John's Blog

"Not long ago wise heads offered some advice to those of us who had argued since 2003 that the Iraq war was sold on false pretenses: give it up. The 2004 election, they said, showed that we would never convince the American people. They suggested that we stop talking about how we got into Iraq and focus instead on what to do next.

It turns out that the wise heads were wrong. A solid majority of Americans now believe that we were misled into war. And it is only now, when the public has realized the truth about the past, that serious discussions about where we are and where we're going are able to get a hearing.

Representative John Murtha's speech calling for a quick departure from Iraq was full of passion, but it was also serious and specific in a way rarely seen on the other side of the debate. President Bush and his apologists speak in vague generalities about staying the course and finishing the job. But Mr. Murtha spoke of mounting casualties and lagging recruiting, the rising frequency of insurgent attacks, stagnant oil production and lack of clean water....

Some administration officials accused Mr. Murtha of undermining the troops and giving comfort to the enemy. But that sort of thing no longer works, now that the administration has lost the public's trust.

Instead, defenders of our current policy have had to make a substantive argument: we can't leave Iraq now, because a civil war will break out after we're gone. One is tempted to say that they should have thought about that possibility back when they were cheerleading us into this war. But the real question is this: When, exactly, would be a good time to leave Iraq?

The fact is that we're not going to stay in Iraq until we achieve victory, whatever that means in this context. At most, we'll stay until the American military can take no more....

The only way to justify staying in Iraq is to make the case that stretching the U.S. army to its breaking point will buy time for something good to happen. I don't think you can make that case convincingly. So Mr. Murtha is right: it's time to leave."

Watching a bewildered President Bush declare "We do not torture" last week, responding to a reporter's question with a squinty, surreal harangue, made me think of an old Three Stooges routine.

Curly steps into a boxing ring to fight a guy twice his size. The referee gets both fighters together and says something like: "Now, I want you guys to play be the rules. There'll be none of this (He stomps on Curly's toes.) or this (pokes him the eyes), or this (punches him in the stomach, causing him to double over) and especially none of this (slams a fist into the back of his head). Now go out there and give me a clean fight!" By this time, Curly doesn't know whether he's coming or going and the referee is beginning to resemble Donald Rumsfeld...

Conservatives these days talk about the war on terror being a new kind of war that demands new tactics. They say it’s nothing like any war we have ever fought and the terrorists are more vicious than any previous enemy. Really? How about the Nazis? They seemed pretty vicious – and we never felt the need to torture them.

We won a couple of world wars without ever having to torture anyone. In fact, we treated the German soldiers so well when the war was over some of them wanted to stay (true story). Yet, I recollect us winning that war...

We have to make a decision. Do we want to change the tenor of this country? Do we want to change our principles? Do we want to become a whole new country? It’s a democracy. If you keep voting for these Republicans, they can take us in that bold new direction. Maybe we can even amend the constitution, withdraw from all international treaties, and repeal our own anti-torture laws and roll back some of our pesky rights.

Or we can throw out all of these abhorrent politicians who never understood what this country is all about, who don’t believe in the American justice system, and who don’t believe in the American way of life. We can tell the world that they are an embarrassment to the country, they are not what America stands for, they are unpatriotic and un-American...

The first caller said, in a grumpy, complaining voice, that he didn't vote because the negative television ads "beat [him] into submission" and not one of them ever told him what the candidates' plans were. I turned off the radio. I just can't listen to stupidity for very long That man actually wanted someone to come to his living room and explain their positions to him....That caller wanted all of their policy positions distilled into a 30-second TV spot so he could determine who to vote for during commercial breaks from Matlock...

A few minutes later I turned the radio back on and heard a whiner named Chang say that he didn't vote because the day of the week isn't convenient for him....He did have the time to call the radio station and whine, however...

My conclusion: the turnout was exactly perfect. We didn't need larger turnout. You will not hear me complaining about turnout. People who are too lazy to listen to one debate, read one newspaper the day after a debate, spend one hour on the internet reading up on the candidates' positions, spend a few minutes contacting a campaign by phone or email or in person, or obtain the widely available campaign literature that described the candidates' positions don't deserve to vote. Seriously. They don't deserve it....

As experts issue increasingly dire warnings of an avian flu epidemic, President Bush signed an executive order Tuesday authorizing the mass slaughter of "all bald eagles found anywhere within our borders."

"As president, my first duty is to protect the American people, whether the threat is terrorists or deadly, fast-mutating bird viruses," said Bush, standing on the lawn of the National Mall before a specially built pyre stacked with recently killed bald eagles. "This proactive initiative will rid our nation of this potentially disease-ridden winged animal."

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When you start changing your past and creating a more unique and interesting life story you should assume the accident has already happened. The services we provide are to help you achieve the realistic behavior and the physical signs that fit the accident of your dreams. Usually we also make sure you return to your surroundings in a spectacular and dramatic way....

Imagine the way people would listen to you if you had been the victim of an assault. Imagine how they would admire you if you had survived it and came out even stronger. Ask yourself who the real heroes in our society are. One thing is to be strong and beautiful but to be the survivor of a traumatic incident and have a life is a real accomplishment.