us which blog you follow that would lead you to believe the Obama Administration prevented some sort of imminent economic collapse?
No, I think it's your turn to subject yourself to my questions.
Which policies?
Sending drones into Yemen?
Yes
Toppling the Libyan dictator?
Yes
Sending Military hardware to the Muslim brotherhood?
Depends
phx said...
You got good grace sometimes edutcher.
Just trying to help.
I notice Ann links Blackfive, which is highly respected, in her blogroll.
Considering AQ actually declared war on the US, how can the half black messiah just flop up and declare it over--with no surrender?
Considering AQ actually declared war on the US, how can the half black messiah
Oh I get it. You're one of those.
One of what, phx. You may want to be careful.
I think everyone can see perfectly who's trolling who.
You may want to be careful.
I'm terrified.
Boo!
GTFOH, you smock.
No, I think it's your turn to subject yourself to my questions.
Crickets?
When did I say you should be terrified? I just suggested you be careful with whatever you were thinking.
Obamas terror message is impeccably timed to coincide with his defense from political charges of malfeasance.
The Boston bombing and the London hacking were unrelated.
The perfect inauguration for the era of peak bullshit, perhaps.
You know Garry Kasparov was under arrest by Putin's police and while he was in jail Anatoly Karpov came to visit him.
Two guys who hated each other for over three contested world championship matches (the first one lasting 48 games over months), over 200 bitter games. Just hated each other personally as well.
"He was the only person to come and see me when I was in prison," Garri said, obviously appreciative, even touched.
Personally I always thought Karpov just wanted to make sure the bastard was really in jail.
Finally justifies his receipt of the Nobel Prize!
Mission accomplished?
phx said...
No, I think it's your turn to subject yourself to my questions.
Crickets?
No, thank you.
Do you have any more incisive questions?
One comment stood out to me...
phx said...
Explain again why you voted for him?
1) It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse.
I believe that this wrong. This chart shows how shallow the recovery has been.
http://www.businessinsider.com/pct-job-losses-in-post-wwii-recessions-2013-1
The writer attributes the poor recovery to the lingering effects of what caused the recession but I, and many others, believe that the President's anti-business policies and reckless, wasteful spending are the real reasons.
This is evidenced by the fact that the most business friendly states are governed by Republicans.
http://washingtonexaminer.com/top-10-states-for-business-all-led-by-republican-governors/article/2529048?custom_click=rss&utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
And that states that are recovering better tend to be led by Republicans.
http://www.rga.org/homepage/rga-statement-on-state-unemployment-data/
phx said...
Explain again why you voted for him?
1) It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
Don't look now............
2) I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's
just what are those policies?
- I feel safer with his administration dealing with Iran and NK;
Just how low is that bar? But to be fair NK is a non issue. Mostly bluff. I especially like how our president left the Iranian green movement out to dry. Only coming on board when it had been safely repressed.
3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama;
Any more cuts and NK will be a threat.
4) The Republicans didn't offer anyone I could get behind other than Jon Huntsman.
So true.
I don't think it's over at all.
Drones are cheap to produce and easy to target, and they don't put their users' lives at risk.
Now that we have sent thousands of drones out to search and kill, why should we think the bad guys wouldn't look into adopting that technology themselves?
How is the Secret Service going to protect Obama from a drone? How are we going to protect ourselves?
phx/
If you want to broaden your knowledge of things Navy I suggest in addition to information dissimation you follow "CDR Salamander" run by a recently retired Navy Surface Warfare Officer (SWO)Commander with excellent links and lively and knowledgable commentariat as well as "SteeljawScribe" run by an active-duty Navy Flying Officer (NFO-Navigator) who is currently stationed at the Pentagon (iirc)as a staff officer in a planning capacity--although he does not post daily. If you want insights into the submarine service checkout "The Stupid Shall Be Punished" run by an ex Navy Captain submarine commander. (link@ CDR Sal's place as well)
phx@8:30pm/
LOL!
Personally I always thought Karpov just wanted to make sure the bastard was really in jail.
That's a joke. I think Karpov is a great guy and it was grace that brought him to visit his nemesis.
I always disliked Karpov going back to his first match with Korchnoi. He was the Soviet apparatchik, and the Soviets held the dissident Korchnoi's family hostage.
As you get older you learn things aren't always what the appear.
Thnx virgil xenophon. Sounds like you have a Navy connection.
They care because they know that if they obtain simple criminal status they will be in a position to use the courtroom to propagandize and propagate their message.
..and proselytize and recruit in our prisons. Convert-rich environments.
You're OK with toppling Kaddafy, considering how totally unprepared they were for the outcome?
Obama has a long history of using Code Pink to wink-wink at his hawkish sounding speeches to sell them to his base....
ow.ly/lkUTy
helodrvr1 said...
You're OK with toppling Kaddafy, considering how totally unprepared they were for the outcome?
I think history will record Hillary Clinton's endeavor to topple Qaddafi in Libya in order to claim her genius engineering of the Arab Spring to be one of the worst, most fatal USA foreign policy decisions ever made.
Read this whole link through to Hillary's "cheap war" to take Qaddafi down.
http://pjmedia.com/rogerlsimon/2013/05/21/pjm-exclusive-ex-diplomats-report-new-benghazi-whistleblowers-with-info-devastating-to-clinton-and-obama/
You're OK with toppling Kaddafy, considering how totally unprepared they were for the outcome?
Yeah, you know, outcomes in war are very unpredictable.
Personally, I am sick and tired of anything Obama.
I don't want to see him, hear him or anything.
Politicans need to go away after like 4 years and than new pols need to replace them.
They are all gross.
He needs to just not do anything for the next, gulp, 3 1/2 years.
tits and thanks.
phx said...
Explain again why you voted for him?
1) It appeared to me that his administration kept us from an imminent economic collapse;
The collapse was caused by immoral government intervention in mortgage markets. Democrats worked with former Democrats to enrich the CEO's/Managers of Fannie Mae and Freddy Mac, who were all former democrats. There were kickbacks in the form of Friends of Angelo. Banks were bailed out when the government meddling caused the inevitable collapse. Now the new "regulations" protect big banks from smaller banks.
And the recovery the media keeps floating has the lowest labor participation rate since Carter who is being replaced as the worst president in history.
2) I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's - I feel safer with his administration dealing with Iran and NK;
He(Hillary) sold Ground to Air missiles in Libya to the enemies of Kadafi. But OOPS! those enemies were Al Quaeda affiliates. Stevens was trying to buy them back. Supporting the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was also a masterstroke. But only women and anyone with a conscience would oppose this move. We should keep giving them tanks and planes and money to support tyranny. Letting the Syrians kill themselves because empty chair couldn't make any decisions was a true bright spot though. Iran? Anyone?
3) I think the military seems to be doing pretty well under Obama;
Obama gutted the ROE's. I started deploying in 2008. Stopped in 2011. During my first two deployments we were killing our enemies. During the second two we were playing catch and release. Over three months we literally caught one guy 3 times and released him 3 times because of the rules in place. He has hamstrung the army's efforts with his muslim love. My wife is a nurse in an Army hospital. They are upping her hours because she is active duty and furloughing civilians to save money. She is 21 weeks pregnant. The army is losing good people in droves who are ETSing. You make these comments from the outside in ignorance and found some random blog that supports what you want to hear.
4) The Republicans didn't offer anyone I could get behind other than Jon Huntsman.
Stop lying to yourself and the rest of us. No Republican will ever be an option. You pretending to be objective is almost as stupid as the media. This economy is the worst since the great depression. It is especially hard on low income people since they are lying about inflation. Inflation caused by reckless overspending in government and printing money every month to monetize the debt. But the stock market is at record levels! They have tripled the money supply in the last 4 years but velocity is way down and real growth is stagnant. How can the labor participation rate be so terrible and you people keep ignoring it? When Obamacare fully kicks in in 2014 it will be the final nail in the economic system. My friend that works at Applebee's has been cut to 15 hours a week along with all of this co-workers. Predictable but ignored by the obamabots like you. Most of the "New Jobs" are food service workers picking up a second 15 hour a week job to make the same money.
I am sure we will blame the next crash on "austerity" and "budget cuts" to the rate of government growth though.
5/23/13, 6:53 PM
Excuse me, wasn't ending the Global War on Terror, closing Gitmo, stopping extra-legal drone strikes, etc. etc. part of Obama's 2008 platform.
What, pray tell, has changed recently that would make us trust him again? (Okay, I thought he was full of shit then, but what has changed that would make moderates like PHX trust him again?)
So, he's a better Bush. That'll sell.
TPM was at the WH according to Drudge this week. So, was JournOList Klein and others.
They will do as we tell them. We are the WH. Obey US. This should like 007. Jaws: Obey Me.
If only Phx had a curious mind, he would have known the Muslim Brotherhood declared war on us.
OTOH, the answer would have probably still been "depends" on whether we should send arms to them.
He'd have to think about it, wait to see, yada yada.
I must say that phx has posited the question about Obama.
He is the embodiment of the left's ambitions and theories of governing.
His energy policy is illogical.
His middle east policy is dangerous and will kill more people than Bush's naivete. Bush, at least, was going into new territory. Obama should know better.
The IRS story tells us he is corrupt and the left is willing to ignore the law to gain advantage.
The Benghazi story will lead to a collapse in support by the military. Thousands joined the Marines in WWII because they did not leave casualties behind. Even though they knew the Marines went the most dangerous places.
He just doesn't know the trouble he is inviting. I fear a catastrophe. Like an Iranian nuke in New York Harbor.
I fear a catastrophe. Like an Iranian nuke in New York Harbor.
Just to let you know I fear that as well.
Did he declare an end to the war on global terror so that Gitmo would automatically be illegal? Holding prisoners of war till the end of the war is justified, but once the war is over there is no legal justification for holding prisoners of war.
Now he can release many of the inmates of Gitmo.
Maybe I'm missing something because it's late and I'm sleepy. But: How does TPM reconcile it's "End to Global War On Terror" headline with an article that specifically mentions the continuation of elements like drone strikes?
I mean, I know headlines can be misleading, but this one's a direct contradiction here.
Next week Obama will declare Chris Christie thin.
phx, I still don't know why you feel you can trust Obama, or to go back to an earlier question you ignored from me, why you think he has any managerial or leadership qualities?
If you can't trust a leader, he isn't one. If you trust him and I don't, sorry, you need to convince me why you're right. That's politics.
Bing West says it best:
The rationale for the speech was obvious: Forget Benghazi, the IRS, and wiretaps of journalists. Instead, let’s talk about drones, Guantanamo, and the irresolvable burdens of the commander-in-chief. Having not told the whole truth about the death of our ambassador to Libya, the IRS targeting of U.S. citizens, and the FBI targeting of journalists, the president wanted to change the subject and divert attention.
The speech was cynical and sly. Thank you, America, for listening.
The Global War on Terror is over.
We now have a targeted and specific war on terror.
Got it?
"2) I'm a lot more comfortable with his policies in ME than I was with Bush's "
1) Bush wasn't a candidate.
2) Obama got you exactly the same policy Bush had.
One of you two is pretty dumb, and he's a Harvard Grad.
Michael K said...
I must say that phx has posited the question about Obama.
He is the embodiment of the left's ambitions and theories of governing.
His energy policy is illogical.
His middle east policy is dangerous and will kill more people than Bush's naivete. Bush, at least, was going into new territory. Obama should know better.
The IRS story tells us he is corrupt and the left is willing to ignore the law to gain advantage.
The Benghazi story will lead to a collapse in support by the military. Thousands joined the Marines in WWII because they did not leave casualties behind. Even though they knew the Marines went the most dangerous places.
He just doesn't know the trouble he is inviting. I fear a catastrophe. Like an Iranian nuke in New York Michael K said...
His middle east policy is dangerous and will kill more people than Bush's naivete. Bush, at least, was going into new territory. Obama should know better.
The IRS story tells us he is corrupt and the left is willing to ignore the law to gain advantage.
The Benghazi story will lead to a collapse in support by the military. Thousands joined the Marines in WWII because they did not leave casualties behind. Even though they knew the Marines went the most dangerous places.
No, the Army went rougher places - Normandy, Salerno, Anzio, Manila.
The code's the same.
Part of that code means you stand fast. We abandoned people in SE Asia, but the men stood fast.
What we need is good leadership because this slug will not last.
A lot of us do.
If there's an upside, "It's all about Me" will be taking all of the blame.
Heard today that the British are looking hard into whether that public hacking to death of a soldier in the street by self-identified terrorists was a terrorist attack or not.
They need to gather more info, wait and see, yada yada.
Virgil: " ...Navy Flying Officer (NFO-Navigator.."
phx: "Thnx virgil xenophon. Sounds like you have a Navy connection. "
NFO actually stands for Naval Flight Officer and depending on the aircraft type you are assigned you might be called a navigator or you might not be.
I give phx this, he's a better troll than ritmo, garage, and inga combined.
Ask Axlerod for a raise. And if you're smart, you might get Mitch McConnell to flip some money your way on the sly. Enemies of my enemies, etc.
Achilles has it right.
Achilles: "But the stock market is at record levels!"
Achilles is pointing out the absurdity of equating the stock market to the "economy", especially when you consider that the current stock market levels are still 30% LOWER than the inflation adjusted levels of 1999.
I repeat: Our current stock market level is 30% LOWER than 1999 when adjusting for inflation.
Thank you Obama and Bernanke.
Another BTW: Obama and Bernanke have pumped $1 Trillion dollars into foreign owned banks with operations in the US.
Yep, $1 Trillion pumped into foreign owned banks.
Of course, 1999 was also a bubble scenario (Tech bubble) and that bubble burst on Bush the very first year he took over.
Gee, I don't remember Bush blaming the previous administration for that. Imagine the "headwinds" argument he could have made!
"No, the Army went rougher places - Normandy, Salerno, Anzio, Manila."
Sorry. I just finished the third of Rick Atkinson's trilogy.
There was nothing worse than Tarawa.
Iwo Jima was second and Okinawa was third.
Anzio was bad but was a fuckup, like Market Garden. Omaha Beach was bad but was over by nightfall.
BTW, in the same way that the Obama-ites invented the brand spanking new BS concept of counting "saved" jobs (with hilariously ludicrous criteria) along with created jobs (never, done before), we have a brand new entrant into the "How can we redefine things so Obama doesn't look like a blithering idiot" contest.
If you're Obama and that darn GDP just won't grow (because of your stupid anti-business anti-growth policies), what do you do?
You change how GDP is calculated so that you will look better, even as things get worse:
http://seekingalpha.com/article/1368001-u-s-government-invents-new-way-of-calculating-gdp?source=google_news
So, just as "the stock market is doing great!!" (actually 30% lower than 1999 after adjusting for inflation) AND
"Inflation is holding steady!!" (because we exclude energy and food costs in the calculation, so just don't eat or use energy) AND
"unemployment is coming down!!" (because we don't count the millions who continue to drop out of the labor force and we are 2.5 million jobs below when Obama came into office and most new jobs are the lowest possible wage jobs and millions of service workers are being dropped below 30 hours per week and our growth is so anemic is doesn't even allow for us to maintain pace with population growth).
But hey, Obama saved us or something.
@ Drago:
I am sure you have a good idea about all of this. I love watching the "Economy is RECOVERING" porn all over the media.
1. There is more than 3 times the physical money in circulation than 4 years ago.
2. There are silver shortages at all of the exchanges, and physical silver sales are at record levels. But the paper price keeps falling? Same for Gold, platinum etc.
3. Gas prices are at record levels but nobody notices?
4. Been food shopping lately? If you don't have EBT it sucks.
5. Labor participation rate. Enough said.
6. Obamacare 2014.
7. Our federal tax system is based on voluntary compliance. With the IRS acting so valiantly on behalf of the citizens of this country I am sure we wont have non-compliance levels like that they have in Europe. Paying taxes is PATRIOTIC!
8. 600 Trillion dollars was traded on "derivative" markets in 2012. That's 12 times the worlds total GDP for the same year. Traded for securities based on stuff that is made up anyways like US bonds and other debt holdings. Guess where all that "money" came from. The Wealthy of the world say "Thanks Ben."
The end of the fractional reserve system is baked in. I didn't even mention China's Ghost cities or endlessly re-hypothecated steel. Whether it is catastrophic or by inches the low, middle and high income people will get chopped up and fed to the wealthy. The same wealthy that contribute to Obama in record amounts and support his policies the most. The same wealthy that get free money from the fed at zero interest.
But Guantanamo! And look at those prom pictures! This is what you get with a public monopoly on education.
"Excuse me, wasn't ending the Global War on Terror, closing Gitmo, stopping extra-legal drone strikes, etc. etc. part of Obama's 2008 platform."
And if you ask the left the answer would be the war is over, Gitmo is closed, extra-legal drone strikes never happened etc. because the rule is that if Obama says it, it is fact. Who do you believe your lying eyes or the first black president? The first black president is manifestly always correct and truthful, because to imply otherwise is racist. To prove otherwise is paranoia.
"I give phx this, he's a better troll than ritmo, garage, and Inga combined."
Not as fun though.
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Illuminati- I think that's right. The end of the AUMF means prisoners must be released. He can still continue covertly killing people, I suppose, but having to release prisoners creates the crisis he needs to get Gitmo closed.
I admired the way Obama said the only reason to oppose closing Gitmo is because of politics, while the issue of indefinite detention on US soil could be worked out.
As if the fact that indefinite detention isn't worked out and will be very difficult to work out isn't one HUGE reason Republicans and Democrats oppose closing Gitmo.
Michael K said...
No, the Army went rougher places - Normandy, Salerno, Anzio, Manila.
Sorry. I just finished the third of Rick Atkinson's trilogy.
There was nothing worse than Tarawa.
Iwo Jima was second and Okinawa was third.
Nope, not according to Samuel Eliot Morison, who was at all of them.
Omaha was the worst.
Anzio was bad but was a fuckup, like Market Garden. Omaha Beach was bad but was over by nightfall.
Duration's got little to do with it; Tarawa's landing phase was only a day as well, although securing the island took another 2; Normandy was 2 months.
And, whether a screw up or not (and a lot of people will tell you nothing was as screwed up as Tarawa ("Gentlemen, we will not neutralize Betio. We will not destroy it. We will obliterate it!") - more than a few think it should have been bypassed), Anzio went on for 5 months, Market Garden for a quarter of that.
"...he reserved for himself all the power he needed to do anything he wanted to do, that is, that nothing had changed."
He's given up completely on change, and he's down to his last hope.
Whoa, targeted spam. That's... pretty cool actually.
The outcome in Libya was not unpredictable; many, many people -- on both sides of the aisle -- saw exactly this situation, though some of the details might have been different. That ignores the whole Constitutional issue about ignoring Congress while making the decision as well.
I remember when Bill Clinton declared the end to the Era of Big Government.
2) Obama got you exactly the same policy Bush had.
Bush broke it. Obama's picking up the Neoncon mess.
OT but somewhat related: Can someone -- anyone -- explain why the problem with Guantanamo is that we are holding prisoners indefinitely without trial in that particular place, and not that we are, well, holding prisoners indefinitely without trial, full stop? Are we supposed to care whether they're in Cuba or Illinois or NY? Are they supposed to care?
I'm going to admit it — I hate Guantanamo. I wish it were closed. I wish there were a remedy. This endless detention seems to go against all that we are about as a country and people. But as Drago has outlined, I don't know what any other options are that are not worse by comparison.
Phx just likes to play willfully ignorant sometimes.
PHX--Mr Obama seems to be making enough messes of his own YMMV of course
PHX--Mr Obama seems to be making enough messes of his own YMMV of course
Yes, my mileage shows a slight plus for Obama in MENA. Much better than the catastrophe created by the Bush admin.
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