‹ Medics on Armed Patrol in Iraq •
Are any of the candidates in tomorrow’s presidential primaries in Florida running advertisements criticizing the Iraq war? Are any of the candidates making opposition to the Iraq war their premier issue?
Is the antiwar issue being raised in the media or in Q & A with candidates?
Has anybody seen polls on which candidates are favored by voters who opposed the war?
The Washington Post yesterday made the GOP race sound like a contest on who could be most bellicose on Iraq. Is that how the race looks on the ground in FLA?
“War is good.” War is profitable. War is American as apple pie. Just ask McCain or Clinton or Romney or Obama or the Huckster or just about any of the posers for America’s ‘commander-in-carnage’. However, almost no one asks Dr. Paul. Gosh, why is that? By the time that George ‘boy king’ Bush is out of office, there won’t be much left of America. So, does it matter?
Oh, Skulz. Reading you makes me feel so forlorn.
Truth and facts do that, watching American Idol will help.
Who syas hes leaving office? Duhbua give up the throne?
Yeah, who says? Plus, Jeb is waiting in the wings. A message for all you Dems: Corporations do not pay taxes, people do. Get rid of corporate tax. A good start would be to vote for socially liberal http://www.ronpaul2008.com
First, the Dems are not allowed to campaign or run ads.
I’ve seen an ad by Herr Mitt in which he promises to fix the economy the way he “saved” the Olympics, and with more tax cuts for the rich. Right.
McCain is running an ad showing him as a POW, standing with Reagan; a mishmash of patriotic, militaristic images in which he states we are at war and will never surrender, yada, yada.
Haven’t seen anything by Gouliani yet, but I’m sure he’s running ads promising to deliver 1.3 billion muslim heads on pikes.
I’ve heard one radio ad (pretty good ad, but nothing that will create a boatload of converts) by Ron Paul 3 or 4 times, but no TV ads.
Seen nothing from the Huckster, praise the lord.
I’m in the South Florida market. I imagine I’ve missed some stuff because I don’t watch a lot of TV.
With Saddam Hussein hanged, it is going to be difficult for the US to find anyone to surrender to.
Suppose they should have thought about that before turning a POW illegally over to the Shi’ites for execution.
That’s right, Eugene Costa. I felt so choked up trying to listen to the FBI agent on 60 Minutes last night bragging about and demonstrating how he was the man who had complete control over Saddam, especially knowing the end, I couldn’t.
“Though jailed and facing certain execution, he believed, Saddam still thought he would be viewed as one of the region’s great leaders in a thousand years, he told his FBI interrogator….”
[Daily News November 23, 2007]
A thousand years, indeed. Consider an analogue: when a Russian like Kasparov calls Bobby Fischer someone who “revolutionized” chess, the phrasing carries quite a different reference from what an American denotes when talking of “new, revolutionary detergent.”
Or try this on for size:
“Washington DC: January 29, 1007.”
Why would it matter if the Dems broke their own party restrictions and campaigned or ran ads in Florida? They’re all pro war.
Do you recall what the Ron Paul ad said? What subject did it deal with?
Statists love war because it allows both power-grabbing AND rewarding party friends.
And allows for another turn of the vise on the people’s neck by slowly disallowing more freedoms.
I’ve heard Ron’s ad on WINZ, which runs “progressive talk” like Ed Schultz, Mike Malloy and some of the Air America people. So it’s mostly Dems and lefties listening, certainly mostly anti-war. The ad itself is kind of a generic introduction of Ron’s history as a doctor, his military service, as a congressman, as an upholder of the constitution. As I recall, no mention of the war in Iraq.
As one who lives in South Florida, let me assure you that it is one of the most arid intellectual wastelands in the world. I have seen more cerebral processes and understanding of the global state of affairs even in the poorest of Haitian shantytowns.
There is no sense of community in this drained wetland turned expensive suburbia. The population is made up mostly of disparate islands of various expatriate islets in a sea of Cuban and Haitian Americans(well, not all Americans).
Forget anti-war sentiments among the majority of Cubans. We are constantly harassed and attacked by some of their more vociferous and ferocious members whenever we gather for a demonstration for peace or civil liberties. They are the Bob Martinez and Ileana Ros-Lehtinen Brown Shirts, and they are fully protected by the Miami-Dade PD. McCain or Giuliani will be in their plates with them.
The substantial Haitian community is far more “progressive”. They are anti-war and instinctively oppose US intervention in other countries’ internal affairs or wars of aggression. This feeling unfortunately will be expressed by overwhelming support for Hillary Clinton over Obama. I suppose they identify the Clintons with the forced return of Aristide and the end of the military junta. They will be sorely disappointed if she gains power. She will also be the favorite of the Jewish community and the South Florida democratic machinery. My guess is that she will carry Broward and Dade counties.
I have often described the South Florida area as the last den of South American fascism. Though meant as a joke with my South American fascist friends, it is not too far removed from the truth.
What a description, Stanley. Luckily, the weather’s good.
How I relish your description of the social disarray in South Florida. Goodness knows I was forced to endure a similar intellectual vacuum in Texas for the first ten of my eighteen years- a halcyon childhood, but one punctuated by encounters with idiots of all kinds. In hindsight, moving to Canada was the best decision my family ever made. I’m more grateful now than ever.
That being said, I find it curious that voters are so easily persuaded to vote against their own wishes. Communal voting, perhaps? Maybe just sheer heuristic? What do you think it is? And, residing in the belly of the beast, why do you think America has become a cultural desert? Does the “American mentality” if such a thing exists predispose people toward myopia? Just what is wrong with the United States?
Kenneth, reading your posts I am impressed by your precocious perspicacity. I must admit that I am also at a lost to comprehend this ‘American mentality’, but it certainly predisposes to a selective myopia. As a kid I lived under the impression nurtured by so many Hollywood movies that the United States was a pillar of justice and fair play whose great power was matched only by its unequaled magnanimity. Being avidly interested in the news, it did not take long for me to realize that those impressions were somewhat skewed and did not jive exactly with reality. The Vietnam war was the shocker for me.
It is a fact that the great majority of Americans persistently vote against their own interests or Paul and Kucinich would be the front runners in their respective parties. Is it a masochistic tendency? Hardly. It is the result of subtle brainwashing from the crib to the crypt, from religion to finances. A feat the Soviet Union could never accomplish with its citizenry. The manipulators of public opinion in the States have honed their skills literally to an art form. But more on this later.
Kenneth:
What is wrong with the United States is that we don’t have enough patriots, people who truly love this country. What is wrong is that we need more people who say, “Yes, the US has made some horrible mistakes (as have all nations) and we have done things we should deeply regret. HOWEVER, this is still the greatest country on the face of the Earth. We have only been around a little over 220 years and ( deny it all you want) the United States in her short history has done more to advance the cause of human freedom than any other nation. We have been a great force for good. If not for us half the world would either be under Nazi, Fasist, or Communist dictatorships. We are the city on the hill, we are the light onto the nations. We need Americans to stand up for America and push back the liberal, anti-american, multi-culturaral fanatics.
And by the way Kenneth: Just one other thought: You are fond of using large words to show off your erudition. And you are also fond of calling other people names, like “idiots.” Perhaps one word you should look up is “humility” or perhaps even “civility” Just because someone disagrees with you is no reason to get personal and call them names–thats a bit puerile don’t you think? :)
What is wrong with the United States is that we don’t have enough patriots, people who truly love this country.
Joining the military anytime soon, Timmy? Or do you prefer to bleat about patriotism from the safe anonymity of the internet?
What is wrong is that we need more people who say, “Yes, the US has made some horrible mistakes (as have all nations) and we have done things we should deeply regret.
What is wrong with the US is a complacent population and a political establishment that tells it what it wants to hear, not what it needs to hear. The Sibel Edmonds affair Raimondo has been writing about is a case in point.
HOWEVER, this is still the greatest country on the face of the Earth.
How is “greatness” to be measured? By most quantifiable measures of human welfare (child poverty, job security, medical care, and the like), America is significantly below the industrial average. The fact that a third world dictatorship like Cuba can come so close to America in life expectancy speaks volumes about the state of affairs in the latter. The worldwide press freedom index has the US at #48. The current account balance continues to deteriorate. The median wage has barely shifted at all since 1979, according to the Bureau of Labour Statistics. An exact definition of “great” is notably absent here, perhaps because you wish to avoid discussing specifics.
We have only been around a little over 220 years and ( deny it all you want) the United States in her short history has done more to advance the cause of human freedom than any other nation. We have been a great force for good. If not for us half the world would either be under Nazi, Fasist, or Communist dictatorships.
If not for America’s intervention in WWI, those dictatorships would have never arisen in the first place. Not that they even had the means to fully subdue Europe, much less the world. Not only this, but America’s failure to support anti-Soviet liberation movements in the third world like the EPLF, its collaboration with the Khmer Rouge, and its systematic preference for fundamentalists like Gulbaddin Hekmatyar over democrats like Ahmed Shah Massoud during the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, for which there is no excuse even in the context of America’s stated objectives, indicate either colossal incompetence or failure by design, both of which make it unfit to lead the world.
We are the city on the hill, we are the light onto the nations. We need Americans to stand up for America and push back the liberal, anti-american, multi-culturaral fanatics.
What “multicultural fanatics”? Jingoism permeates virtually every aspect of American life. I can scarcely stand to visit the country anymore, and it would take much to coax me into living there. Moreover, isn’t a key component of a free society the ability to choose which, if any, group, culture, or religion one settles in and belongs to? Isn’t pluralism an integral part of a competitive, multiparty democracy (nonwithstanding that such a thing no longer exists, if it ever truly did)? Your statement implies, if it does not say so outright, that the state should be used to circumscribe this range of options according to a fixed ideal of what it means to be “American”. Indeed, it is an inversion of the very moral foundation of government: it implies that the people should be subordinate to the state, rather than vice versa (as in a free society). It is, in short, fascism in an American guise.
And by the way Kenneth: Just one other thought: You are fond of using large words to show off your erudition.
Erudition? Hah! I’m an eighteen year old malcontent who is simply not content to exist idly suspended in an intellectual matrix of propaganda. If this is “erudition”, then it speaks to the tawdry state of regnant intellectual fashions. I was a mediocre student at school, if you must know, and I don’t fancy that I possess any special intellectual prowess. I merely apply what critical faculties I have and recognize absurdity when I see it.
Perhaps one word you should look up is “humility” or perhaps even “civility” Just because someone disagrees with you is no reason to get personal and call them names–thats a bit puerile don’t you think?,
Perhaps if you weren’t so utterly disingenuous I’d have more patience with you. If you could set aside your usual arsenal of glittering generalities and bare assertions long enough to discuss particulars, then I’d employ a more civil tone. Since, however, you are apparently incapable of even this most basic of mental tasks, I will continue to employ variations of “idiot” until intellectual rigour is obtained. To think that a prospective lawyer doesn’t understand the rules of informal logic and scientific validation is, quite frankly, frightening. I think I’d rather represent myself in court if your case is anything to go by.
Can’t you see the hypocracy? You throw around the term fascist and talk about “American Fascists.” But you post on a blog that is protected by the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. You are granted freedom of speech, freedom of the press, the right to peacefully assemble etc. But you are not grateful. It is all too easy for you to talk about “American Fascism” or “Christian Fascism.” Go to Saudi Arabia, Syria, Iran, or China. Live there for a few years. Then you will see what fascists are all about. Then you will see what a real totalitarian regime does.
That’s “hypocrisy”, Timmy boy. Careful orthography would not go amiss here. Whilst it is true that America remains a relatively free country, this does not negate the observation that it is increasingly in the thrall of fascist potencies who want to turn it into a police state- and are enjoying increasing success, what with the passage of the Military Commissions Act and the Defense Authorization Act. The whole point of free speech is the ability to point out these iniquities. Attacking us for the intended exercise thereof is “hypocracy” at its worst.
WE are not granted freedom of speech press etc. It is our God given right. People who warn about American fascists are talking about you. The idea that rights are “granted” is the very basis of totalitarian thought. You think criticism is somehow unpatriotic. Who am I to feel grateful to for my ability to write this? Thank you, Almight and beneficent Cheney for letting me criticize my government. No, we are not a totalitarian society yet, but it seems we are on the way, and the time to stop it is now. People like you are the ones who make totalitarianism possible. They can always be counted on to parrot whatever the official propaganda is and support whatever policy Big Brother issues.
Foreign wars of conquest? fine. Suspension of habeas corpus? Great. Data mining of internet and warrantless wiretaps? wonderful. Torture? have at it. President unilaterally commits American troops to Iraq indefinitely without Congressional approval? Its a wonderful Constitution we used to have, isn’t it. And I bet you call yourself a conservative.
That’s South American fascism as in Latin America!
Are you sure you’re not a cartoon character? Does R stand for Redundant?
Intellectual wasteland? I believe this will be a growing trend - my daughter, who lives in an upper middle class semi-gated community, tells me that the latest trend among the professional and managerial class parents is to invest heavily in training for their children in - athletics. Little Brandon and Morgan are spending their leasure time on becoming jocks. Not on music lessons or language training or scientific hobbys but learning how to hit baseballs or to head soccer balls. This training is not coming from the kids themselves during casual playground games but is coming from retired professional athletes who provide (for a healthy fee) one-on-one training for the children. This is supposed to give the kid “a head start on his competitors”. My daughter is particularly concerned that my 8 year old grandson is getting “too late a start on basketball”. The future leaders of America may inherit a bankrupt country mired in endless wars but, by George, they are going to hold their own in sports.
“Little Brandon and Morgan are spending their leasure time on becoming jocks. Not on music lessons or language training or scientific hobbys but learning how to hit baseballs or to head soccer balls.”
This sounds just like my nephews and nieces in Michigan. South Florida is not isolated in this disturbing trend of dangling anything–ANYTHING–in front of youngsters’ faces to distract them from any curious notions of how the world works.
As much as I hate to give the little pr–k that much credit, George Bush has had an impact on this country’s culture. Remember when JFK got elected, he ushered in a lot of high brow culture - Robert Frost at the Inagural, Pablo Casals at state dinners, etc. With Bush it has been all fear and militarism with a certain amount locker room jockism (think of snapping bare buttocks with a wet towel type of thing). And what is our level of culture now - classical music and jazz are dead, country and western music has gone from lovelorn cheating to Toby Keith waving a flag and wanting to kiss some raghead ass. Rap music is considered creative. There are no art “movements”, or architectural “movements”. Literature has become totally commercial. And the fear level - in Arizona, I understand that housewives attend taser parties where they demonstrate tasers like they used to demonstrate Tupperware. All of our “heroes” now lock-and-load. And this trend is infecting our youth - no-one wants to find a cure for cancer anymore, they all want to live comfortably and play a decent game of touch football. Lord, we need to get some egghead in the White House soon.
Thanks for the details.
Sounds akin to ad transcripts used in Michigan and elsewhere.
I am curious as to the rationale for running generic type ads, especially for audiences where Ron Paul is not already known & respected.
Jim, Three new nonwar ads here:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/blog/lewrw/archives/018948.html
What the…?
Scott, you’re the guy I always turn to for solving the ? mystery in a WTF?
RP needs to hire a good producer who can make some “wake-up-call” videos that will put people on the edge of their seats and make them pay attention to his message. And have the cajones to air them. Otherwise it will be business as usual with whoever else gets elected in November. I can see a major push to “restore” America’s military forces from whoever the next president might be. Just the way to bankrupt the country all that sooner… And that is a major part part of the master plan. They are working to wipe out the so-called “middle class” of whatever wealth and possessions they presently have. A nation comprised of mostly poor people is much more compliant and easy to manage…
Does anyone know why the Dems (and indeed the press) have not pointed out that the deteriorating economy has to be massively affected by expenditures for Iraq and Afganistan. The Republicans attack the Dems as the tax and spend party but they are the borrow and spend party for the wars.
Answer to Albert Hurd, maybe because the D’s have been voting for those same expenditures, and because the media is owned by those making money off of war.
Very well put peace. They would be in a dilemma if they attack the spending a democratic congress is constantly approving. By the way, did anybody besides me notice how grotesque this imbecile Nancy Pelosi was getting up alongside the criminal Cheney to give Bush standing ovations. Nothing could corroborate better Friedrich Engels’ astute observation of the American 2-party system back in 1891:
“We find here in the United States two great gangs of political speculators, who alternately take possession of the state power and exploit it by the most corrupt means and for the most corrupt ends—and the nation is powerless against those two great cartels of politicians, who are ostensibly its servants, but in reality dominate and plunder it.”
No, but ample documentation of Pelosi’s perfidy exists on this site. What a sparkling assessment of American politics on Engels’ part. May I add the following quote by H.L. Mencken:
Under democracy one party always devotes its chief energies to trying to prove that the other party is unfit to rule — and both commonly succeed, and are right… The United States has never developed an aristocracy really disinterested or an intelligentsia really intelligent. Its history is simply a record of vacillations between two gangs of frauds.
I would also like to include this gentlemen:
“You can effect a change of robbers every four years.. An Inestimable privilege to pull off the glutted leech and attach the lean one” ~Ambrose Bierce
Albert,
I’ve seen one mention of the war’s impact on the economy in the press. John McLaughlin raised the issue on his show The McLaughlin Group Sunday before last. He showed a clip of Ron Paul making that point in a debate, and he supported Paul’s point in the discussion. Ha, you should have seen that Mort Zuckerman fellow (I think that’s how you spell his name; he works for U.S. News and World Report)…he was so pissed at the raising of this obvious point I thought he would s**t himself!
My same take on ultr-zionist me-best authoritarian Zuckerman. Loved that moment, alpowolf, thanks to John McLaughlin, who has named Paul, the man of the year.
What is the strategy of running Ron Paul ads on a “progressive” radio station in a closed primary state like Florida?
The generic ads being aired would be very unlikely to cause anyone to change party affiliation, even if the dead line had not already past.
He started running the ad before the deadline past (a month ago), but you are right. You are not going to peal off too many votes from lefties even if they agree with you on the war. But I guess that was the thinking. Can’t think of another explanation.
Ron Paul appears to be sinking in Florida and an opportunity is being thrown away. He may get 2 percent or even lower and could well be beaten by Fred Thompson! His ads should have been hitting hard on the civil liberties and the war issue. Who the heck is responsible for this ad strategy?
I think the RP campaign is in serious trouble. I hope for a miracle in Fla tomorrow and that he would still get around 10%, but I am not optimistic - most polls put him at 3%.
RP’s grassroots are doing their part in collecting money for his campaign. It is amazing to look at his website and refresh only to see the contributions increased in that minute you were staring at the screen.
Also, he tends to do well on tv and in debates, but I don’t get the feeling his media folks are doing their job. Today the campaign announced hiring two experienced people to its leadership: John Tate and Mark Elm. I hope they make a difference.
Today I saw a RP clip on youtube. Titled: Stop Dreaming
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IWfIhFhelm8
I think it is amazing, one of the best yet. I don’t know campaigning rules, but if allowed, the RP campaign must spend some of its money and play this clip on major networks daily from now till Super Tuesday. It’s now or never.
The fact is that our troops are doing a great job. Violence is down and things are getting better. In short, we are beating back the Islamo Fascists and winning the war. So it is hard to campaign on the issue when things are going much better than they were in the past.
Tim,
The truth is the US is NOT beating back the ‘Islamo Fascists’ and the surge did little to bring down the level of violence.
The violence persists. Yes the daily death toll dropped in the last few months from about 2.5 US dead per day to 1.5 US dead per day. But that is because the US is now throwing lots of money at the Sunnis to stop fighting. Now the US is supporting Saddams men so they won’t fight. No back breaking or beating back here, just literally buying time.
EVEN IF THE US IS WINNING that doesnt make the war right. The war is illegal by US laws and international laws. Wars of aggression make the US a pariah state.
The US is losing its financial prowess, its respect, its liberty, the lives of many of its young men and women, and the army is being stretched thin. These costs are all being paid for no good reason. Iraqis are not better off. Americans are not safer. The only people who benefit are those who are in the oil business and are happy to see a $100 oil barrel and those who are in the military industrial complex. People like George W Bush, Dick Cheney and Condeliza Rice.
The troops need to go home. They are still dying daily. If you don’t consider Bush stuffing his pockets a nobel cause then every death is meaningless. If their death had a real purpose then Bush would parade their sacrifice and the purpose they serve. But its just needless death that has to be concealed from the public eye. Try to take a picture of a flag drapped coffin and you would lose your job!
Tim - wake up. There is no big battle of civilization. There is no IslamoFacists. There is no good vs evil. All there is colonization and empire building. And if you don’t wake up now, you will wake up when and find the rich corporations had hired either illegal aliens to do all the manual work in the country for dirt cheap or outsourced the deskjobs to overseas for cheaper labour and the middle class in America wiped out. All the mean time you or one of your children are manning the border between Syria and Iraq to make sure no ‘islamofacists’ cross it.
I doubt Tim R. has the gumption to commit anything of his to his preferred cause. He wants you and your children to execute his will, not his.
Paul seems to be mostly ignoring Florida as it’s winner take all. He’s letting the rest of the fools spend into bankruptcy while gearing up for Super Tuesday. Therefore there is most likely very few anti-war ads from anyone.
Thanks for the info, Will and First. The strategy makes sense. Will now watch Stop Dreaming.
Ignoring a high profile early primary is the same strategy that worked out so well for Giuliani.
The amount of media coverage a person receives depends in large part on how well he did in the previous primary…
Read Walter Karp’s ” The Politics of War,” and things will come into perspective. We’ve been manipulated by an oligarchy since a few years after the Civil War…and they are getting stronger and more effective at serving their own ends.
Thank you for the book recommendation. Karp is brilliant.
Hmmmmm…..It appears as though Rudy is going to drop out of the race. I guess Pat Robertson must have misunderstood what God was telling him.