Bush is an idiot

Bush is certainly an idiot, but its not for supporting the development of biofuels.

what is castro smoking? must be the same stuff bush is smoking..

what is castro smoking? must be the same stuff bush is smoking..

Es Posible que los amigos Chavez y Castro si queiren mas dinero;-)

what is castro smoking? must be the same stuff bush is smoking..

I think we all need to smoke it to make it through the next year and a half of Bush's term coupled with election campaigns.

Actually 15 years ago it was said that the next big war would be over food. It seems we have a lot of land in the U.S. that is not be used, so I don't really understand this way of thinking.

Actually 15 years ago it was said that the next big war would be over food. It seems we have a lot of land in the U.S. that is not be used, so I don't really understand this way of thinking.

And now it might just be water.

Now remind me again why it is a good idea to burn our food, and leave the oil in the ground?

And now it might just be water.

Good point!

Unfortunately burning ethanol is still burning, and so far we don't have any sort of stance on its effects concerning global warming.

It would be nice if we could just start investing in hydrogen fuel cells.

Someone's an idiot...and I'm not referring to Bush. Nice tar, Skunk...did MC Rove pick it?

Someone's an idiot...and I'm not referring to Bush. Nice tar, Skunk...did MC Rove pick it?

Look out everyone, Libzilla is on the prowl:funn:

Look out everyone, Libzilla is on the prowl:funn:

:nono1: You better behave yourself or I will tell on you.

:nono1: You better behave yourself or I will tell on you.

Have no fear, she will discover this handywork later. You should have seen the huge political debate we had last night at this bar. Rapunz is profoundly difficult to have a debate with secondary to the underlying givens that: 1.I am an idiot 2. I don't know what I am talking about 3. I can do nothing but spout GOP talking points, ergo, these are not to be considered 4. If she is flustered, the inevitable final barb is "Do you want to get divorced?".

Have no fear, she will discover this handywork later. You should have seen the huge political debate we had last night at this bar. Rapunz is profoundly difficult to have a debate with secondary to the underlying givens that: 1.I am an idiot 2. I don't know what I am talking about 3. I can do nothing but spout GOP talking points, ergo, these are not to be considered 4. If she is flustered, the inevitable final barb is "Do you want to get divorced?".

You are male AND a husband, so points 1 and 2 are a given.

I don't use #4- he might take me up on it.

Have no fear, she will discover this handywork later. You should have seen the huge political debate we had last night at this bar. Rapunz is profoundly difficult to have a debate with secondary to the underlying givens that: 1.I am an idiot 2. I don't know what I am talking about 3. I can do nothing but spout GOP talking points, ergo, these are not to be considered 4. If she is flustered, the inevitable final barb is "Do you want to get divorced?".

Sounds like my house.

Actually I used to be very liberal and hubby used to be very conservative. Over the years we have both mellowed and have discovered that we agree point by point on what almost every policy should be. However, he has never admitted that W is an idiot and actually likes Cheney :shock: and watches Hannity and Colmes regularly. When you talk him down from his knee-jerk neocon positions, though, he is actually quite reasonable. :clap_1: Progress.

One thing we don't agree on is the war, and there is nothing to be done about that. He is a former Marine. Marines are all gung-ho and see things from that perspective only, which I am grateful for because someone needs to have that perspective in order to get the important things done (Iraq being an obvious exception. :shock.

Last night hubby returned from a bike ride to report that he ran into a much older retired former Marine who also was out doing some bike riding and Marine dragon slaying. Turns out one of hubby's Marine buddies was just sent to Baghdad. My reaction: "Poor guy!" Hubby looked at me strangely and said "Poor guy? He WANTS to be there!" Oh, right, I said, he's a Marine. I guess if we have to send people over there, it should be the ones who want to be there.

Have no fear, she will discover this handywork later. You should have seen the huge political debate we had last night at this bar. Rapunz is profoundly difficult to have a debate with secondary to the underlying givens that: 1.I am an idiot 2. I don't know what I am talking about 3. I can do nothing but spout GOP talking points, ergo, these are not to be considered 4. If she is flustered, the inevitable final barb is "Do you want to get divorced?".

punzy is my hero.

nice tar skunk. I really like it. victory will surely make the war of our creation worth while. :lie: :roll:

Marines are all gung-ho and see things from that perspective only, which I am grateful for because someone needs to have that perspective in order to get the important things done (Iraq being an obvious exception. :shock.

Not always true.
My husband is a former Marine, and my grandfather was a Marine colonel (still is, really) and both are not for this war.

Sounds like my house.

Actually I used to be very liberal and hubby used to be very conservative. Over the years we have both mellowed and have discovered that we agree point by point on what almost every policy should be. However, he has never admitted that W is an idiot and actually likes Cheney :shock: and watches Hannity and Colmes regularly. When you talk him down from his knee-jerk neocon positions, though, he is actually quite reasonable. :clap_1: Progress.

One thing we don't agree on is the war, and there is nothing to be done about that. He is a former Marine. Marines are all gung-ho and see things from that perspective only, which I am grateful for because someone needs to have that perspective in order to get the important things done (Iraq being an obvious exception. :shock.

Last night hubby returned from a bike ride to report that he ran into a much older retired former Marine who also was out doing some bike riding and Marine dragon slaying. Turns out one of hubby's Marine buddies was just sent to Baghdad. My reaction: "Poor guy!" Hubby looked at me strangely and said "Poor guy? He WANTS to be there!" Oh, right, I said, he's a Marine. I guess if we have to send people over there, it should be the ones who want to be there.

Having taxied around 250+ Marines on a deployed LST as a shipdriver, I have nothing but the highest respect for the Marines. They have a comraderie and cohesiveness of a type rarely found even in the military. The Marines will go anywhere at anytime and take on any enemy in the most brutal of circumstances. No one can take on the U.S. Marines on the open battlefield and expect to win, and I am proud to have served with them. I was deployed in '79 when the Iranians seized the embassy hostages, and our shipbound Marines were chomping at the bit. Having said that, the situation our Marines find themselves in is one that cannot be solved militarily unless you're willing to wipe out everyone. Our troops are fighting an intractible urban guerilla war that can only be solved by regional powers. Our continued presence strengthens the terrorists, not vice-versa. All you war hawks should realize the Iraqis want nothing to do with Al Qaeda, and never did. The Iranians are using hostage taking as diplomacy the same way as in 1979, and we are toying now with full-scale regional war. Events like this take place amidst the self-imposed chaos that we created. The Iraq war is misguided nation building created atop a pack of lies. Go ask Colin Powell how he feels today. I think back to when the 200+ Marines were killed in their barracks in Beirut[1983]. Reagan was President, and he concluded that to avenge their deaths would be both too difficult and costly for the nation or the Middle East. Imagine, for a moment, if GW were President then. Scary!

Having taxied around 250+ Marines on a deployed LST as a shipdriver, I have nothing but the highest respect for the Marines. They have a comraderie and cohesiveness of a type rarely found even in the military. The Marines will go anywhere at anytime and take on any enemy in the most brutal of circumstances. No one can take on the U.S. Marines on the open battlefield and expect to win, and I am proud to have served with them. I was deployed in '79 when the Iranians seized the embassy hostages, and our shipbound Marines were chomping at the bit. Having said that, the situation our Marines find themselves in is one that cannot be solved militarily unless you're willing to wipe out everyone. Our troops are fighting an intractible urban guerilla war that can only be solved by regional powers. Our continued presence strengthens the terrorists, not vice-versa. All you war hawks should realize the Iraqis want nothing to do with Al Qaeda, and never did. The Iranians are using hostage taking as diplomacy the same way as in 1979, and we are toying now with full-scale regional war. Events like this take place amidst the self-imposed chaos that we created. The Iraq war is misguided nation building created atop a pack of lies. Go ask Colin Powell how he feels today. I think back to when the 200+ Marines were killed in their barracks in Beirut[1983]. Reagan was President, and he concluded that to avenge their deaths would be both too difficult and costly for the nation or the Middle East. Imagine, for a moment, if GW were President then. Scary!

Very!!!!!

Not always true.
My husband is a former Marine, and my grandfather was a Marine colonel (still is, really) and both are not for this war.

good point steeleing!!! your comments bring up an important issue.

people who lump in politics and policies with our military just simply have no clue about the nature of the military.

our military is a service organization whose mission is directed and commanded by politicians who are elected by YOU the citizens.

our military will follow orders from whomever YOU elect. that is their obligation and commitment. if you disagree with the policy, do not expect active military to protest with you, their job description is to honor the democracy by following the orders of your elected officials whether they agree with it or not. it is no way patriotic of them to sabotage missions nor is it in the best interest of the well-being of their fellow soldiers.

most of my pals in the media mainstream actually BELIEVE that when the military proceeds with a mission that is the policy of a republican administration or encourages the success of that mission, that is because the military are all republicans. a very special veteran once told me, soldiers don't go to war for ideals, they go for their buddies. if anti-war folks could think about people first in this way, we'd do better at improving and debating policies of our government.

unfortunately, many anti-war folks i know believe that if they impede that mission or encourage it's failure that they are somehow teaching the republican administration a lesson. they are not, they are confusing the failure of a mission and the endangerment of our troops with politics that should take place on the capitol floor.

this is further proof we need a draft or national service. instead of scapegoating an isolated population that has become our servicepeople. even notice how few folks in the media or capitol hill know or are related to those serving? VERY FEW. primarily because the elite are going to run the government or the media and they are allowing everyone else to serve them. this is a HORRIBLE model for the future of our country. WWII was the greatest generation because the democratizing effect of service ensured that rich and poor, priveleged and not were forced to acknowledge each other's value and circumstance. instead, today we have the ivory tower effect where the elite in government, media and corporations believe they somehow have the knowledge and experience to govern a nation and command its military with little or no empathy, connection or experience.

when we have then people will be able to make the distinction between protesting a policy and participating in a war by actively abusing our military and their families.

fyi:
the recent "family friendly" protest in oregon this week is a good example. they lynched and burned the effigy of a US soldier in uniform. no one in the media or the town or state leadership stood up to say that the violent public abuse of the US Troops were out of keeping with the protest's philosophy and intent, neither the mayor, nor school administrators, nor the media, nor protest organizers took a stand against that particular activity when asked.

what does that tell our troops and their families? that their neighbors oppose the war? or that they oppose our troops? if only this were a rare or unique instance, but it's not. since my father served in vietnam i could tell you a number of similar scenarios. what's shocking is that in 2007, last week, this is still happening.

p.s. i am neither a republican nor a democrat, i think they're more interested in their own power than the people of this country. i think there's an awful lot of extremist hate speech going on in both camps to the left and the right. i'm happy to live in a country with folks i disagree with and i don't think that's where the two-party system is headed. they both seem kind of facist to me. it's supposed to encourage debate, instead it's become of platform bent on obliterating the opposition.

and that's all i have to say about that.

Not always true.
My husband is a former Marine, and my grandfather was a Marine colonel (still is, really) and both are not for this war.

Apologies for the overgeneralization. I was thinking specifically about active Marines "in the trenches" but since my hubby is not one it did not come across properly. Marines are trained to be the first responders and generally are chomping at the bit to go wherever the action is. After three or four tours in Iraq, however, I tend to think that the enthusiasm would be tempered for many.

Having taxied around 250+ Marines on a deployed LST as a shipdriver, I have nothing but the highest respect for the Marines. They have a comraderie and cohesiveness of a type rarely found even in the military. The Marines will go anywhere at anytime and take on any enemy in the most brutal of circumstances. No one can take on the U.S. Marines on the open battlefield and expect to win, and I am proud to have served with them. I was deployed in '79 when the Iranians seized the embassy hostages, and our shipbound Marines were chomping at the bit. Having said that, the situation our Marines find themselves in is one that cannot be solved militarily unless you're willing to wipe out everyone. Our troops are fighting an intractible urban guerilla war that can only be solved by regional powers. Our continued presence strengthens the terrorists, not vice-versa. All you war hawks should realize the Iraqis want nothing to do with Al Qaeda, and never did. The Iranians are using hostage taking as diplomacy the same way as in 1979, and we are toying now with full-scale regional war. Events like this take place amidst the self-imposed chaos that we created. The Iraq war is misguided nation building created atop a pack of lies. Go ask Colin Powell how he feels today. I think back to when the 200+ Marines were killed in their barracks in Beirut[1983]. Reagan was President, and he concluded that to avenge their deaths would be both too difficult and costly for the nation or the Middle East. Imagine, for a moment, if GW were President then. Scary!

Hoo rah and all that, Bob. I agree with you. Your USAA membership is well earned. ;-)

I think under duress I could get hubby to acknowledge that the war was entered into irresponsibly, arrogantly and without enough foresight and planning. However he still believes the problems can be solved. His former battallion commander, now one of the top generals in Iraq, has been quoted as saying that to pull out now would be a disaster. Hubby believes in his former battallion commander wholeartedly (with very good reason), but of course Iraq is not full of men like him. Since hubby served and I did not, I absolutely respect his opinion, especially since he is a very reasonable person overall. But I don't share it.

in relation to the original post:
Mr Castro's article appears in Thursday's edition of Granma, under the headline: "Condemned to premature death by hunger and thirst more than 3bn people of the world."


The sinister idea of converting food into combustibles was definitively established as the economic line of foreign policy of the United States
Fidel Castro >>>


does nobody else find it only SLIGHTLY ironic that castro or any communist leader for that matter is suddenly concerned about world hunger? hahahahahaha! you have had to visit or know people who lived in communist countries to see the EXTREME irony and hypocrisy in that statement. makes me curious about the people who buy it.

I am on my soap box today - and am about to make a generalization most people will dislike me for but i truely believe one of the best ways to educate oneself about other cultures and religions is to travel - it does not make you more intelligent but it certainly gives you an exposure that is hard to otherwise acquire.

The vast majority of Bush (and let's not even mention Cheney!!) supporters I have met have generally traveled very little and rarely outside of Europe. In fact it is AMAZING to me that Bush was elected (actually placed as executive in charge by Supreme Court in 2000) and then re-elected in 2004, after having shown just how intellectually lazy and incurious he is about other cultures. For someone who grew up extraordinarily privileged (father head of CIA, then VP for 8 years, then president for 4, etc...) that this Bush had traveled so little (I believe only to Mexico and Canada!) by the time he was elected speaks VOLUMES. And for all of those people who voted a second time for Bush and NOW feel extreme regret (and they exist in droves...) I say "Shame on you because all the signs of gross and criminal incompetence and arrogance were there and wide open for all to see after 4 years!!"

I am sorry if I am offending anyone, especially people I do not know and I am actually being much more circumspect than I am in person but I am sick to very pit of my stomach what has happened under this Bush's watch and can only hope that it will not take generations to undo the harm and hatred he has fueled.

And luckily for me I have a husband who agrees with me!!!!! For me and me alone (and I admit I am the exception here because this is all so serious to me!) it would be nothing short of torture to have to be in the same house as a Bush supporter!

Having said that I hink it is amazing that couples can co-habitate with completely different beliefs and opinions - they have something I admire that will probably forever elude me - maybe I lose something in the end - who knows......

BTW: hubby and I have healthy debates on plenty of topics but having spent 15+ years living in 4 countries in the middle east and having traveled to many more I cannot condone the brazen attitude of "poor us - we have lost over 3000 soldiers lives (and i do think that every single one of them was an unneccessary sacrifice that their poor families will take years and years to get over) but OK for this mistake of war that has destroyed hundreds of thousands of families, displaced millions and made the whole region even more unstable.

And luckily for me I have a husband who agrees with me!!!!! For me and me alone (and I admit I am the exception here because this is all so serious to me!) it would be nothing short of torture to have to be in the same house as a Bush supporter!

Having said that I hink it is amazing that couples can co-habitate with completely different beliefs and opinions - they have something I admire that will probably forever elude me - maybe I lose something in the end - who knows......

BTW: hubby and I have healthy debates on plenty of topics but having spent 15+ years living in 4 countries in the middle east and having traveled to many more I cannot condone the brazen attitude of "poor us - we have lost over 3000 soldiers lives (and i do think that every single one of them was an unneccessary sacrifice that their poor families will take years and years to get over) but OK for this mistake of war that has destroyed hundreds of thousands of families, displaced millions and made the whole region even more unstable.

Summing the war up this way makes it seem even more gruesome, scary, and unimaginable than it already is (if that is possible). Thank you Chickpea for addressing the horror of all peoples involved.