Strider55's Comments

Antiwar.com Blog : Fox Business Channel Cancels Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:12:07 +0000

Don't forget that ultimate waste of electrons, MSNBC, which several years ago did the exact same thing to Alan Keyes, replacing him with the blow-dried airhead Phil Donahue. One can imagine the horror in the MSNBC inner sanctum when Keyes' stellar ratings came out. "What? A black conservative? A popular black conservative?? AAAGGHH!! Dump him now!!" I find it telling that FBN can't think of a viable replacement, so they just do reruns.

Antiwar.com Blog : Fox Business Channel Cancels Freedom Watch with Judge Napolitano

Fri, 10 Feb 2012 22:02:29 +0000

Ron Paul should immediately announce that if he becomes president, Judge Napolitano will be his attorney general.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : The World Turned Upside Down

Thu, 9 Feb 2012 17:52:30 +0000

Agreed regarding James' post above, but he reveals an obvious truth. Just as American actions in the Mideast create more anti-American outrage (thereby creating more terrorists), Israel's actions create opinions and rhetoric like James'. One could, in fact, argue that the Israeli government is a major source of modern anti-Semitism.

News From Antiwar.com : Clinton, Panetta Reassure Europe of US Hegemony, Military Welfare

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 20:48:26 +0000

Quite true, but too many Europeans (and all their politicians) are addicted to the massive welfare states that Uncle Sam has subsidized since NATO was formed in 1949. That, as I've written here previously, is another reason NATO plods along 20 years after its supposed mission -- deterring or repelling an attack by the Soviet Union and its Warsaw Pact puppets -- exited stage left. The fact that those nanny states are now collapsing anyway -- as they inevitably would have -- hasn't made any difference to those pols, any more than the loss of a junkie's heroin connection changes his mind about the need for his next fix. In fact, the same could be said about our own nanny state and pols.

News From Antiwar.com : Justice Dept, FBI Say Interest in Online Privacy an 'Indicator' of Terrorism

Sat, 4 Feb 2012 22:59:55 +0000

Even if they didn't, and even if I drank coffee (can't stand the stuff), I certainly wouldn't pay $5+ for something I could make at home for pennies. Also, places with Internet cafes are starting to clamp down on excessive online use. Many of them now limit how long customers can stay connected. Besides, a public wi-fi portal is extremely insecure, and is therefore the last place anyone would engage in sensitive communications.

http://theliveload.blogspot.com/ : US Warns Iran Not To Fight Back Against Israeli Attack

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 19:51:01 +0000

And thanks for using Intense Debate as a comment portal. It's my favorite. And I second MvGuy. PP.com and Antiwar.com should be allies, not antagonists.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : He Who Defends Everything Defends Nothing

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 19:31:47 +0000

And who put those politicians in office? Answer: the citizens. The fact is, the Europeans could never have afforded their opulent womb-to-tomb welfare states, month-long summer vacations, etc. if they'd had to pay for their own defense rather than sticking Uncle Sam with the lion's share of the bill. That, along with maintaining the US military-industrial complex and avoiding early retirement for superfluous generals, is why NATO wasn't disbanded 20 years ago when the USSR and Warsaw Pact dissolved. Of course, those bloated welfare states are now crumbling anyway, so all NATO has done since the end of the Cold War is postpone the inevitable. As Margaret Thatcher so brilliantly noted, socialism collapses when it runs out of other people's money.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : He Who Defends Everything Defends Nothing

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 19:17:56 +0000

No, the US government is too much afraid of that. Recall the leaked document from some bureaucracy in Missouri labeling returning war vets as potential "domestic terrorists" (along with Ron Paul supporters, people who have the temerity to pay for things with cash, and a whole raft of others).

Big Government : Did Top Liberal Arts College Falsify SAT Data to Legitimize Racial Preferences?

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:50:06 +0000

Make that "fruits, nuts and flakes," thereby making the People's Republic of Californicate the "Granola State."

Big Government : Did Top Liberal Arts College Falsify SAT Data to Legitimize Racial Preferences?

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 14:46:03 +0000

Like naming the war ministry the "Ministry of Peace" in 1984. Or the secret police HQ the "Ministry of Love." Of course, we have the same doctrine here with the "Defense Dept.", whose mission isn't defending the country but launching wars of aggression (both overt and covert) around the world. Before 1947 it was (honestly) named the War Dept. Orwell wrote 1984 as a warning. The US govt. (along with many others) now uses it as a template.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Iraq in Retrospect

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 08:14:39 +0000

Wrong substance on the "reverse Midas touch," Justin. Everything the government touches turns to crap." -- Ringo Starr

Antiwar.com Blog : Obama is Making Ordinary Iranians Suffer So He Can Get Reelected

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:55:01 +0000

Except for his core constituencies (blacks, govt. bureaucrats, homosexuals, the military-industrial complex), Obama has made all Americans suffer, along with millions of Pakistanis, Afghans and Iraqis. Why should the Iranians be any different?

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Adelson, Gingrich, and the Selling of America

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 19:46:02 +0000

Or to put it another way: Heads the Zionists win, tails the goyim lose.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Adelson, Gingrich, and the Selling of America

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 11:02:08 +0000

That's the standard "red meat" the GOP flings out every four years to the Cubans in south Florida -- most of whom were Batista loyalists and fled to avoid the blindfold-and-cigarette treatment. Castro's demise would be their worst nightmare -- they would have no boogeyman to rail against, and the Cuban people would never allow them to return. In exchange for the red meat, of course, the GOP gets loads of money like clockwork from a foolishly reliable voting bloc -- which they can then ignore 24 hours after election day. Think of those Cubans as the Spanish-speaking version of the anti-abortion groups.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Adelson, Gingrich, and the Selling of America

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 09:38:39 +0000

Back in 1996 it took a cool $100 million to lobotomize the Sierra Club as to the severe harm mass immigration is doing to the environment. Looks like the Newtster's brain is even easier to reshape like so much Silly Putty.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Defend Corporal Jesse Thorsen

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 16:19:41 +0000

Yep, I was at "Happy Valley" in spring 1979 (squadron 3708), and it rained most of the time -- good thing they issued us raincoats (and I still have mine). Our 1st base liberty was canceled because San Antonio was under a tornado watch. Most of my flightmates were from California and had never been through a thunderstorm; it was somewhat amusing to see them cower in their cots like little girly-men. If it was that cold I hope you didn't land in the drink on the "confidence course." FWIW, I've read that USAF basic is now 8.5 weeks long and everyone is issued a rifle a la the Army & Marines. As for Reagan, I'm disappointed in him too. He promised to do away with the Education and Energy Departments; both those abominations still exist, and are even bigger and badder than ever. (Gingrich and the GOP congressional candidates made the same promise in 1994, so why would anyone believe the Newtster now?)

News From Antiwar.com : Perry: Turkey Run By 'Islamic Terrorists,' Should Be Expelled From NATO

Tue, 17 Jan 2012 23:31:18 +0000

I agree with Perry, but for the opposite reason. Don't just kick Turkey out of NATO -- kick every other country out as well. IOW, abolish NATO. The alliance's raison d'etre dissolved 20 years ago along with the Soviet Union and Warsaw Pact. Now it's a useless bureaucracy existing to perpetuate the military-industrial complex and keep redundant generals and admirals on the federal payroll.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : Defend Corporal Jesse Thorsen

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 16:46:15 +0000

I was going to reply to "liberranter," but after reading all the comments decided to make multiple responses in an all-in-one post. First, "liberranter" is right. Nothing at all would have happened to Thorsen if he'd given Rep. Paul that same ringing endorsement in civilian clothes. And I suspect he's also right about many writers here calling for Thorsen's head had he endorsed one of the warmongers instead. Hypocrisy does not help the antiwar cause. Second, "Retired Colonel" is right about color guards and flyovers. No different from the Thunderbirds or Blue Angels performing at air shows. And it goes without saying that anything generals might say publicly, in or out of uniform, has been thoroughly screened and cleared in advance. Not that such clearance is actually needed. Recall what Smedley Butler said about not having an original thought the whole time he was in the Marines. @ Lorraine: I was in the Air Force for two election cycles (1980 and '84). In both instances the wing commander's office sent memos to every unit on base for mandatory posting on bulletin boards. (IIRC the base newspapers also published them.) Those memos spelled out in excruciating detail exactly what we could and could not do in the political arena. At the top of the "can't do" list was appearing at or participating in rallies, speaking to the media, distributing campaign literature, and working in campaign offices while in uniform. We could do all of the above as long as we were off duty and in civvies, thereby showing that we were acting on our own and not as part of the military. @ rick: Don't know if it's still the case, but in the 1980s everyone had to undergo mandatory UCMJ refresher training six months after joining, then another mandatory refresher course at first re-enlistment. Anyone not knowing (bleep) about the law after all that has only himself to blame. @ Tim: The fact that the Pentagon pays retired generals to spew propaganda instantly reduces their credibility to zero. At any rate, since they're retired they have the same right under the 1st Amendment as anyone else to spew whatever they want. Would you have denied the retired Smedley Butler the right to speak against the warfare state, or to write War is a Racket? @ Johnny in WI: Congrats on the anti-LBJ heckling. Just curious as what you were heckling him about, since he was (falsely, as it turned out) posing as the "peace" candidate while smearing Goldwater as a warmonger.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : What War With Iran Might Look Like

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:05:07 +0000

According to Wikipedia, the Persian Gulf has an average depth of only 50m (~160') and maximum depth of 90m (~300'). If Iran can sink one of those big warships in a shallow area near the Strait of Hormuz, they could conceivably block the entire Gulf for months. The same thing would have happened at Pearl Harbor had the USS Nevada not been able to beach itself. The Gulf's shallowness also makes it impossible for submarines to function safely.

Antiwar.com Original Articles : The Return of the Chickenhawks

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 21:03:43 +0000

Along with "chickenhawk," don't forget the excellent epithet "laptop bombardier," which can also be applied to those "pilots" who operate drones from their cushy stateside cubicles, then drive home to their families. Then there's that famous neocon brigade known as the "82nd Chairborne Division." As for Gingrich and the MEK, the slogan should be, "Where there's loot, there's Newt." Always wax poetic or alliterate whenever possible, Justin. Such barbs are easy to remember and have more impact.