what, no politics?!

[differentChronos]

Hey, I'm new here, just slid on in from the nuklearpower website, mourning the absence of a comic for this weekend again.

So my question is...

Doesn't anyone like politics anymore?

I mean, here's just a little something I think, and if it gets me kicked off of here, eh, it's my first day on anyway.

Our president is handling this situation (publicly, of course) poorly. I mean, he has gotten people into a frenzy of patriotism and bloodthirstiness that slowly hunting down a few people will not satisfy.

Now, we want to fry another country... where's the logic there?! You can't personify the populace of a country by a government they've been trying to overthrow for years.

Of course, it is comforting to know that this country is doing SOMETHING, but the press releases didn't give them the time to make the right decisions and find the right people... now I hear of people saying they need to hurry up and get some bombs flying. It's crazy!

My other point is that this frenzied patriotism keeps people from really discussing any politics anymore... a few months ago I could say Bush's tax plan was moronic, and get general agreement.
Any attacks on the government now are met with public stoning, hurling livestock, and screams of blasphemy (something like that, anyway). So maybe I'd like to get some real discussion generating here.

It'd be good to have some somewhere.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by Chronos
Our president is handling this situation (publicly, of course) poorly. I mean, he has gotten people into a frenzy of patriotism and bloodthirstiness that slowly hunting down a few people will not satisfy.

I wouldn't say he is necessarily handling it poorly...and I am by no means a fan of the President. Yes, he was whipping up a frenzy with the talk of war. But since his address to Congress, he seems to have mellowed. Overall, I would give him good remarks for trying to steer the country back towards some sort of normal.

My other point is that this frenzied patriotism keeps people from really discussing any politics anymore... a few months ago I could say Bush's tax plan was moronic, and get general agreement. Any attacks on the government now are met with public stoning, hurling livestock, and screams of blasphemy (something like that, anyway). So maybe I'd like to get some real discussion generating here.

It's all good...politics is politics. I still don't like Bush. And with what has happened and the money being sent for the cleanup, that tax cut isn't looking so great now. I fear that we will slide towards deficit spending again. Not that New York doesn't need that money of course. The tax plan WAS and IS moronic. I liked the money, but I could have done without it.

[Griff]

Politics seems to have migrated over to current events. I like to argue politics but I despise it for what it is, the art of justifying the initiation force against your neighbor. IMHO of course.

after doing my morning posting, i realized that this was the only one i didn't have "latest post" on... so, for completeness...

i think bush is doing a pretty good job. there are always going to be dissenters, but the fact of the matter is, he's kept his composure and spoken wisely. he hasn't acted immediately (a good thing, i think - ann coulter is hot but i don't agree that we should have been bombing afghanistan that night). i personally would like to see some evidence that bin laden is connected to september 11, but i'm sure they'll deliver. i think they're going to handle this carefully and make sure they're certain before they take any action. and i think that's the way to do it. so... i don't think he's handling it poorly. all things considered, i think he's doing a lot better than a lot of people expected.

another thing - i'm definitely not a gore supporter... but i saw video footage of him, at a podium and in front of supporters, saying something to the effect of "mr. bush is my commander in chief!" and giving praise to how it was being handled. i thought that was a really classy thing he did. and i think it shows how the country is coming together. definitely a good thing.

[jaguar]

Wars are good for vlaidating bad leaders. Can't be haing changed of leadership during war, all gotta stick together etcetcloadofcrap.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by jaguar
Wars are good for vlaidating bad leaders. Can't be haing changed of leadership during war, all gotta stick together etcetcloadofcrap.

Unfortunately (or fortunately, depending on how you look at it), we don't have a parliamentary system here. When we elect someone, we're stuck with them for at least 4 years, unless they pull a Nixon stunt. Bush Sr. did a good job with Desert Storm...but the economy killed him. It didn't help him that he was so aloof during the '92 elections either.

You can't deny Dubya credit where credit is due. As I said, I don't like the guy, but he's handling this rather well. By this point, we could've bombed Afghanistan into oblivion, but it's still there...for now anyway.

[jaguar]

The only reason they didn't bomb afghanistan, and they said this is that there is buggar all to bomb. I have to admit is hasen't been handeled too badly. Yet. Though the ratio of Bush's ideas to his advisers would be rather uneven me thinks.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by jaguar
Though the ratio of Bush's ideas to his advisers would be rather uneven me thinks.

Perhaps, but he has followed what I feel is a core requirement of being a good "manager"--surround yourself with good people. He's got a VP who was the Secretary of Defense during the Gulf War. He's got a Secretary of State who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Senior's term. Not to mention his old man had his job for 4 years, and was the head of the CIA before being VP for 8 years. You can't go too terribly wrong with that kind of pedigree.

[jaguar]

So hes got daddys advisers running the show? =)
FIne line between having good people have being a puppet.

[elSicomoro]

Originally posted by jaguar
So hes got daddys advisers running the show? =)
FIne line between having good people have being a puppet.

Republicans tend to smart people behind the scenes. I wouldn't say he's a puppet. He KNEW he had to pick some strong people, given the debacle that is the 2000 Presidential election.

Remember that Dubya thinks of the US government as a business. In order to run a successful business, you need business-savvy folk.

(Granted, this is the same guy who traded Sammy Sosa from the Texas Rangers to the Chicago Cubs while he was the owner of the former. )

[Undertoad]

Really that's just how it works. On any given news day, the US may see several statements about different policy coming out of the white house. Every one of them will be credited to the POTUS himself. Most of them probably just see his OK in a staff meeting. The POTUS goes around having photo ops, making major speeches, setting the tone, etc.

99% of Americans are convinced that the top guy is behind each and everyone of those matters, but that would be impossible.

[elSicomoro]

I understand the "business" concept, but it's hard for me to completely look at it in that manner. It makes the government feel impersonal. (Yeah, I know that the government is impersonal, it's the idealism in me.)

In the end, it comes down to the bottom line (profit). In the President's case, the economy.

[jaguar]

I see what you are getting at but he is just *so* weak himself.
Pick any two of the following.

We will assist Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack

The leader of Pakistan...the General....

The continent of Nigeria...

It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). I think it's a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to travel up there and take a look at it, and you can make the determination as to how beautiful that country is......

You teach a child to read, and he or her will be able to pass a literacy test.

While some are just a family trait of being unable to public speak some are just absolute shockers, the leader of the free world doesn’t know world leaders and a basic map? His grammar, he should be forced to do a literacy test himself! The first of those alone destroyed 20 odd years of political ambiguity in one fell fuckup.

[russotto]

Originally posted by jaguar
I see what you are getting at but he is just *so* weak himself.
Pick any two of the following.

We will assist Taiwan in the event of a Chinese attack

Nothing wrong with this one; pretty much any American will understand that "Chinese" means "Mainland Chinese".

The leader of Pakistan...the General....

I'm not sure what you're complaining about, I think you've cut too much.

It would be helpful if we opened up ANWR (Arctic National Wildlife Refuge). I think it's a mistake not to. And I would urge you all to travel up there and take a look at it, and you can make the determination as to how beautiful that country is......

Nothing wrong here, either, except that it rambles a bit. ("how beautiful that country is" is valid American English and does not mean Bush thinks the ANWR is in a separate country)

While some are just a family trait of being unable to public speak some are just absolute shockers, the leader of the free world doesn’t know world leaders and a basic map? His grammar, he should be forced to do a literacy test himself! The first of those alone destroyed 20 odd years of political ambiguity in one fell fuckup.

You mean the One China policy? Such powerful legerdemain cannot be dismissed by such a simple statement.

[jaguar]

er....

Ok, the first one destroyed American ambiguity over whether they would assist Taiwan with direct military assistance in the event of a military attack. Nothing to do with the one china policy at all.

The second one was an abbreviated quote from an interview in which he was asked the name of the leader of Pakistan, he could not remember.

The point with the third is that they want to DRILL IT FOR OIL, and they are saying out BEAUTIFUL IT IS? See a problem there? Beautiful, pristine artic landscape covered in Oil derricks, buildings and the associated mess, oh what a wonderful improvement. He completely played into the hands of the opposition.

What is a legerdemain ???

Do I really need to go on, heck, read some more for yourself, doubles as entertainment when it dosen't make you cry. I doubt you hear much of them if you watch Fox news or even CNN these days.