YellowLinesandArmadillos

I can't believe that I am agreeing with you on this point, but that part was a little too much, however, it is not the first time that I have heard it, and it comes from both the ultra left and ultra right. The arguement goes that there are a finite number of resources in the World and the U.S. let alone Capitalism will never, out of self interest, share enough to help out the impoverished 90% of the rest of the World. That is where his arguement ultimately leads and that all conflicts are a result of this competition for those finite resources.

Finally a someone on the right that I can agree with. Occasionally bureaucracies serve the public well and in specific instances, even some the Departments momentarily do a good job on something specific. Only problem is that it there are few and far between instances including as is it also applies to throwing money at Iraq, same anology applies to our armed forces, yet we tolerate incredible waste and incompetence there as well. Just when it is a failure, I wish someone up top would admit it and make changes. Usually, though it is a question of priorities, and we know where Bush's priorities are and it ain't NO. We heard he was pissed afterwards, but still he hasn't used his bully pullpit to follow up on it. I think that his biggest failings is recognizing incompetence in his own admin and dealing with it effectively.

No kidding, they need to get a Congresscritter on the Approps Committee to remove funding for that idiot's bureaucrats specific position or transfer with a reduction in pay and grade that particular position to the middle of North Dakota, say Minot.

You need to get your facts straight, the levees were topped and they gave way, check out new reports from the Times Picayune. It is one thing to be an administration opologist it is another thing to spout the FOX/Drudge Report Party line without backing up your facts. Have you been to NO area since the Hurricane, yes a lot of work is being done, but there is so much to do and so many folks that have yet to receive any assistance, I still think the feds are underestimating the toll. Heck, I saw more Habitat for Humanity folks and United Methodist volunteers than FEMA folks. Also a lot of insurance folks quietly discussing how they were going to get out of paying. You should go there and volunteer before making any more statements about the situation down there. The President's lack of leadership in my opinion has been pathetic. Not sure about Brown, but it sounds like what was originally projected that Chernoff was the slacker and that Brown gave up on the job. Both inexusable, but Brown's reaction is now a little more understandable, having worked for and against a beaucracy when petty power plays are more important than action. If I want to know the President's position, I read the Press Release.

Nice try at little political bait and switch: you have a local guy overwhelmed used to playing the race card when things failed compared to our President who sat there and didn't ask any questions, said we are prepared despite warnings and requests to the contrary and then didn't deliver, while a lot of the locals including Governor Haley Barbour, R-MS who pleaded with him to get on the sctick ahead of time. Sure there were local failures, but they knew and pleaded before that they would be overwhelmed and still have not received an adequate response from our President. Not Chernoff or any other Bush opologist, but the President himself. Nice line from the latest GOP spin slogan factory: "Apparently all of the people who worked to make this that fastests rescue effort in U.S. history don't count." NO is actually in better shape then most of the areas down there, despite current problems, Gulfport, MS is in horrible shape. I think press doesn't like being lied to and still has been pretty lame in their criticism. It is worse down there then you imagine, most of the area West of downtown is a ghost town at this point. Ironically, the least helped by the Feds right now is Eastern, TX, Bush's home state, where Rita hit. I didn't see much in the way of disaster assistance and a lot more wind damage. Local were complaining the NO was getting all the help, and frankly they are. Still a massive problem with very little leadership from the ivory bubble at 1600.

Darn, I wouldn't have wanted to attend your high school. Mine taught this stuff in junior high and challenged us to think for ourselves, we would have thought this guy was nuts, but entertaining and would have tried to best him at his own arguements. The one guy trying to engage him sounded like he was the one with the microphone. Geography class, heck yeh, they would have to go home and not just pull out a map, but learn a little about the History of the countries he was talking about. Neat. P.S. Israel was allow to be formed because of us, just not quite the way he described. That is my only problem with his rant is as Silver and Red says in a later post, bumper sticker logans are a pretty sorry teaching tool. However, if he was just trying to provoke and arguement and get the kids to look up this stuff and force their parents to responde too...maybe not so bad...we do not know his motivation. I had lots of teachers who used this teaching style and supported right wing students and left wing students as long as we did the work and asked lots of questions.

Back to that old critial thinking v. rote memorization. While there is a definite slant to his arguements, so what, I agree with Coli, I had a few teachers like this in High school and they turned us loose to counter such arguements. My only question is weather or not this guy tolerates a differing opinion, not sure, he at least listens to counter arguments and how he grades on those separate arguments. He is standing on his soap box though, a little too thick criticizing U.S. actions. While I don't agree with Bush actions as a result of 9/11. He does explain how it is important enough to look at situations from the perspective of others. And he does end it with trying to get kids to think. I have had a number of teachers play devil's advocate like this. Still to this day, I am not sure if they believed the stuff they shoveled that day, but it made us think and do research when we disagreed. So much for critical thinking in the heartland.

That is interesting, heard some of that through the grape vine and probably read it from you too, let me know what happens. Politically, my college thesis dealt with the conflicts within group dynamics and when one group appears to win an arguement how does the loser actually fair? I was dealing with the Manassas Battlefield preservation issue a few years back. Developer v. Preservationists...interesting political dynamics though.

That was Mickey's arguement, bright line was just one of the options. I agree there is no bright line, except that Ken would clean up government enough so he believes there could be one. An impossible task...one of the rhetorical circles...tautology. Still could be eutopic if ever accomplished.

Man you are a true believer, I bow to you for I am not worthy And you do not run on the libertarian ticket?

Granted, if you had to chose, where would you go with, straight no leaks, bright line or open freedom of the press, or the current hypocritical mess we have right now?

I have no sense of the leadership behind him, would muslim extremists take over when he is gone or does he have enough infrastructure and successor strength to keep the regime going?

As long as Musharraf in Pakistan stays alive!

Balance of power double speak, hmm, makes sense and actually I consider it a good move. A not so subtle threat to Iran methinks.

Still not sure the press cared enough at that point and Bush team was on its game then, they would've just pivoted and recalled 9/11. Some of that info was already available if my memory serves me right and they did not put it all together. Yep, I will know it when I see it syndrome, hard to work with that one, unless you draw a broad bright line. Problem is then the line gets abused in the name of security. Maybe the only solution, reactive, not proactive, but hey what can you do. Still sends it back in to the political arena, not judiciary where it should be determined in my opinion and the only shot when the other two branches of government are not balancing each other out.l

In DC, oh please, we just write the laws that you can't understand half-of, we don't obey them (sarcasm), even when they are as simple as thou shall not leak. Leaking is power as seen by staffers. Power mostly to destroy your opponent.

Couldn't agree more, just don't think the press has any sense of a line anymore when the White House is authorizing the leaking. I agree there should somehow be established a bright line that says go to jail, do not pass GO, and treason charges should be applied. How you accomplish it in today's environment, I don't know, they don't take it seriously.

Ha, Ha, Ha, LOL: Me thinks you are correct there masterful sensei.

The other thing is, you usually know the responses ahead of time and if there is nothing of substance, hence the dog and pony show for most of these event, why congresscritters feel they are not doing anything important there and why not waste a little time, usually becomes a partisan pissing match when this happens.

Yep, the old dog and pony show as staffers used to call those types of hearings, working there you knew the personalities and could predict the questions and styles, half the time we used stand the back of the hearing room and mimic even our own bosses, some folks actually listen but congresscritter from under the rock Missouri gets so little national air time, usually they figure it is their 15 minutes of fame time. Usually it is pretty obnoxious for everyone.

Or sometimes classifiers are just stupid: http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/21/politics...87&nl=ep&emc=ep

Ken, I understand your concern, but, I guess it has become so transparant when classified means something to hide politicallly that the press has become desensitized to that arguement and has always been cynical, thus they are much less likely to take such concerns as important, especially when the classifiers are also the leakers. The old Washington two step. Problem is everyone has learned to do it to punk rock music, and with new technology, at hyper speed.

Oh I think you misread the situation, I take such a leak as a Secretary Brown rejuvination. I am betting the video camw from someone very loyal to him with an axe to grind,....he got fired when Brown did. As far as all it is about is bringing down the President now ...boo hoo

The rub, as always, determining which is best and which is best way to implement. One could argue the Iraq decision...to invade... was not a bad one, I don't agree, but there is room for me to be incorrect. Then the question becomes the competence of the implementor, Rumsfeld, in this case, and in Vietnam under McNamara is how should I put it?...pathetically SNAFU'd.

Yeh, I am sorry can't argue with that one, knew when Kerry didn't respond to the Swift boat ads that we had lost, then he gave the GOP a pass during its convention and went wind surfin. Shoot, I was madder then #%#@!, stayed home and didn't even do my usual GOTV volunteer work. We had two idiots from Yale, what does that say about an Ivy League education. They used to say that A students at Harvard become Supreme Court Justices, B Students Became Attorney Generals and C students ran fortune 500 corps, what about D students at Yale...they become President?