March 2003 Archives
Now that Gary Hart is personally posting to his new weblog, Howard Dean promises to do the same "in the coming hours" on his Call to Action Blog.
Told ya. Welcome to the Blogosphere Governor.
[via Political Wire]
Senator Hart will be appearing on CNBC at 9pm EST tonight with Maria Bartiromo.
"Punditwatch is not going to grasp at the ether of pundit speculation and opinion on this war until enough time has passed to make it informed speculation and opinion."
I think this is the only reasonable position to take at this very early point in the war. It's much too early to say one way or another if things are going well.
There certainly seems to be some evidence pointing towards things going worse than the Administration expected, but that shouldn't doom the whole enterprise to failure quite yet. The administration and their supporter's expectations were extremely unrealistic to start with, and I think they are quickly being adjusted to the reality on the ground while covering their tracks in case things go south quick.
There is also some evidence that civilians in the extreme southwestern end of Iraq - where humanitarian aid is flowing and fear of Saddam slowly waning - seem reasonably happy to be liberated, although relieved may be a better word. I think that's about all that could reasonably be expected and the longer we stick around, the less 'liberated' they'll be feeling. A quote from today's Times regarding the lessons of Lebanon sums it up nicely:
"I remember early on, I was in Jezzin in southern Lebanon," he said. "I was talking to an old man, a Shiite, who was very happy about what Israel had done. He grabbed my arm and said, `Don't forget to leave.' But we did. There is just no such thing as an enlightened occupation."
A fantasy stock market for blogs.
In fact, some might say this movement - which unlike the one during Vietnam began before the start of the Iraq conflict - failed in its most important goal: to stop the war before it commenced. Certainly the protesters say they have learned that they need a long-term strategy.
"It's tremendously saddening," said Eli Pariser, international campaigns director of MoveOn.org, a member of the Win Without War coalition, said of the start of the war.
"At the same time, there still is optimism that in terms of our larger goal, which is to end this foreign policy that is so dangerous, there's still hope, and quite a lot of it."
A good article in the Times on the shifting focus and tactics of the mainstream peace movement.
How do you admit you were wrong? What do you do when you realize those you were defending in fact did not want your defense and wanted something completely different from you and from the world?
The full story from the young pastor I conspiricated (it should be a word...conspiracy + pontificate) on earlier. It appears he will also be on ABC sometime next week with Barbara Walters complete with the video he took inside Iraq. It's smelling an awful lot like propaganda, but if the video's authentic, I don't see the harm.
The Senator tore it up. Hannity was out of his league.
I'm going to suspend my boycott of Fox News tonight in order to see how Senator Hart fares on Hannity & Colmes at 9pm EST (thats in 10 minutes, I forgot to post this earlier). This should be a good test of how his positions stand up to a hostile audience. I'm sure there will be plenty of "monkey business" references. Here's hoping the Senator can raise the debate above the muck.
The reaction to Senator Hart's blog has been very positive. The Howard Dean blog folks even seem a bit jealous that Senator Hart himself is writing the entries. I hear the Senator is very enthusiastic about the possibilities blogging presents and should be writing often in the future and I look forward to the public discussion that it is sure to stimulate.
Here's hoping it can be used to broaden the public debate on the Senator's issues, while gathering as well as disseminating ideas. The best aspect of blogging is the interactivity, and the idea of bringing that to the realm of politics is heartening and consistant with Hart's message of returning sovereignty to the people.
Rob and I spent the last few days working on getting the innards of Gary Hart's Blog up and running. Kevin from Getting In the Game deserves all the credit however. I wouldn't be involved if it weren't for him. Go check it out, the comments are already predictably entertaining.
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ho humI've done a lot of updating of my Warzone OCS catalog. I've added several soldiers who are blogging from the field.
The Senate unexpectedly reversed itself yesterday and voted to slash more than half of President Bush's proposal to reduce taxes by $726 billion over the next decade, turning victory into defeat for the president on his economic program's centerpiece.
This is good. This war has to paid for somehow.
I became increasingly concerned about the way the Iraqi regime was restricting the movement of the shields, so a few days later I left Baghdad for Jordan by taxi with five others. Once over the border we felt comfortable enough to ask our driver what he felt about the regime and the threat of an aerial bombardment.
"Don't you listen to Powell on Voice of America radio?" he said. "Of course the Americans don't want to bomb civilians. They want to bomb government and Saddam's palaces. We want America to bomb Saddam."
We just sat, listening, our mouths open wide. Jake, one of the others, just kept saying, "Oh my God" as the driver described the horrors of the regime. Jake was so shocked at how naive he had been. We all were. It hadn't occurred to anyone that the Iraqis might actually be pro-war.
Another article about Human Shields having a change of heart. This one is a few days old now, and folks have probably already seen it, but I thought I'd provide it as a foil to my own earlier conspiracy-mongering on the subject.
While flipping through the channels this evening, I happened on what was apparently the premiere evening of the Discovery Times Channel - a joint venture between The Discovery Channel and The New York Times. The first show was called "Al Qaeda 2.0" and was one of the most informative specials I've yet seen on Al Qaeda.
Amongst the revelations is evidence that Al Qeada's leadership may be in Bangladesh and have established a new base there. I missed the beginning of the show, but it's on again tonight at 11pm EST, so I'll get caught up then.
On now is "Terror's Children" which is about children's lives in Pakistani madrassas.
This is all original programming produced by The Discovery Program and the New York Times jointly, and is interspersed (supposedly, I haven't seen this yet) with Iraq war reports from NY Times correspondents, and even the obligatory "Friedman's Journal" where John-Paul's mustachioed doppleganger holds forth on various topics.
It looks to be an impressive venture, assuming they can keep up the quality to tonight's levels. For those in Denver on Comcast, tune into channel 271. For others, you can find out if you can see it here.
I've put together an OCS file of useful war news sources. Those of you using newsreaders such as Newzcrawler might find it useful. I will keep it updated as I find new source.
I came across this quote in an article on Iraqi refugees heading for Jordan and though it interesting as a reflection on the less-informed position of the no-war-at-any-cost crowd in the US, but after a little digging I have dug up some interesting background on the quoted pastor.
A group of American anti-war demonstrators who came to Iraq with Japanese human shield volunteers made it across the border today with 14 hours of uncensored video, all shot without Iraqi government minders present. Kenneth Joseph, a young American pastor with the Assyrian Church of the East, told UPI the trip "had shocked me back to reality." Some of the Iraqis he interviewed on camera "told me they would commit suicide if American bombing didn't start. They were willing to see their homes demolished to gain their freedom from Saddam's bloody tyranny. They convinced me that Saddam was a monster the likes of which the world had not seen since Stalin and Hitler. He and his sons are sick sadists. Their tales of slow torture and killing made me ill, such as people put in a huge shredder for plastic products, feet first so they could hear their screams as bodies got chewed up from foot to head."
So, on the surface you see a lefty repenting for his out-of-touch ways, and this is certainly how its being spun by the blogosphere, right and left. In the interest of fairness I then decided to look up this particular gentlemen, to see what kind of person we're dealing with. I found this article discussing the need for Assyrian Christians having a place in post-Saddam Iraq. And here, presumably, is the gentleman's father, another Assyrian Christian minister, and alumni of infamous crazy-christian (and Bush-friendly) institution Bob Jones University. Combine these facts with the fact that the story in question was distributed by the Bush-friendly Moonie-owned UPI and Washington Times and this story seems to beg for a bit more digging to determine the actual agenda of this particular individual. Is he a plant, or just a right-wing-evangelical-christian human shield associate? Unfortunately, thanks to work and other things I don't have the time. Feel free to do so yourself ;)
ps. Note that I don't disagree with the general sentiment expressed by the pastor above, but I do consider the source a bit suspicious and thought it important to point out.
Dear readers:I've been asked to suspend my war blogging for awhile. But I don't want let you down -- I'm chronicling the events of my war experiences, the same as I always have, and hope to come to agreement with CNN in the near future to make them available to you in some shape or form, perhaps on this site.
New Belgium Brewing Company, maker of a new favorite - Senator Hart will be on tonight's NOW with Bill Moyers to discuss Homeland Security with his Commsion co-chair Warren Rudman. Sure to be some fun spatting between the two as there was on Larry King a few weeks back. In Denver, this is on at 9pm on KRMA (Channel 6).
One of the problems with these big marches -- impressive as they may be as shows of strength -- is that they have little lasting value. The broad anti-globalization/anti-war movement has tended to disdain actual electoral politics, believing it to be corrupt beyond repair (which is, in its way, the ultimate kind of cynicism). But in the long run, the way you win in a democracy is by winning elections, and you win elections by organizing for candidates and helping them raise money. No doubt, these candidates will be more mainstream, and more credible, than, say, the guys who run A.N.S.W.E.R. And that's the beauty of it. When you have a march, you pretty much have to let everyone have their say. The cranks who think Bush is "the real war criminal" get as much face time as the Jimmy Carters. Electoral politics imposes a discipline on activism, weeding out the cranks, building consensus and providing a kind of centrifugal force that keeps it all together. If the people who spend their time organizing and marching would spend even a fraction of that energy and time involving themselves in real electoral politics -- not futile, Naderite third-party runs, another form of political narcissism -- they could actually punish Bush for what he's done.
UPDATE: There're some excellent comments and debate over these issues over at Matt Yglesias's site.
TAPPED weighs in on some of the silly "Direct Action" going on. Its over folks, war has started. You aren't convincing anyone at this point. It will have no effect on the war, and only serves to paint the left as loony and out of touch. Time is much better spent preparing to drum Bush out of office in 2004. Pick a candidate (I have a suggestion) and do some real work.
Pictures of a warm spring day in NYC.
St Patrick's Day dinner at a diner in Queens.
Driving up the Taconic State Parkway and through the Berkshires into Great Barrington on the way to Boston.
Dave Winer posted some pictures from his cross-country stretch from NYC to Boston. I learned to ski at Butternut Basin (and Otis Ridge, just down the road) which is also home to Berkfest, an awesome music festival that I'm hoping to make it to this coming summer. I had a lot of friends (and one very dear one in particular) that went to school in Great Barrington. Its a beautiful part of the country, and one I could see myself retiring to someday.
Some conflicting reports here: Some rumors (from al-Jazeera) report that Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Tariq Aziz has fled to Turkey and defected. (No links yet that I can find. Source is U.S. Army.) But another report on Al Bawaba reports that he was caught trying to enter Iraqi Kurdistan and shot dead.
The war coverage is starting. I'm watching the following blogs for war news. You may want to also.
[updated: never mind that Tariq Aziz thing. He still hates us.]
Funny how it goes: The onetime Mr. Monkey Business is now addressing the gravest issues in America before rapt audiences. He is wholly immersed in this terrifying national hour, head down as he ambles from his podium to sustained applause at U-Va.'s Caplin Pavilion.
Hart's audiences are at once inspired and shell-shocked. He is seizing on the current peril as a call to national duty. "We are all citizen-soldiers now," he says. "When the nation is attacked, Tom Ridge is not going to save you." Local police and fire and health care workers will, or at least try. And your neighbors will. He evinces the white-hot eagerness of a man prepared to lead, if called.
He is getting good reviews and decent crowds -- about 140 on this snowy afternoon. At 66, Hart's big mane of hair has gone wispy gray, with feathers of white over his ears (he looks like a cloud in a school play). Several people, most of them law students, approach him after the speech. As he meets a cluster of students, answering a question about civil liberties, and one about the military's role in homeland security, and one on his fledgling presidential campaign, he is actually beaming. And Hart, as a general rule, has never been a beamer.
A great piece on Senator Hart in the Post. Hart gives his thoughts on politicing, his past, and fear.
[via Political Wire]
An Open Letter to Bill O'Reilly
(excerpts) March 17, 2003
March 17, 2003
Dear Bill:
I am writing about my appearance on your show last Friday. As you know, After five or ten minutes of heated debate, during which I gave as good as I got, you cut off my microphone and spent the next five minutes attacking me and my family. What I was amazed to learn was that YOU CUT OFF MY MICROPHONE WITHOUT INFORMING ME OR YOUR LISTENING AUDIENCE THAT YOU HAD DONE SO.
Ahhh yes, fair and balanced indeed. Not only do I boycott Fox News, I no longer watch Fox. You shouldn't either.
I signed up for the Gary Hart Meetup.com service when Kevin set it up a week or two back. It now apparently has some official campaign sponsership and, not surprisingly, Denver has the largest number of members so far. I've added a link to the site over on the right or you can visit the link above to find out about meetings with other Gary Hart supporters in your area. The first meeting in Denver is looking to be April 3rd.
In other Hart news, the Senator will be appearing on American Morning with Paula Zahn tomorrow at 8am EST (here's hoping I get snowed out for another day so I can catch it) and The Charlie Rose Show on Thursday on PBS (check your local listings).
While the truth of what he says is real, Tom Daschle's words are too little too late. After the parade of quivering Democrats last fall, led by Daschle - the tone is just too hollow. Pathetic.
What Oliver said. This Democratic display of anger over the fact that we're going to a war they wrote the blank check for is just slightly less retarded than the UN's surprise at being asked to enforce the resolution it unanimously passed and apparently didn't read. I'm not happy we're going to war either, but the the current Democratic leadership that allowed this war to go ahead doesn't have a leg to stand on in this matter. Courage of Conviction. Until the Democratic leadership figure out what this means they will continue to be the irrelevent quislings they chose to be last November. Vote em all out.
From a recent letter I wrote to a mailing list I'm on. I think it summarizes my current mood pretty well (yes, at this point I'm a "Balking Hawk") so I thought I'd post it here for posterity.
On Mon, Mar 17, 2003 at 06:19:38PM -0500, John-Paul wrote:
> Andrea Buffa, an organizer with United for Peace and Justice, which
> Grabes vaunted as the respectable antiwar alternative to the Stalinist
> front International ANSWER, takes on an irate Iraqi radio show caller:
>
This argument was over a few weeks ago. Bush will have his war.
The anti-war protestors and apparently most of the world have been
deemed irrelevent. Everyone keep your heads down and repeat after
me. "It's all about democracy, It's all about democracy"
There's plenty of idealogues on both sides of the issue that are going to
believe what they're going to believe despite all evidence. In the end,
both sides are so full of shit its coming out their ears.
Saddam has to go now, there was no way to back down. Bush and his
entire Administration's lack of ANY diplomatic skills left us no
option but war. And so be it, Saddam is a bad guy that needs to
go. The UN shouldn't have passed a unanimous resolution if they
didn't read it. However...
Those that are deceiving themselves into thinking Bush actually
plans to follow through with the Grand Plans to democratize the
Middle East are living in a fantasy world as should be readily
apparent by now. Just because you hope something will happen
doesn't mean Bush has any intention of letting it happen. And even
if he does, the chances of it resulting in a government that's friendly to America are just about nil.
The fact that we're all still clapping gleefully at the stupid-dumdum
anti-war protesters and masturbating to pictures of Apache helicopters
roaming the Iraqi desert while listening to the news-networks
carefully composed war-jingles reinforces my lack of faith in the
nobility of the American population at large. No one should
ever be smug or happy about war. People are going to die - including,
in all likelihood, people in this country. I hope you're all ready
because in the 4th Generation, we're all soldiers.
Praise god and pass the ammunition.
The whole thing makes me sick.
Dear friends:
Gary Hart once observed that "a campaign ought to be a vehicle for involving American citizens in the determination of their own destiny."
As we approach the brink of war in the Middle East, we ask you to take the first step to reclaim our destiny. If our President commits us to war, we pray for its earliest success, not only to save unnecessary loss of life, but also so that we Americans can secure our future through bold, fair, and just restructuring of our economy.
Those of us supporting Gary Hart are now seeking contributions to encourage his consideration of a run for President of the United States. During this "testing the waters" phase, we are permitted to collect funds for the purpose of determining whether he should become a candidate. With your help, he can give this momentous decision the immediate and intensive reflection it deserves.
If you would like to use your credit card or ATM card, we now have the capability at garyhartnews.com to process the transaction, conveniently and securely. Your donation to this effort will allow Senator Hart to continue traveling the country, addressing college students and town hall audiences, +meeting with key organizers, and generally gauging national interest in his ideas. Click on the below link to be directed to our donations page:
http://www.garyhartnews.com/hart/contribute/index.php
Thank you for your continued support. Please send news of our fundraising effort to as many of your friends who share the senator's desire to secure America's future as possible.
Sincerely,
GaryHartNews.comFundraising questions or concerns? Please email: donate@garyhartnews.com
Pass it on. If the money doesn't come from you, it will have to come from a special interest, and given Senator Hart's position on these matters, he'd most likely rather not run. If you want to see this man run for President, he needs your help.
Jokes aside, the world seems closer to midnight than ever. “I am living at the Villa Borghese,” wrote Henry Miller in the opening line to Tropic of Cancer. “There is not a crumb of dirt anywhere, nor a chair misplaced. We are all alone here and we are dead.”
It’s a beautiful day today in New York.
Christopher Albritton has some thoughts on where we're heading. We'll almost certainly be at war tomorrow. Here's hoping Gary Hart and many others are wrong.
Republicans in the Senate have asked Sen. Ben Nighthorse Campbell about his re-election plans in 2004. The former Democrat, who crossed over to the good guys back in 1995, has not made it clear whether he will or will not run for another term.
Republicans hope he will, if only to scare off prospective Democrats who might have eyes on a potentially winnable seat for them. Rep. Mark Udall has said that he would be interested in running for that seat, and some Democrats in the Rocky Mountain State remain convinced that former Sen. Gary Hart has his eyes set more on running for the Senate seat than on running for president.
"If you're Hart, would you rather raise $10 million for a Senate run or five or six times that to run for the presidential nomination?" asks a Democratic National Committee delegate from Colorado. "Some of us think he'll run for either if he thinks he can pull in the money."
The American Prowler has an interesting theory.
Also, for those wondering why there's been so little news on Senator Hart in the last few days, its because he's decided to put off any announcement until the war is over (or, presumably, when its clear it will be going on for a while). A lot of folks are saying this is a cop-out, and that he should be out speaking out against the war once it starts. These people are ignoring his message though. His main concern with war now is that we aren't ready in the homeland. Once the war starts, its kind of too late for anything to be done about that. We'll see what happens. If the action isn't done in a week or two, I'm sure we'll see him speak up.
It happened when a tape of Lee Greenwood's song Proud To Be An American was playing. Some rodeo fans were standing and others were sitting down. Felix Fanaselle and his buddies chose to remain seated.
"This guy behind us starts yelling at us (because) we're not standing up," said Fanaselle. "He starts cussing at us, telling us to go back to Iraq."
Ahhh Texas.
Do support democracy in Iraq. But don’t equate it with war. What will happen is something that could/should have been avoided. Don’t expect me to wear a [I heart bush] t-shirt. Support democracy in Iraq not by bombing us to hell and then trying to build it up again (well that is going to happen any way) not by sending human shields (let’s be real the war is going to happen and Saddam will use you as hostages), but by keeping an eye on what will happen after the war.
Salam, someone with a real dog in this fight, weighs in on the war which will shortly be heading his way. [boldface added by me]. Read his whole rant, he hits all sorts of issues, including the rise of Wahabism in Iraq since the first Gulf War.
Mr. Bush's inner circle seems amazed that the tactics that work so well on journalists and Democrats don't work on the rest of the world. They've made promises, oblivious to the fact that most countries don't trust their word. They've made threats. They've done the aura-of-inevitability thing — how many times now have administration officials claimed to have lined up the necessary votes in the Security Council? They've warned other countries that if they oppose America's will they are objectively pro-terrorist. Yet still the world balks.
Wasn't someone at the State Department allowed to point out that in matters nonmilitary, the U.S. isn't all that dominant — that Russia and Turkey need the European market more than they need ours, that Europe gives more than twice as much foreign aid as we do and that in much of the world public opinion matters? Apparently not.
What confounds me to no end is the generally accepted maxim that Republicans are "better" at foreign policy than Democrats. About the only thing I can hold out hope for at this point is that this administration should thoroughly wipe that notion off the books.
The Palestinian state must be a reformed and peaceful and democratic state that abandons forever the use of terror. The government of Israel, as the terror threat is removed and security improves, must take concrete steps to support the emergence of a viable and credible Palestinian state, and to work as quickly as possible toward a final status agreement. As progress is made toward peace, settlement activity in the occupied territories must end. And the Arab states must oppose terrorism, support the emergence of a peaceful and democratic Palestine, and state clearly that they will live in peace with Israel.
This moment offers a new opportunity to meet these objectives. After its recent elections, the nation of Israel has a new government. And the Palestinian Authority has created the new position of Prime Minister. Israeli and Palestinian leaders and other governments in the region now have a chance to move forward with determination and with good faith.
To be a credible and responsible partner, the new Palestinian Prime Minister must hold a position of real authority. We expect that such a Palestinian Prime Minister will be confirmed soon. Immediately upon confirmation, the road map for peace will be given to the Palestinians and the Israelis. This road map will set forth a sequence of steps toward the goals I set out on June 24th, 2002, goals shared by all the parties.
In a press conference this morning, Bush revived the peace process in Israel. No details were given, but provided his road map is reasonably fair, this could go a long way towards reassuring our European allies.
The report, which has been distributed to a small group of top government officials but not publicly disclosed, says that daunting economic and social problems are likely to undermine basic stability in the region for years, let alone prospects for democratic reform.
Even if some version of democracy took root -- an event the report casts as unlikely -- anti-American sentiment is so pervasive that elections in the short term could lead to the rise of Islamic-controlled governments hostile to the United States.
"Liberal democracy would be difficult to achieve," says one passage of the report, according to an intelligence official who agreed to read portions of it to the Los Angeles Times. "Electoral democracy, were it to emerge, could well be subject to exploitation by anti-American elements."
Apparently the State Department doesn't hold out much hope for the Pagano Doctrine. An unamed "intelligence official" says:
The official stressed that no one in intelligence or diplomatic circles opposes the idea of trying to install a democratic government in Iraq.
"It couldn't hurt," the official said. "But to sell (the war) on the basis that this is going to cause 1,000 flowers to bloom is naive."
I am curious what supporters of the 'domino' theory of Middle East peace have to say to the prospects of a democratically elected anti-american Islamist government rising out of all of our hard work. Thoughts?
Boy, it's a good thing Rep. Ney isn't a complete idiot. But why stop there? There are so many countries opposing the war that still have foods and drinks named after them, including some, presumably, that are still on the House menu from time to time. German mashed potatoes. Belgian waffles. Dutch chocolate. Swedish meatballs. White Russians. Black Russians. Irish coffee.
And, of course, Turkey. It is a crime against our men and women in uniform -- ney, against Americans everywhere -- that, come November, they will be forced to celebrate their day of Thanksgiving by dining on this foul bird, no less treacherous than the country after which it is named. It is said that turkey makes you sleepy -- much as Turkey would have us slumber while the tyrant Saddam menaces our freedom. Congressman Ney, your duty is clear.
TAPPED on Freedom Fries
Last night I and my fellow Americans launched an armed assault on a local McDonalds, after they refused to rename their "French fries" as "Freedom Fries".
7:15amAfter reading this totally unbiased story by Instapundit about a peace protest, I think we have to put real thought into bringing back the sedition act. We just can't have all this dissent, after all - almost half of this country voted for George Bush.
7:32amI was vigorously rubbing my handgun this morning when it came to me that if we just nuke the Middle East we can start from a clean slate. We just need to find a way to preserve the oil.
7:54am
Blog humor funny. Hee.
...to me (well, and the Glasgow Sunday Herald and the Smirking Chimp)
Years before George W. Bush entered the White House, and years before the Sept. 11 attacks set the direction of his presidency, a group of influential neo-conservatives hatched a plan to get Saddam Hussein out of power.
ABC apparently aired a Nightline episode on PNAC last week.
In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight
Mirrors, smokescreens and lies
It’s not the politicians but their actions I despise
You and Saddam should kick it like back in the day
With the cocaine and Courvoisier
But you build more bombs as you get more bold
As your mid-life crisis war unfolds
All you want to do is take control
Now put that axis of evil bullshit on hold
Citizen rule number 2080
Politicians are shady
So people watch your back 'cause I think they smoke crack
I don’t doubt it look at how they act
In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight
First the ‘War On Terror’ now war on Iraq
We’re reaching a point where we can’t turn back
Let’s lose the guns and let’s lose the bombs
And stop the corporate contributions that their built upon
Well I’ll be sleeping on your speeches ‘til I start to snore
‘Cause I won’t carry guns for an oil war
As-Salamu alaikum, wa alaikum assalam
Peace to the Middle East peace to Islam
Now don’t get us wrong ‘cause we love America
But that’s no reason to get hysterica
They’re layin’ on the syrup thick
We ain’t waffles we ain’t havin’ it
In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight
Now how many people must get killed?
For oil families pockets to get filled?
How many oil families get killed?
Not a damn one so what’s the deal?
It’s time to lead the way and de-escalate
Lose the weapons of mass destruction and the hate
Say ooh ah what’s the White House doin’?
Oh no! Say, what in tarnation have they got brewing??!!!!???!!
Well I’m not pro Bush and I’m not pro Saddam
We need these fools to remain calm
George Bush you’re looking like Zoolander
Trying to play tough for the camera
What am I on crazy pills? We’ve got to stop it
Get your hand out my grandma’s pocket
We need health care more than going to war
You think it’s democracy they’re fighting for?
In a world gone mad it’s hard to think right
So much violence hate and spite
Murder going on all day and night
Due time we fight the non-violent fight
This is their first recording in 5 years.
Well, the transcript is already available, so let me give my perspective on Senator Hart's comments. First off, this worried me a bit at first:
KING: Senator Rudman, let's start with you. Has the president made his case to go to Iraq?
WARREN RUDMAN, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Larry, I agree with what the president is going to do, or it appears that way. But I must say that I think the case could have been made in a better way. Bob Dole referred to it. Whether or not the al Qaeda connection exists, it has not really resonated around the world. The statement that Iraq is an imminent threat probably doesn't really make it.
But the case is quite simply stated. Saddam Hussein for the last 10 or 12 years has been attempting in every way that he can to build weapons of mass destruction. His reasoning is quite obvious. He wants to dominate the Middle East. He has a lot of scores he would like to settle. And allowed to continue, without some sort of regime change or total disarmament, this man will come back to haunt all of us.
The president has taken on a decision which I think is politically very risky and quite courageous. I believe that if we don't move now, or something doesn't give in the next two weeks, we will live to pay for it in the Middle East and here.
KING: Senator Hart, what do you think of what Senator Rudman, your friend, just said?
GARY HART, FORMER U.S. SENATOR: Well, I've listened to everything the president has said, and I'm more confused now than ever before. If, in fact, we are -- the justification for a military invasion is to carry out U.N. sanctions, apparently the U.N. doesn't want us to do that. If, in fact, Iraq on the other hand represents an immediate and unavoidable threat to us, we don't need U.N. approval.
What I think -- where I think we got caught was we're trying to get the U.N. to support us in the unilateral action that the president -- where the president believes Iraq represents a threat to the United States that is imminent and unavoidable, and the world simply doesn't believe it. And further, as I've said, the president has not leveled with the American people about the costs in dollar terms, but particularly in human lives that this -- this adventure might involve.
And until he does, the American people can't make a judgment as to whether they want their military committed in this cause.
Now before anyone gets me wrong, I think Hart's points are spot on. Every point he makes is correct. However, and this is what worries me, where are his thoughts on how Saddam should be dealt with? On the way to making the pertinent points he made, he somehow avoided discussing whats to be done with Saddam. Thankfully, later on he presents his thoughts:
By the way there is also another alternative. I know a lot of people say if we don't invade, then we're just going leave him alone. That's not the alternative. If the United States were to seek U.N. and international support for a declaration that we will have a uniform fly-zone over Iraq or an Iraqi no-fly zone nationwide, triple the inspectors, accompany them with U.N. troops, we can shut him down and nobody needs to lose their lives.
I think this is a completely reasonable answer to the above questions, however it didn't show up until 10 minutes after his above comments. I think he needs to work more on connecting these two messages. This is the second time I've come away from an on-air interview of his with a little confusion over his position on this issue.
I though it was an interesting show, featuring Bob Dole, and a panel consisting of former Senators George McGovern, Alan Simpson, Warren Rudman, and Gary Hart. Hart didn't get m