Happy President's Day!

[Mango]

I always have adored Colin Powell and hated that he had to endure such scrutiny towards the end. He was never himself after the WMD's were not found, and I never believed for a second that he any knowledge of anything more than what he was fed. I would have loved to see him run for President 8 years ago. I am green with envy you got to see him speak. He is witty and charming. I know I have said it a dozen times, but I met him and had a lovely conversation.

 

[Matt J]

Some more funn facts:

•

Richard Nixon has received more votes than any other person in American history. His three Congressional terms, two terms as Vice-President, his narrow defeat by JFK in the 1960 presidential, his run for the California Gubenatorial, his first election to the Presidency in 1968 and his landslide deafeat of Geroge McGovern (the largest in Presidential history until that time) makes Nixon the most voted for American politician ever.

•
Did you know that a vice-president got away with murder? Aaron Burr, who was Jefferson's VP, shot and killed Alexander Hamilton on July 11,1804 in a duel. The men decided on the duel based on insults exchanged over political issues. Burr was charged for murder in New Jersey, but the State never pursued to convict him on the grounds that 'civilized nations' do not treat dueling deaths as 'common murders.'

•
When the White House (President's residence) was constructed it was built of freestone a form of sandstone that is very porous and is highly susceptible to water damage, so the masons sealed the stone with a wash of salt, rice and glue. It was the building's first coat of white paint; soon it would be nicknamed the 'White House'.

•
John F. Kennedy had a sister, Rosemary, who was mentally retarded. She had a lobotomy, at that time not known to be that bad. She is still living and is eighty-five years old.

•
Woodrow Wilson is the only U.S. president to this day to receive an earned Ph.D. His degree was in History from Johns Hopkins University.

•
Zachary Taylor, the 12th president of the U.S. didn't vote until he was 62 years old and didn't even vote in his own election because he was a soldier & moved so often he couldn't establish legal residency until he retired.

•
President John Quincy Adams owned a pet alligator which he kept in the East Room of the White House.

•
The four presidential heads of Washington, Lincoln, Jefferson, and Theodore Roosevelt were sculpted on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota by Gutzon Borglum who had completed a colossal bas-relief of Confederate heroes on the face of Stone Mountain in Georgia. Work began in the summer of 1927 and dragged on for 14 years, its cost escalating to $1 million. He died in 1941 shortly before it was completed. His son oversaw the final work.

•
Thomas Marshall (1854-1925), U.S. Vice-President, once remarked "What this country needs is a good five-cent cigar." Will Rogers (1879-1935), American Humorist retorted "Our country has plenty of good five-cent cigars, but the trouble is they charge fifteen cents for them."

•
Ronald Reagan was the only president to have ever worn a NAZI uniform. (He wore it as an actor in a movie)

 

[DuneAHH]

That'll teach ya' to STFU!

coffee spewing funny!

DD... Thanks for this funn educational thread! You're da bomb gullfriend!

 

[Biff]

:rofl:

coffee spewing funny!

DD... Thanks for this funn educational thread! You're da bomb gullfriend!

 

[DuneAHH]

He said (this is the expected part) that when he made his testimony, the one that was greatly responsible for us going to Iraq to destroy all the weapons, that he said it because all information from all sources said WMP DID exist. And as we know now, not a one turned up. The unexpected part was that he said quite bluntly that it's incredible that our info was so totally screwed up. And not "incredible" in the "fantastic" kind of meaning. He made no bones about it. It gave everyone the heebie jeebies because the next thought in your head was--was it outright lying, outright incompetence, government agencies with their own agendas, etc. None of which are very good and none of which bode well for us. He said our next president has a LOT of work cut out for him/her in the effort to extract ourselves from Iraq in a responsible manner.

What a wonderful experience Mermy... I would love to hear CP speak.
I'm wondering if he addressed any of my lingering questions Re: WMD:

1. It always seemed that with all the "notice" given (we're coming, we're coming, we're coming) that entire cities could almost have been dismantled and hidden elsewhere ... not to mention caches of WMD.

2. I still question: WHY, just because WMD weren't ultimately found (after our months of "warnings") that this automatically means that WMDs were never there ?

 

[Mermaid]

I always have adored Colin Powell and hated that he had to endure such scrutiny towards the end. He was never himself after the WMD's were not found, and I never believed for a second that he any knowledge of anything more than what he was fed.

I am sure that with all his years of diplomacy, he is trained not to express outright anger, but when he was talking about WMDs, you could tell he was seething about how it all turned out.

What a wonderful experience Mermy... I would love to hear CP speak.
I'm wondering if he addressed any of my lingering questions Re: WMD:

1. It always seemed that with all the "notice" given (we're coming, we're coming, we're coming) that entire cities could almost have been dismantled and hidden elsewhere ... not to mention caches of WMD.

2. I still question: WHY, just because WMD weren't ultimately found (after our months of "warnings") that this automatically means that WMDs were never there ?

What I took him to say was that the intelligence presented to him pointed to the fact that there WERE WMD and in reality, there was CAPABILITY to produce WMD. Big difference. Mr. Powell has no doubt about the latter and is angry that he was misled about the former. And I honestly didn't get the idea that he was "backtracking" to cover his actions. There were other comments he said that made it clear that he has great differences of opinion about how our current government is being conducted.

Here's an article about the lecture from today's news:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said he had no plans to seek an office in the next presidential administration while speaking to a packed auditorium at Butler University on Monday.

"But if any president ? if he or she comes up to you ? you have to think about it, you have to take it seriously," he said. "But I am not currently seeking a position in any administration."

The retired four-star general peppered with anecdotes an hour-long speech that touched on diversity, immigration policy and international diplomacy.

During a question-and-answer session with the audience he said the U.S. needs to pursue talks with Iran over that country's disputed nuclear program.

"We're the strongest nation in the world ? why should we be afraid to talk to them?" he said. "I think our policy is shortsighted."

Powell also said he endorsed an immigration policy that would protect America's borders, regularize the some 12 million people who are here illegally and devise a plan to allow immigrant workers to enter the country "legally and with dignity."

He lauded the increased openness and economic growth of China, and predicted the country would be the world's largest economy in 20 years and an important U.S trading partner.

"Don't expect them to become Jeffersonian democrats in our lifetime," he said. "But the only thing they'll be fighting us for is more shelf space at Wal-Mart."

Powell also told the some 2,000 people gathered for the speech that U.S. leaders need to unify with other countries to address global warming, increase jobs for the poor and to fix the country's troubled schools.
"I didn't expect him to have such a sense of humor," said 57-year-old Indianapolis resident Joyce L. Moore. "I also expected him to be more toward his party but he was more for humanity."

Powell's speech marked the 20th anniversary of Butler's Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series, which has included past speakers such as George H.W. Bush, Coretta Scott King and Spike Lee.

 

[DuneAHH]

I am sure that with all his years of diplomacy, he is trained not to express outright anger, but when he was talking about WMDs, you could tell he was seething about how it all turned out.


What I took him to say was that the intelligence presented to him pointed to the fact that there WERE WMD and in reality, there was CAPABILITY to produce WMD. Big difference. Mr. Powell has no doubt about the latter and is angry that he was misled about the former. And I honestly didn't get the idea that he was "backtracking" to cover his actions. There were other comments he said that made it clear that he has great differences of opinion about how our current government is being conducted.

I have not ever heard the issue expressed in this particular
way before, and agree that there is a big difference between the 2. Also
appreciated the followup news article you posted. Thanks Mermy!

 

[Biff]

Merm; I am sure that being spectator to this event was most Def a highlight for you-all and especially elicit


This from globalsecurity.org;

REPORT ON THE U.S. INTELLIGENCE COMMUNITY'S PREWAR INTELLIGENCE ASSESSMENTS ON IRAQ

3. Overall Conclusions - Weapons of Mass Destruction

(U) Conclusion 1. Most of the major key judgments in the Intelligence Community's October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate (NIE), Iraq's Continuing Programs for Weapons of Mass Destruction, either overstated, or were not supported by, the underlying intelligence reporting. A series of failures, particularly in analytic trade craft, led to the mischaracterization of the intelligence.

I am sure that with all his years of diplomacy, he is trained not to express outright anger, but when he was talking about WMDs, you could tell he was seething about how it all turned out.



What I took him to say was that the intelligence presented to him pointed to the fact that there WERE WMD and in reality, there was CAPABILITY to produce WMD. Big difference. Mr. Powell has no doubt about the latter and is angry that he was misled about the former. And I honestly didn't get the idea that he was "backtracking" to cover his actions. There were other comments he said that made it clear that he has great differences of opinion about how our current government is being conducted.

Here's an article about the lecture from today's news:

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) ? Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said he had no plans to seek an office in the next presidential administration while speaking to a packed auditorium at Butler University on Monday.

"But if any president ? if he or she comes up to you ? you have to think about it, you have to take it seriously," he said. "But I am not currently seeking a position in any administration."

The retired four-star general peppered with anecdotes an hour-long speech that touched on diversity, immigration policy and international diplomacy.

During a question-and-answer session with the audience he said the U.S. needs to pursue talks with Iran over that country's disputed nuclear program.

"We're the strongest nation in the world ? why should we be afraid to talk to them?" he said. "I think our policy is shortsighted."

Powell also said he endorsed an immigration policy that would protect America's borders, regularize the some 12 million people who are here illegally and devise a plan to allow immigrant workers to enter the country "legally and with dignity."

He lauded the increased openness and economic growth of China, and predicted the country would be the world's largest economy in 20 years and an important U.S trading partner.

"Don't expect them to become Jeffersonian democrats in our lifetime," he said. "But the only thing they'll be fighting us for is more shelf space at Wal-Mart."

Powell also told the some 2,000 people gathered for the speech that U.S. leaders need to unify with other countries to address global warming, increase jobs for the poor and to fix the country's troubled schools.
"I didn't expect him to have such a sense of humor," said 57-year-old Indianapolis resident Joyce L. Moore. "I also expected him to be more toward his party but he was more for humanity."

Powell's speech marked the 20th anniversary of Butler's Celebration of Diversity Distinguished Lecture Series, which has included past speakers such as George H.W. Bush, Coretta Scott King and Spike Lee.