Me Thinks The World Just became a little safer

[Carlene 12]

It will be a pain to have a vindictive and petty congress until then, but it's a price that has to be paid.

But Clinton's lame duck Congress was neither vindictive nor petty, right? I guess it was the only thing that kept the whole damn country from going to hell in a handbasket. PLEAAAAAAASE.

[bitteroldhag 0]

I'm a Democrat and I'm thrilled to death that we took both houses of Congress. I'm not really against Republicans, but I don't think the neo-conservatives are actually Republicans. I think they are a whole party by themselves and don't represent the Republican base. My brother is a fairly radical Republican, yet he and I, a fairly radical Democrat, agree on a lot of issues. He listens to Rush Limbaugh and I read DailyKos everyday, but we still agree on many things. So I don't think Democrats and Republicans are that far apart. I think the neo-cons have tried to drive a wedge between moderate Republicans and moderate Democrats, and this election told them that the American people are on to that game. The American people are often wrong, but they usually realize it after a bit of time and rectify any mistakes. They have rectified the latest mistake. Unfortunately, it will take quite awhile to fix all of the terrible things the neo-cons have done. I don't think the Democrats will get into George Bush's face if they can help it because there is no point. He will be out of office in 2 years. The Iraq situation will take quite a long time to fix. However, the Dems will have a bunch of investigations which will undermine the neo-con stance with the public. I think when a lot of secrets come out, people will be enraged. I like regular Republicans, but I don't like extremists, and the neo-cons are extremists. Our country has managed to get along with most people in the middle of the political spectrum for over 200 years and if we play our cards right, we may make it another 200 years. But we are not going to be the lead country in the 21st century. China will take that role and we're going to have to figure out how to make a living when we are not number 1. That is a serious problem that both Democrats and Republicans need to think about. What do you all think about this?:bandit

[BJean 16]

Well I'm just "liberal" enough to think that some diplomacy just might work. I know the "neo-cons" as Bitter calls them don't believe in diplomacy. They believe that since we're the biggest kid on the block (or were) that we should whack everybody with our big stick and make them do what they're told.

Nevermind that we've lost thousands of lives trying to whack the hell out of those Iraqi scoundrels. And the darned people just won't get aligned. Go figure.

If the "neo-cons" haven't figured out yet that China is carrying a pretty darned big stick too, and Iraq has caused our stick to be pretty damaged, I'm sure glad we have some Democrats at the helm to hopefully take a more sane approach to worldly matters. I'm not one of those "neo-cons" who seem to believe it's acceptable to send our National Guard to fight a war.

And speaking to that subject, I am terribly sorry to hear that GeezerSue's DH has had the heartbreaking experience of having to console his friend upon the loss of his son. Gawd this is a horrible mess.

[BJean 16]

As for the wall or walls, north and south, is Dubya nuts or what?

[TommyO 5]

Sorry I am not as able to participate as much lately so please forgive my tardiness on responding. I would like to respond however and here goes, When you look at the conflicts in the world today it's often hard to tell the bad guys from the good guys. As Americans you don't see it because you see yourselves as the good guys and that's understandable. To the folks on the other side you are the bad guys and to the rest of the world US foreign policy appears to positions the US as the school bully.

Look, the US is the most powerfull country in the world and they choose to go around beating up on all of the little kids who want to play.

Why not try and make freinds, it's not like the US hasn't made allies with some of the worlds biggest despots in the past. As a matter of fact the enemy was once your freind.

I don't know but as an observer I would say that it might have something to do with oil and arms manufacturing.

Keep in mind If we manage to blow up the world it is more likely that the US will be the one with the finger on the button.

Cheers

TommyO

[GeezerSue 7]

Thanks for the kind wishes re DH's buddy. He (DH), big tough former infantryman, made it all the way home before he fell apart.

About the Neocons...they don't want just to dominate other countries, they want to dominate us, too. They will insist that each one of us behaves in a manner that is in accordance with THEIR beliefs...because they possess the only true, correct set of beliefs in the universe.

[bitteroldhag 0]

GeezerSue -- I agree. The neo-con plan has been a disaster because they decided to turn the U.S. into a police state so they can spread American democracy to the world. Lord, how can otherwise intelligent people think like this? I'm glad that American democracy has worked so that I don't have to move to another country. I was looking around for a good place and had decided on Chile which has recently experienced fascism and has decided not to back it.

[green 6]

The Patriot Acts have made inroads into your civil liberties from what I understand. These were instigated by the Republicans, presumably by those who sit at the far right. That these erosions of civil liberties were successfully brought about was due to the climate of fear and paranoia that has been fostered in America since the terrible events of 9/11.

It is worth noting that these events have not been repeated and yet the fall-out in your country has been dramatic. There has been those Patriot Acts, the war in Afghanistan (which did make some sense) and the entirely senseless and very costly war in Iraq. Moreover, the United States has placed itself in an awkward position in the international arena. By electing to invade Iraq after an independent report (Blix) had stated that there were no weapons of mass destruction in that country, your country has seriously weakened its international diplomatic ties and lost "street cred," speaking globally. All this has stemmed from the way that 9/11 was handled - the aftermath.

It is worth noting that European countries have been subject to terrorist attacks, too. Their approaches to these horrible events are different. They seem to rely on detective and spy work in order to find and destroy terrorist cells. And it is worth noting that terrorists attack major cities. Folks that live anywhere else have nothing to fear.

[mousecrazy 2]

I'll just poke my head in, and agree with the conservatives here. I seriously doubt the world is safer now; not that I am sure we are in more danger. I just think we are STILL in danger, and hope that those in power now know that. And if they know it, they will act on that knowledge. No appeasement.

Of course, my conservative friends and I have some difficulty being heard over the crowing. It will be a bit more difficult to have power and defend the actions of those in power than it was to criticize and back-seat drive, though. We shall see.

[the best me 6]

Of course, my conservative friends and I have some difficulty being heard over the crowing. It will be a bit more difficult to have power and defend the actions of those in power than it was to criticize and back-seat drive, though. We shall see.

*spewing coffee* So true! We shall see.

[TommyO 5]

How can having an opinion be considerred back seat driving? I don't think that the country with all the bombs has as much to fear as the rest of the world. It's somewhat humorous that the choice of the those on the right is to respond by blowing things up. I read an atricle in the paper this week that they estimate that One Hundred and fifty thousand civilians have now been killed in Iraq. It would appear that death isn't that big an issue to some folks as long as it happens "over there".

I am curiouse why anyone in the U.S. should be as afraid as the people living in Iraq. Maybe it's the folks in the rest of the world who feel a little safer. As long as conservative Americans believe they are safer when they are blowing people up the rest of the world will sleep more peacefully when the American public votes in liberals.

In some ways I resent the implication that having a differing opinion constitutes crowing and that expressing that opinion constitutes back seat driving. I too live in a democracy and I am entitled to demand that my elected government representative represent me. The system does not work if there is no oposition.

[lisah25 3]

Another 9/11, for one. Here's a Liberal, "Oh please Mr. Terrorist, don't bomb us, let's talk about this. I'm sure that you are feeling so disenfranchised these days, what with all of the terrible things going on in Mecca and that evil Israel that shouldn't even be a country, but if you and I could just have a converstion, I'm sure we could work this out..." KaBoooom.

THAT'S scary.

Interesting considering 9/11 was on Bush's watch.

Honestly, no one I know IRL or on forums would say what you did. We realize terrorists are real. That they want us dead. We just don't agree with the current admins approach to dealing with it.

[Barry 0]

Predictions:

1.The next 2 years will be nothing but Congressional Hearings with no agenda other than to make the Democrates look better for 2008. How do you do this? Make Republicans look bad.

2. During this time virtually NOTHING will be accomplished.

3. Democrates will mistake their "razor thin" victory as a mandate to pull troops out of Iraq and other strategic locations with no regard to the damage that this action will cause for decades. This mistake will ultimately cost them the White House in 2008 because the REAL message from the voter was this, "You guys, Democrates and Republicans, put your heads together, work together, make Iraq better, and stop the gridlock....we're sick of it". But guess what? The Democrates are so "joyous" after their perceived mandate they'll do nothing for two years but obstruct and nothing will change too much in Iraq.

4. The American voter, being a little smarter than those in Washington give us credit for, will elect a "moderate" like John McCain or someone like him, and the Democrates will yet again fail to get the message. This moderate may be a Democrate in title, but will govern with common sense and will make decisions based on what's best for this country and not his particular party.....this is what the American voter wants.

5. John Kerry's little joke that went bad is a true indicator of how the Democrates, most anyway, feel about our military. I don't care if he was in Vietnam, he thinks our military is a bunch of "knuckle draggers" and has no use for them. This opinion of the military will be shown under the bright light of Congressional hearings that are coming like a freight train with no brakes. These hearing will be lead by Democrates.

For those of us who tend to favor the Republican party, be patient, sit back and let the Democrates hang themselves, given enough time and media attention they'll succeed.

[green 6]

Another 9/11, for one. Here's a Liberal, "Oh please Mr. Terrorist, don't bomb us, let's talk about this. I'm sure that you are feeling so disenfranchised these days, what with all of the terrible things going on in Mecca and that evil Israel that shouldn't even be a country, but if you and I could just have a converstion, I'm sure we could work this out..." KaBoooom.

THAT'S scary.

I don't think you understand much about terrorism. I don't either but here are a few facts that you should be aware of. 1 - Apart from the truly dreadful events of 9/11, events that occurred while the Republicans were in office by the way, there have been no other successful terrorist activities inside North America. 2 - Terrorists like to target internationally important cities and international flights. This means that very few of the 300 million folks who live in America will be affected by terrorist activities. 3 - Most terrorist activities are confined to the state of Israel.

You may be interested to know that a number of possible terrorist activities since 9/11 have been foiled due to the joint efforts of the FBI and the CIA in the United States, the RCMP and CSIS in Canada, and by various European authorities including the Scotland Yard and Interpol. (This way of combatting terrorism is both cheaper and more effective than invading Iraq.)

[anonemouse 1]

1 - Apart from the truly dreadful events of 9/11, events that occurred while the Republicans were in office by the way, there have been no other successful terrorist activities inside North America.

Don't forget the first World Trade Center attack in the '80s/'90s. There have been other attacks, but the US is still relatively untouched by terrorism, at least compared to European/Mid-East countries. Of couse, if you count bombings by Americans against Americans, the numbers go way up. Unfortunately, I think everyone is so focused on Islamic terrorists that they forget that we have some home-grown ones to also worry about. In some ways, I think that they are probably more likely to attack us in the future than the Islamic terrorists are, since we aren't really paying any attention to them. It's sad to say, but security guards are much more attentive to people with veils or beards and turbans than the average Joe like Tim McVey.