President Carter has been quietly keeping the peace for years (here and around the world), speaking out only when he has something important to say. Though he may not have been one of the greatest Presidents ever, he was a hell of a lot better than the current one, and President Bush could certainly benefit from the wisdom of his experience. I am concerned that he has apologized for the harshness of his statements. If a former President who knows the pressures of the job can't criticize, who can?
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of Iraqis are dying in the streets of Baghdad and all over their occupied country for a war that has no reason. Their country has descended into chaos and our young men and women (though women are never shown in combat on the news) are coming home in boxes or being kidnapped off the streets. Will people ask why when the war is over, or will we retreat from finding answers in the interest of "healing the nation"?
The Iraqi Parliament is drawing up plans for a quick US withdraw. Why aren't we doing that instead of considering a LONG TERM PLAN? And remember: Fascist nations tend to promote and tolerate open hostility to higher education, and academia. It is not uncommon for professors and other academics to be censored or even arrested. Free expression in the arts and letters is openly attacked.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
TomCat said...
United, I'd say that we aren't, because Bush still has not cemented control of the oil.
3:24 PM
Laura said...
Carter had great ideals. The problem is that he couldn't adequately priortize them and therefore ended up meeting very few of them. I think he's done more good after leaving office than he did while in office.
That said, he has every right to criticize the current administration - we all do.
Not to change the subject, but did you see the Dateline special the other night about body armor? Apparently there's a type of body armor called DragonSkin that the Army has banned without proper testing of it. Critics say it far surpasses what is currently used (Interceptor). Very interesting stuff. Apparently "Interceptor" is given to the grunts and DragonSkin is given to soldiers protecting dignitaries.
3:34 PM
Saur♥Kraut said...
Hey hon! I lost your email addy but really need to talk to you. Email me at saurblog at hotmail dot com. Thanks!
3:51 PM
Psychomikeo said...
LOL great minds think alike!!!
5:40 PM
United We Lay said...
tomcat,
But why are so many Americans letting that happen?
Laura,
I agree. Hes done a lot since leaving office, and he's a smart man. I did see the special. It makes me sick to think that our soldiers are over there without the best equiptment available.
Saur,
Will do!
6:46 PM
daveawayfromhome said...
You can listen to the show for the exact phrasing, but a conservative professor at (Boston?) University says that (paraphrasing here) when the government refuses to listen to a large majority of the voters, then one can consider the democracy to be dead (it's been several hours since I heard him say this, so forgive any shift in meaning)(either way, the point still holds).
9:58 PM
The Zombieslayer said...
Have you heard Ron Paul's comments about the Iraq War? Interesting to see a real conservative (not a fake conservative like Bush) speak out against the war. The Guiliaini had the gall to make a personal attack on Paul. I lost a lot of respect for Guiliani when he did that.
Oh, I hope you don't mind, but I'm adding you to my blogroll.
I think Carter was a horrible President, but a good man, and I'm always interested to hear what he has to say. He's probably the most intelligent President we've had in awhile too. Isn't he a nuclear engineer by profession?
11:29 PM
United We Lay said...
Dave,
I think that's pretty accurate. I didn't hear it eaither, but I will. I just watched V is For Vendetta for the first time yesterday. It's pretty powerful, and I'll probably write about it.
Zombie,
No problem! Ron Paul is also on my list of things to look up on YouTube. I'm a little behind as J's teething and VERY cranky.
7:02 PM
Daniel Hoffmann-Gill said...
Carter was a peanut farmer.
He was also a master of liberal overreach.
8:42 AM
Balloon Pirate said...
Carter was extremely well-intentioned, but he alienated far too many career bureaucrats in his first days in office. Thus, whenever he tried to do any sort of initiatives, he had no support in the system, and his policies failed.
He may not have been our best president, buthe certainly has been our best ex-president.
I wonder if his retraction was to keep himself from being a lightning rod on this subject.
yeharr
5:48 AM
The Lazy Iguana said...
Because - if we leave WHO will keep paying the contractors all that money?
Bush MAY pull out, but only if the government of Iraq can guarantee that big oil will be allowed in to do whatever they want. And of course, should they change their minds get ready for Iraq War Part 3.
Bush Senior should have pulled out and finished off himself with his hand.
5:19 PM
TomCat said...
United, Americans are letting that happen for a variety of reasons. The first is ignorance. The issues our nation faces require a great deal of effort to evaluate and understand, as I'm sure you know from your own experience. A corporate MSM that parrots Bush disinformation without challenging it adds to the ignorance problem. The second is fear. The Bush regime has become expert at using fear to induce people to give up our freedom. The third, and probably the biggest reason is apathy. Americans, unfortunately, are far too busy with issues like affording the next purchase at Wal-Fart, debating the relative merits of American Idol contestants, and keeping up with the doings of Paris Hilton and her ilk, to pay attention to matters as trivial as the transformation of our nation into a rogue state. Can you think of anything I missed?
5:57 PM
United We Lay said...
BP,
I think he has been trying hard to make up for whatever he was unable to accomplish as President. Whatever he's doing, we need more Exes like him, and less Currents like Bush.
Iguana,
I think we'll pull out just in time for the Presidential election so that the Republicans have a chance. I have a feeling we're going to lose big time in 08.
Tomcat,
That pretty much sums it up.
11:10 AM
Post a Comment