Michael Johnson > wrote in
:

> Joe wrote:
>> Michael Johnson > wrote in
>> :
>>
>>> Joe wrote:
>>>> Michael Johnson > wrote in
>>>> :
>>>>
>>>>> Joe wrote:
>>>>>> Michael Johnson > wrote in
>>>>>> :
>>>>>>
>>>>>> <major snippage>
>>>>>>
>>>>>>> It is going to take some MAJOR breakdown in our way of life
>>>>>>> before the population gets off its collective ass and makes real
>>>>>>> change happen. By then the Democrats and, to a lesser extent,
>>>>>>> the Republicans may have us screwed so bad there are no
>>>>>>> alternatives left. Either way we are getting EXACTLY what we
>>>>>>> deserve for being so apathetic for decades. I wouldn't blame
>>>>>>> the younger people if they just told all the Baby Boomers that
>>>>>>> when they retire they will be euthanized since they squandered
>>>>>>> all the money that was to go toward their retirement costs.
>>>>>> Saw an interview with Andrew J. Bacevich last night on Bill
>>>>>> Moyers' Journal on PBS. Absolutely riveting, and that's not an
>>>>>> exaggeration.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Bacevich is highly accredited and tells the real story - he is
>>>>>> right on the money IMO.
>>>>>>
>>>>>> Here's a preview of what he's all about:
>>>>>> http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/08152008/profile.html
>>>>> It sounds interesting. I agree that our biggest threats come from
>>>>> within our own borders and I'll go even further and say they come
>>>>> from the very politicians we elect to solve our problems. It
>>>>> wouldn't take them more than a year to pass all the legislation
>>>>> needed to right the ship. It will take years to actually make it
>>>>> happen but to set the framework for it would be easy. I think
>>>>> there needs to be a fundamental change in our political structure
>>>>> and it needs to start with term limits. I think career
>>>>> politicians are killing this country.
>>>> Bacevich knows what he's talking about. Here's a brief bio on him:
>>>> http://www.bu.edu/ir/faculty/bacevich.html
>>>>
>>>> Here's an interesting article he wrote last month for the Boston
>>>> Globe:
>>>>
>>
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/ed.../articles/2008
>>>> /07/01/what_bush_hath_wrought/
>>> I don't agree with all his assessments in this article. I'm not a
>>> water carrier for Bush these days but some of the things he bashes
>>> Bush on in that article are yet to be determined. As time passes
>>> the real benefit or folly of the Iraq war will be known. A talking
>>> head just can't say whether it was, or wasn't, worth the expense at
>>> this point in time. I don't know much about this guy but reading
>>> that article didn't do must to impress me with his insight on
>>> foreign affairs. He seems a little too biased. He made too many
>>> statements of fact when all the facts aren't known at this juncture.
>>>
>>> Iraq could very well turn out like Vietnam. When one looks at
>>> Vietnam in and of itself it wasn't a war worth fighting. When put
>>> into context with the overall goal of stopping the expansion of
>>> communism, opinions as to its worth change. Had the USSR been
>>> allowed to expand their influence unchecked we might have a very
>>> different world. The same can be applied to the radical Islamics
>>> today. If they are allowed to run unchecked we might be facing a
>>> dire situation 25, 50 or 100 years from now. No one, and I repeat
>>> NO ONE, knows whether the decision to invade and transform Iraq to a
>>> more Western political ideology was a worthwhile endeavor. It is
>>> way too early to tell. When I read this guy stating unequivocally
>>> that the Iraq war was a mistake it makes me think he has too high an
>>> opinion of his mental prowess.
>>>
>>>> To date, nobody else has professed more sobering ideas than
>>>> Bacevich IMO. Unfortunately, it will take a radical mindset change
>>>> in America before we see real change such as he describes.
>>> The guy has some good ideas from a domestic standpoint but like most
>>> talking heads, he is far from having all the answers to our
>>> problems. Thanks for the heads-up on him though. It never hurts to
>>> get all sides of the argument.
>>
>> After watching the piece 60 minutes did tonight on Valerie Plame, I'm
>> more convinced than ever that the Bush administration should and will
>> be thought of as one of the more corrupt and irresponsible
>> administrations in history. If nothing else, it proves that politics
>> in the 21st century is most definitely out of control, and the
>> current administration is right at the forefront.
>
> IMO, the Plame case was them looking for their 15 minutes of fame.
> They tried to do everything possible to stay in the spotlight. There
> was probably a money angle in it for them. The Plame investigation
> was the Democrats version of the Kenneth Star investigation except it
> never got as much traction. The only thing that came from it was
> Scooter Libby's perjury conviction that had nothing to do with the
> original investigation. Plus, I don't look to CBS, ABC, NBC etc. to
> provide unbiased news or reporting.

Bush and his cronies (and yes, he _is_ ultimately responsible for the
actions of his people) outed Valerie Plame (which, by the way, is an act
of treason and a capitol offense during wartime, and we are at war
according to Bush) because Bush wanted revenge against her husband, Joe
Wilson, for exposing the sham about Niger and yellowcake uranium. To
top it off, Bush outright lied when he said that he'd fire anyone
involved with leaking the name.

IMO, allegations (whether true or not) that news sources are all biased
and untrustworthy is an excuse not to look at the facts.

> I have no doubt that Bush sold the war to the public, Congress and the
> world, in general. Then again all wars have to be sold in this
> country.

Maybe in this day and age, and that's one of the major problems. Why do
wars have to be "sold" in the first place?

> IMO, what we have today is a bunch of Monday morning quarterbacks
> whining about being duped and/or using this issue to score political
> hits. The reality is the overwhelming majority of people whining now
> bought into it and went right along with Bush. Then when things got
> dicey they bailed and started revising history to make themselves look
> like prophets. Now that Iraq is stabilizing they are running back the
> other way. We won't know if the Iraq war was worthwhile for another
> two decades, if not longer.

I completely disagree. IMO, many of the horrible truths about this
adminstration's chicanery are now being brought into the public's view,
and as a result, more and more people are questioning what the hell has
been going on.

>> Bacevich certainly has an ax to grind; his son was killed in Iraq.
>
> This explains his tone. It also requires a footnote be placed on his
> statements. Things like this cloud people's judgment and can skew
> their thought process.

Bacevich has been up front all along about his son's death, and his
views and ideas are all valid regardless. He's still one of the few
people who make total sense.

>> However, all his ideas are based on factual history. He's certainly
>> one of the most respected and knowledgable people that have spoken on
>> these issues, and what he says makes the most sense to me out of
>> anybody I've heard to date.
>
> From what little I have read I respect his domestic ideas more than
> his
> geopolitical ones.

You might want to read more, as he's making the most sense of anyone
these days.