tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post7241418500935834789..comments2024-03-19T00:44:18.309-05:00Comments on Althouse: Goodbye to Barbara Bush.Ann Althousehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/01630636239933008807noreply@blogger.comBlogger163125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-46691493006322367882018-04-19T03:21:10.928-05:002018-04-19T03:21:10.928-05:00"I have to admit that I find formulations lik..."I have to admit that I find formulations like this bizarre. Obama a radical? Perhaps in his earlier years he had some radical affectations. But as President, he was a completely centrist, corporatist, internationalist just like his predecessors. Between Clinton, Bush, and Obama, there was significant continuity in governance. All were in favor of "free trade," all were in favor of loose immigration into the country, and all conducted massively destructive interventionist foreign policies."<br /><br />I don't see that at all. I can see the argument that Clinton and Bush had some simularities, but Obama? Yes, he, himself, sat in the White House filling out his brackets and shooting hoops, when he wasn't playing golf somewhere. But the people he put at the top of departments were either incompetent (Clinton, Kerry, whomever he had at Defense, etc), or highly politized ideologues. And the legislation that he helped push through his first two years was far from mainstream. <br />-DoJ Civil Right Division turned over to SJWs and racists. National Security Division corrupted and weaponized into a political arm of the DNC, where FISA surveillance capabilities were used to spy on Congress and generate opposition research for Croojed Hillary. <br />- Education: implemented Disparate Impact in school discipline under Title VII (resulting in the recent Florida school shooting). Removed due process for sexual assault allegations under Title IX. Wonen no longer had agency, when going up to guys' rooms in college, and could now have them prosecuted by their colleges years later, based on little more than regret. All done with extra-legal guidance letters. <br />- EPA - War on Coal. War on Oil. Signed up for Pais Accords w/o bothering to run the treaty through Congress. Significantly tightened gas Milagros requirements for autos. <br />- Added almost a billion dollars a year to the budget baseline, much of which went to fund liberal groups or enrich cronies of the Dem leadership, while effectively cutting military spending at a time when we were had troops fighting around the world. Readiness went to pieces as a result. <br />- DoJ, FTC, CPFB settlements structured to fund progressive ibterest groups. <br />- NASA - put Muslim outreach ahead of manned space flight.<br /><br />One noticeable innovation of the Obama Administration was all the ways that they bypassed existing law. We all have seen how DACA was implemented. But also note the guidance and Dear Colleague letters from Education, adoption of the Paris Accords without submission to the Senate, and how FISA requirements and safeguards were completely gutted by a series of small steps that ultimately ended up with > 30 people seeing politically collected electronic surveillance of American citizenry by including it in Obama's PDBs. <br /><br />The list goes on. <br />Bruce Haydenhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10815293023158025662noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35058260506918869002018-04-18T23:51:48.323-05:002018-04-18T23:51:48.323-05:00Reagan ended up choosing GHWB as VP by default. R...Reagan ended up choosing GHWB as VP by default. Reagan and his staff spend substantial time trying to set up a ticket with Ford in order to have Reagan more acceptable given some of the arguments made against him. When it was clear that Ford's people wanted a co-presidency (Bill Simon who was working for Ford said that he would not have even discussed some of the terms were he on the other (Reagan) side), Reagan had to choose and as it has been described was running out of time and needed someone already vetted. Given the GHWB had been running against him, GHWB had been vetted, had won one or two primaries (none of the others running had) and thus a choice was made. The Gipper let us down on that one. Story by Reagan adviser that ran in NYT many years ago attached. I worked on that campaign and did not know these details (or at least this version of them) until about 20 years ago. <br /><br />https://www.nytimes.com/2000/07/30/magazine/george-herbert-walker-bush-the-accidental-vice-president.htmlfriscodahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14754687292815568735noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-23747505383398205382018-04-18T22:14:06.513-05:002018-04-18T22:14:06.513-05:00@Birkel:
Those opinions are opinions and are pres...<b>@Birkel:</b><br /><br /><i>Those opinions are opinions and are presented as such.</i><br /><br />Oh, Birkel, reduced to pathetically grasping at straws as usual. Perhaps you can explain to us how saying Jeb "missed his chance when he lost his race for governor of Florida" is presented as an opinion rather than a fact. But I won't hold my breath. I supposed I should be flattered by your seemingly unhealthy personal obsession with everything I write. You're obviously an anonymous internet douche pathetically trolling for the attention that your shit mother and shit father didn't give you. So I guess you need a daddy to rebel against. I'm happy to play that part. It's really kind of sad and pathetic, but I don't mind being charitable to those less than me. But really, Birkel, the attention you crave from anonymous internet sources will never make up from what you didn't get from your parents. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10455443345679514472018-04-18T16:14:01.815-05:002018-04-18T16:14:01.815-05:00Smug,
No. Those opinions are opinions and are pres...Smug,<br />No. Those opinions are opinions and are presented as such. Your complete smuggy smugness allows you to see very little. It's a shame for you. I remain indifferent.<br /><br />Keep smugging away. Perhaps you'll smug people to death.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-67652841004348424152018-04-18T14:45:06.772-05:002018-04-18T14:45:06.772-05:00@Birkel:
I will note that you expressed your opin...<b>@Birkel:</b><br /><br /><i>I will note that you expressed your opinion as fact again.</i><br /><br />Yep. I did the exact thing you did in your next sentence. In fact, the very next comment to mine was by commenter dreams saying: "Well, he missed his chance when he lost his race for governor of Florida while George W won his race in Texas." My god, that commenter stated an opinion as if it was fact. And earlier, another commenter, clyde, wrote "Our nation does not need political dynasties." My god! Another opinion stated as fact. It's almost as if that is how humans communicate. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-91824735811047908742018-04-18T14:28:56.105-05:002018-04-18T14:28:56.105-05:00Smug:
I will note that you expressed your opinion ...Smug:<br />I will note that you expressed your opinion as fact again.<br />Smug cannot avoid smug.<br />It's a tautology.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35786285918208386182018-04-18T13:46:03.780-05:002018-04-18T13:46:03.780-05:00She said (sic) a horrid example by being a most ho...<i>She said (sic) a horrid example by being a most horrible first lady. </i><br /><br />Don't you ever change, Trumpit.<br />Ever.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63364036477821977472018-04-18T13:38:19.899-05:002018-04-18T13:38:19.899-05:00I am not so,confined by politics or ideology as to...<i> I am not so,confined by politics or ideology as to make it impossible for me to recognize a good person from another viewpoint —-something called compassion you may consider.</i> - R/V<br /><br />Uh-huh. That's why you couldn't even pencil a few nice words about Bush without taking a shot at Trump.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-12618765291963678432018-04-18T13:34:19.501-05:002018-04-18T13:34:19.501-05:00Jeb or Kasich would’ve been much preferable. - a J...<i>Jeb or Kasich would’ve been much preferable.</i> - a Jill Stein voter<br /><br />Thanks for making our point as to why Trump is President.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-35042914093545325902018-04-18T13:26:28.488-05:002018-04-18T13:26:28.488-05:00Is it sad that she didn't get to see — that we...<i>Is it sad that she didn't get to see — that we didn't get to see — Jeb ascend to the office of the presidency?</i><br /><br />No.Jim athttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02271099587684174816noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-61602267078165135322018-04-18T13:19:18.698-05:002018-04-18T13:19:18.698-05:00"Is it sad that she didn't get to see — t..."Is it sad that she didn't get to see — that we didn't get to see — Jeb ascend to the office of the presidency?"<br /><br />Well, he missed his chance when he lost his race for governor of Florida while George W won his race in Texas. That loss cost him his time and it's probably bad it happened that way.dreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758740197698814061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-45101451096625853872018-04-18T13:17:47.941-05:002018-04-18T13:17:47.941-05:00This comment has been removed by the author.dreamshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08758740197698814061noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-73253386910276204152018-04-18T12:06:39.169-05:002018-04-18T12:06:39.169-05:00President-Mom-Jeans:
J. Farmer going to bat for a...<b>President-Mom-Jeans:</b><br /><br /><i>J. Farmer going to bat for a morbidly obese terrorist cheerleader, can't say I'm surprised. He always did have a thing for all things anti-semitic. Even when coming in the form of inevitable diabetes related amputations waiting to happen cheesehogs.</i><br /><br />I also can't say that I am surprised you fail to understand an elementary argument. You don't have to agree with a scintilla of what someone says to defend their right to say it, and I referred to her statements as "odious and obnoxious." You write a fair amount of odious and obnoxious things yourself, and I would defend equally your right to say it. Again, so what? If anything, the whole fracas has probably given that woman what she wanted most of all: attention. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-87140047236929476592018-04-18T12:02:55.607-05:002018-04-18T12:02:55.607-05:00@Birkel:
You just cannot stand that another perso...<b>@Birkel:</b><br /><br /><i>You just cannot stand that another person has a reasoned opinion that differs from your own.</i><br /><br />Right. That is precisely why I participate in comments sections where the majority of the commenters do not agree with what I say, because I "cannot stand that another person has a reasoned opinion that differs" from mine. Perhaps you think, "O Intervened with an often intentionally limp dick," is a "reasoned opinion. I don't; I thought it was nonsense and said why I thought it was nonsense. If someone made an actual argument as to why that statement is valid, I would read their argument and give my response to it.<br /><br />As is probably well known by now, I think Obama was far too interventionist. There are those who think he was not interventionist enough. I vehemently disagree with that argument and am prepared to have it anytime. And if people want to have it, fine. I have had numerous fruitful discussions on this forum with people arguing from the other side. So, I'm afraid your notion that I "just cannot stand that another person has a reasoned opinion that differs from" my own is, in fact, at odds with empirical reality.J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-38546040752999385232018-04-18T10:44:48.686-05:002018-04-18T10:44:48.686-05:00J. Farmer going to bat for a morbidly obese terror...J. Farmer going to bat for a morbidly obese terrorist cheerleader, can't say I'm surprised. He always did have a thing for all things anti-semitic. Even when coming in the form of inevitable diabetes related amputations waiting to happen cheesehogs.President-Mom-Jeanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02787201862556497671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-80171347584302758312018-04-18T10:36:46.392-05:002018-04-18T10:36:46.392-05:00Smug,
You just cannot stand that another person ha...Smug,<br />You just cannot stand that another person has a reasoned opinion that differs from your own. And I'm sure somehow that reflects poorly on my parents. Solid logic, there, as always.<br /><br />It's never just "my opinion is different" it's always some variant of your view is "<i>completely at odds with the empirical record.</i>" You seem to think your opinion, weighing one set of empirical data points according to your methodology is somehow the only logical conclusion. The assumptions built into your presentation could be unpacked, but why bother?<br /><br />I'll just continue to call you Smug because you have earned the honorific.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-25032426867292473502018-04-18T10:31:03.957-05:002018-04-18T10:31:03.957-05:00Barbara Bush is contributing to illiteracy and bad...Barbara Bush is contributing to illiteracy and bad English if she wrote, "When push comes to shove people are going to realize Jeb has real solutions, rather than talking about how popular they are, how great they are. He's doing it because he sees a huge need and it's not being filled by anybody." It shows incoherence in its fractured syntax and confusion of "they" and "he."jimbinohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09684677214800358793noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-49212249957079618922018-04-18T10:24:37.124-05:002018-04-18T10:24:37.124-05:00@President-Mom-Jeans:
That Fresno state land Pale...<b>@President-Mom-Jeans:</b><br /><br /><i>That Fresno state land Palestinian Land Whale should be harpooned. Instead the administration puts out a mealy mouthed nothing statement.</i><br /><br />The tweets were certainly odious and obnoxious, but who cares. Her right to say what she thinks is the same right as people who say things you agree with.J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-10999176006024890232018-04-18T10:22:29.848-05:002018-04-18T10:22:29.848-05:00@Birkel:
Smug exists to be smug.
And Birkel exis...<b>@Birkel:</b><br /><br /><i>Smug exists to be smug.</i><br /><br />And Birkel exists to demonstrate what shitty human beings is mother and father must be. But hey, we all play our part. <br />J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-13856888113009041032018-04-18T09:52:36.094-05:002018-04-18T09:52:36.094-05:00That Fresno state land Palestinian Land Whale shou...That Fresno state land Palestinian Land Whale should be harpooned. Instead the administration puts out a mealy mouthed nothing statement. President-Mom-Jeanshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02787201862556497671noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-16605745661833423412018-04-18T09:25:17.186-05:002018-04-18T09:25:17.186-05:00Smug is here to tell you that your opinions are wr...Smug is here to tell you that your opinions are wrong.<br />Smug exists to be smug.Birkelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14205292523499913507noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-68370848301235289162018-04-18T09:13:55.539-05:002018-04-18T09:13:55.539-05:00The comments about her on the morning shows, inclu...The comments about her on the morning shows, including CNN and MSNBC, were surprisingly kind and heartfelt. The liberals used her domestic tranquillity to take a swipe at the Trumps, but beyond that their affection seemed genuine.......Mrs. Bush truly did seem above a lot of petty concerns. I liked the way she wore her wrinkles. She knew how to get old.Williamhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07837540030934495651noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-63046208680130788292018-04-18T08:44:02.844-05:002018-04-18T08:44:02.844-05:00@Ralph L:
O Intervened with an often intentionall...<b>@Ralph L:</b><br /><br /><i>O Intervened with an often intentionally limp dick.</i><br /><br />That's actually a talk radio/cable news caricature completely at odds with the empirical record. Let's review: Obama took Bush's kill-or-capture program and whited out the capture part, greatly increasing the use of drone assassinations in numerous countries. Essentially. if the US thought you might have been involved in terrorism, they murdered you. Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan, adding thousands of troops to the conflict and expanding airstrikes. He pursued a regime change operation in Libya. He supported the Saudi-led war on Yemen. In other words, he continued the exact foreign policy of his predecessor and his predecessor's predecessor. J. Farmerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09118902560282089997noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-1221480135778689282018-04-18T08:42:45.519-05:002018-04-18T08:42:45.519-05:00Hits me close to home because my Mom is 92 and my ...Hits me close to home because my Mom is 92 and my Dad is 95. In May they will have been married 74 years. They got married in 1944 right before my Dad was sent overseas. Like GHWB my Dad was shot down, although he was Army Air Force and taken prisoner by the Germans. We owe a lot to the greatest generation. RIP Barbara Bush and may God bless and comfort your husband.Professional ladyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08283275602889823403noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6329595.post-77241610200631580762018-04-18T08:41:53.348-05:002018-04-18T08:41:53.348-05:00I'm glad somebody recalled Mz. Bush saying the...I'm glad somebody recalled Mz. Bush saying the country didn't need another Bush as President.<br />I was worried I'd been a victim of fake news. I thought that was pretty funny and wondered how long before Jeb got his mom back on script. I didn't like the Bush guys but I think<br />Jeb was a pretty good governor. I liked Barbara Bush, though. My mom didn't like her at all<br />and I could never understand why. The beads? Naw, my mom's mom wore beads like that. Maybe<br />it was because she didn't dye her hair. Or maybe she reminded my mom of her friends. Tampa<br />was pretty solid democrat in the sixties but people started crossing over so that about 15 years ago my mom was lamenting about how all her friends were Republicans.<br />BudBrownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10586584610767031572noreply@blogger.com