Thursday, September 11, 2008



From the words of President Bush:

America has entered a great struggle that tests our strength, and even more our resolve. Our nation is patient and steadfast. We continue to pursue the terrorists in cities and camps and caves across the earth. We are joined by a great coalition of nations to rid the world of terror. And we will not allow any terrorist or tyrant to threaten civilization with weapons of mass murder. Now and in the future, Americans will live as free people, not in fear, and never at the mercy of any foreign plot or power.

This nation has defeated tyrants and liberated death camps, raised this lamp of liberty to every captive land. We have no intention of ignoring or appeasing history's latest gang of fanatics trying to murder their way to power. They are discovering, as others before them, the resolve of a great country and a great democracy. In the ruins of two towers, under a flag unfurled at the Pentagon, at the funerals of the lost, we have made a sacred promise to ourselves and to the world: we will not relent until justice is done and our nation is secure. What our enemies have begun, we will finish.

Let us contrast this to the words of Senator Barack Obama, published in September 19, 2001 edition of the Hyde Park Herald and reprinted in the July 21, 2008 edition of the New Yorker Magazine:
Even as I hope for some measure of peace and comfort to the bereaved families, I must also hope that we as a nation draw some measure of wisdom from this tragedy. Certain immediate lessons are clear, and we must act upon those lessons decisively. We need to step up security at our airports. We must reexamine the effectiveness of our intelligence networks. And we must be resolute in identifying the perpetrators of these heinous acts and dismantling their organizations of destruction.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

We will have to make sure, despite our rage, that any U.S. military action takes into account the lives of innocent civilians abroad. We will have to be unwavering in opposing bigotry or discrimination directed against neighbors and friends of Middle Eastern descent. Finally, we will have to devote far more attention to the monumental task of raising the hopes and prospects of embittered children across the globe—children not just in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Asia, Latin America, Eastern Europe and within our own shores.

So, according to Obama, 9/11 was perpetrated by climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair?

Here are some facts for the anointed one:

Osama Bin Laden? Not poor.

Mohammed Atta? Not poor.

Khalid Shaikh Mohammed? Not poor.

And the list goes on and on...

From Michelle Malkin:

And as I’ve reported before and must reiterate again for the hard of hearing in Washington, lowering academic standards at American colleges helped al Qaeda mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed further the jihadi cause. In the early 1980s, he enrolled at tiny Chowan College in Murfreesburo, N.C., which had dropped its English requirements to attract–ahem–wealthy Middle Easterners. At Chowan, Mohammed bonded with other Arab Muslim foreign students known as “The Mullahs” for their religious zeal. Mohammed then transferred to North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University, where he earned his degree in mechanical engineering along with 30 other Muslims. Mohammed applied his Western learning to oversee the 1993 World Trade Center bombing plot (six Americans dead), the U.S.S. Cole attack (17 American soldiers dead), and the September 11 attacks (3,000 dead). He has also been linked to the 1998 African-embassy bombings (212 dead, including 12 Americans), the plot to kill the pope, the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl, and the Bali nightclub bomb blast that killed nearly 200 tourists, including two more Americans.

Perhaps bleeding-heart Obama thinks a master’s degree in social work would have convinced poverty-stricken, helpless, ignorant, despairing Mohammed to change his mind?

Barack Obama? Let's see...

Wrong on 9/11
Wrong on the surge.
Wrong on taxes.
Wrong on energy.
Wrong on Sarah Palin.
Wrong on Joe Biden.
Wrong on Hillary Clinton.
Wrong on William Ayers.
Wrong on Reverend Wright.
Wrong about his ties to "Palestinians."
Wrong about Iran.
Wrong about Pakistan.
Wrong about Jerusalem.
Wrong about disrespecting the flag of the United States.

WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG! WRONG!

Is THIS the change we are looking for?

Unless you are one of those who frequent the Huffington Post, or the DailyKos and who continue to keep their heads in the sand about the real threats against our country and our people, I beg you to consider who it is you are supporting for President. Barack Obama may well end up being the greatest thing since sliced bread, but his record so far has proven him to be someone who shouldn't be trusted with a nail clipper - much less the Presidency.

For those who want desperately against President Bush in this election, understand that Bush is not running in this election. If you think these last 8 years were so horrible, go out and buy a book about the Carter years. As "bad" as the economy is now, it was much, much worse then. As "bad" as unemployment is now, it was much, much worse then.

Barack Obama is running on a platform that mimics the Carter administration regarding taxes (more of them), spending (ditto) and wealth-distribution. He is promising universal health care similar to the European and Canadian models - which is why so many come to the US for serious ailments.

Like all Democrats, with maybe the exception of Joe Lieberman, he agrees with the European world view that Islamofacism is the fault of America, and not responsibility of those who have attacked us. He doesn't get it. And putting him in as President will only serve the desires of those who wish a weakened America.

1 comment:

said...

Not a lot worth commenting on this time around -- you pretty much just channeled extreme right-wing blowback with this lazy post, Shayne -- but I do have to call one thing into question and beg for direction to your support for the point:

"He is promising universal health care similar to the European and Canadian models - which is why so many come to the US for serious ailments."

Huh?!?

The last time I checked -- and I do keep up with this stuff, for reasons both intellectual and personal -- Americans were hopping the pond in droves to seek the absolute highest class of care for cancer in...wait for it...France! A simple google search will point the way, but just in case you are feeling lazy (I know that searching for statistical support makes you woozy), just head to the following article, published July 9 of this year: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=92362918

Now, of course, there are plenty of other maladies that require medical attention of varying degrees, and cancer is just one of the majors. The successes of France's cancer treatment, though, carry over to the rest of the health care system, and nobody is left wanting. This is probably why I often hear from friends and family back in the US who are dealing with the US healthcare system, "How hard is it to get into the system over there? Can you do anything to help?", and on the flip side, after 9+ years living here I have yet to hear a single person ask me for information on having any kind of malady or disease treated in the U.S.

Delude yourself if you must, Shayne, but your slam of European healthcare is just plain...how did you so eloquently put it in this rant...hmm...WRONG!

Man, sometimes it is like you are simply trying to sneak nonsense and ill-informed-opinion-stated-as-fact by your readership in the desperate hope that it will somehow make it correct. In the immortal words of Billy Joel (and I am hopscotching the true meaning of the song here), "sometimes a fantasy...is all you need..."