December 23,  2003 Tuesday

' Old Europe ' - - Phrase of the Year 

Reuters  12-23-03
 

BERLIN (Reuters) - "Old Europe" -- a term Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld used to disparage Germany and France for resisting war in Iraq -- was named phrase of the year in Germany by a panel of language experts.

Rumsfeld Made Iraq Overture in '84 Despite Chemical Raids

By CHRISTOPHER MARQUIS NYTIMES 12- 23- 2003

WASHINGTON, Dec. 22 — As a special envoy for the Reagan administration in 1984, Donald H. Rumsfeld, now the defense secretary, traveled to Iraq to persuade officials there that the United States was eager to improve ties with President Saddam Hussein despite his use of chemical weapons, newly declassified documents show.

A Political Scorecard for 2003
BusinessWeek - 12-23-03

...Old Europe It's impossible to finish a list of 2003 winners and losers without at least one international honoree. ... But as the euro soars and the dollar drops, could Old Europe get the last laugh?

Should government agents, operating on their own authority and in violation of privacy law, be allowed to smear Americans by leaking false information to the media? Are journalists who print those lies protected by the 1st Amendment from revealing their sources, thereby preventing those falsely accused from obtaining justice through lawsuits?...
 

25 Rules For Being A Good Republican
by Michell Holman

1) Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you are millionaire conservative radio jock, which makes it an "illness" and needs our prayers for your "recovery".

2) You have to believe that those privileged from birth achieve success all on their own.

3) You have to believe that the US should get out of the UN, and that our highest national priority is enforcing UN resolutions against Iraq.

4) You have to believe that government should stay out of people's lives but it needs to punish anyone caught having private sex with the "wrong" gender.

5) You have to believe that pollution is ok, so long as it makes a profit.

6) You have to believe in prayer in schools, as long as you don't pray to Allah or Buddha.

7) "Standing Tall for America" means firing your workers and moving their jobs to India.

8) You have to believe that a woman cannot be trusted with decisions about her own body, but that large multinational corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind with no regulation whatsoever.

9) You have to believe that you love Jesus and Jesus loves you, and that Jesus shares your hatred of AIDS victims, homosexuals, and Hillary Clinton.

10) You hate the ALCU for representing convicted felons, but they owed it to the country to bail out Oliver North.

11) You have to believe that the best way to encourage military morale is to praise the troops overseas while cutting their VA benefits.

12) You believe that group sex and drug use are degenerate sins that can only be purged by running for governor of California as a Republican.

13) You have to believe it is wise to keep condoms out of schools, because we all know if teenagers don't have condoms they won't have sex.

14) You have to believe that the best way to fight terrorism is to alienate our allies and then demand their cooperation and money.

15) You have to believe that government medicine is wrong and that HMO's and insurance companies only have your best interests at heart.

16) You have to believe that providing health care to all Iraqis is sound government policy but providing health care to all Americans is socialism personified.

17) You believe that tobacco's link to cancer and global warming are "junk science", but Creationism should be taught in schools.

18) You have to believe that waging war with no exit strategy was wrong in Vietnam but right in Iraq.

19) You have to believe that Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney was doing business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion.

20) You believe that government should restrict itself to just the powers named in the Constitution, which includes banning gay marriages and censoring the Internet.

21) You have to believe that the public has a right to know about the adulterous affairs of Democrats, while those of Republicans are a "private matter".

22) You have to believe that the public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades but that Bush was right to censor those 28 pages from the Congressional 9/11 report because you just can't handle the truth.

23) You support state rights, which means Ashcroft telling states what locally passed voter initiatives he will allow them to have.

24) You have to believe that what Clinton did in the 1960's is of vital national interest but what Bush did decades later is "stale news" and "irrelevant".

25) You have to believe that trade with Cuba is wrong because it is communist, but trading with China and Vietnam is just dandy.

SUBJECT: Dan Tyler's column WWJD?

Dear Lisa,

Just a few thoughts on [Dan Tyler's column] column, WWJD. After reading WWJD, my first reaction was to get just a touch angry. Why you ask? A fuzzy sweater wearing, granola-eating, tree hugging, love everyone and anyone, folk singer is telling me he's gone off and forgiven DOTUS -- AKA: Dufas Of The United States -- for all of those nasty neocon transgressions.

Damn! Are there little cartoon Disney characters circling around Mr. Tyler's head singing "whistle while you work?" What planet is the left bank of the creek on? C'mon Lisa, please tell Mr. Tyler to wake the hell up and smell the dissolved mercury in the air.

With all due respect,. Mr. Tyler, in case you've been off visiting Middle Earth for the last few years and haven't noticed, there's a freaking war going on! No, it's not the all too familiar and well-worn WOT -- war on terror, its the one the flat-earth gopers are waging against the ROW -- Rest of the World.

Mr. Tyler, one of the main reasons we have been losing this war with the fanatics on the right, is that as true Liberals, we have either forgiven or ignored their outrageous and savage attacks on our Democratic beliefs and ideals. Give gopers an inch, they take everything that aint nailed down, and piss on your leg while they do it.

Sadly, this forgive and forget approach has been dismal failure for all of us. Time for Plan B. We need to fight back. We need to hit these bastards where it hurts -- send them packing. Vote the carpet baggers out of office and prosecute the law-breakers.

Forgiving is for victors.

Bottom line....When dotus is playing drop the soap with lard mountain Limbaugh in a federal "rest camp," I'll think about forgiveness. In the meantime, "No Prisoners!

WWJD? Well, as I recall Jesus did run the money changers out of the temple didn't he?

Take care,

Tom

Tom, A lot of people feel the way you do and others don't.  The next email expresses an opinion different from yours.   I like to give all Democratic points of view.  Viewers of this site include atheist rockers and even agnostic albinos.

 I say AMEN to Mr. Tyler's article on "WWJD?" I am tired of seeing the Christian faith exploited not only by him and other Republicans, but by politicians and others that are in the media. His article makes a poignant statement on learning to turn the other cheek, and loving our enemies. When Jesus teaches his followers how to love, he emphasizes loving one's enemies. He knew this would be the hardest commandment to follow. I say that if one is not prepared to follow the teachings of the Bible rigidly they should not profess Christ at all.

 
Bush is an embarrassment, his ideals of Christianity are much different from my own. For some reason, maybe it is because I have read my Bible and understand what Christ means by love, I think I am right and Bush is wrong. A real Christian does not allow working families to loose their jobs and send men and women to die so that he and his friends can make money. Christianity is about taking care of others, and that includes renouncing worldly desires such as greed and hate. We are not to fight evil, America has not been appointed to fight evil, for it cannot be destroyed however it can be created.

 
Bush has created much evil in the world, and he spreads it. He puts up a weak facade of faith, that can easily be destroyed. He cannot even defend it, he can only give a brash answer that proves he is not a man of faith. The Bible tells Christians to give answers so that they provoke love. My only plea to Americans and the world is to please not judge Christians and Christianity by the actions and words of Bush and the Right.

 
Another poignant point that Mr. Tyler makes is that he too must love his enemy, Bush. I agree, how can the correct view of Christianity be seen if those who truly believe do not do what is asked. I would be a hypocrite if I refused to forgive Bush for the horrendous evil that he has committed. With this said, I am still decided that I will not vote for him!

 
Merry Christmas,
Angeline

Merry Christmas to you too Angeline.

WWJD?

 12-22-03

            Imagine this scene: Resident Bush is holding one of his rare press conferences.  He calls on one of his favorite reporters, a “safe” and cynical television guy, wise to the ways of Washington, whose softball “question” has been pre-approved by Karl Rove.  But, the night before, this reporter was visited by an angel and given another question to ask the Resident.  The experience shook the reporter to his core and changed him deeply.  When Bush calls on him, the reporter asks, “Mr. President.  Let me ask a simple question.  In the war on terrorism, what would Jesus do?”...

click here