crwtom

ooohhh - the predictions and prophecies again. Like they haven't been burned enough in this campaign. After a cool-off period everything is possible and on the table. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

good grief -- this is straight out of the lowest drawer republican propaganda machine. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

right wing terrorists are too stupid to get close to public figures They just blow up random regular people. (not my quote - but that of a friend who worked in counter terrorism) Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

yeah - I also have to regularly loosen up while typing into an IE. That piece of #*!@# browser always gets my fingers all tensed up. Cheers T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

I have reliable sources telling me that god is a lesbian. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

there are a ton more differences that make the comparison a joke in every respect. Just to name a few: - Gemany/Japan were aggressors if there had ever been aggressors in the history of war. The advancement of axis powers was an existential threat to the entire civilization of the northern hemisphere. The rationale for the Iraq war was always obscure and contrived, and eventually thoroughly discredited. There's absolutely no comparison between the clarity and imminence of the threat that either posed. - There is also absolutely no comparison between the magnitude of both events. WWII death estimates are around 60,000,000 most during the last four years. That makes about 1,500 per hour sustained over several years. So WWII would have accumulated US death for the 2003 invasion within a few minutes and including the Iraqi deaths in the spring of 2003 within a couple of hours. So ending WWII about half a day earlier/later after 6 years of fighting would have had the same impact as the "Iraq war". Thus to use the same word "war" for both is already quite odd. - Resistance was virtually inexistent in either country (Gemany or Japan). Most Germans really only cared about not starving, finding shelter, and not having to run from bombing raids anymore. Who ran or occupied the country was secondary to most, and nobody had the energy time or resources to even think about resistance. Why was the US sector more popular than the Russian one - for most because it was easier to get food. US occupation in Iraq has not managed to end Iraqi resistance from various factions in 5 years claiming over 4000 on the coalition side alone despite far superior technology, medical care, logistic infra structure etc etc. - Democratization was also hugely different. Democratic political parties in Germany existed from the Weimar republic and either laid low or went underground during the Nazi regime. Within weeks after surrender they popped to the surface again and started organizing themselves. Only two years later elections for state governments were held - the organization mostly driven by german parties rather than occupiers. By contrast Iraq has no pre-existing democratic parties or traditions. The establishment of the government in Iraq is largely occupier driven and does not connect to much to political history of Iraq which went between colonialism, puppet monarchies, and dictators. - Both Japan and Germany are ethnically and culturally very homogeneous. This can hardly be said about Iraq. Although Saddam was successful at creating a sense of nationalism it came at a price. - Japan and Germany were eventually surrounded by victors and former enemies. The was no "wiggle room" finding local allies with better deals. Iraq is surrounded by countries of which at best Kuwait is sympathetic to the US/coalition. Ironically this was the essence of the PNAC academic exercise - to create a democratic islands in the middle of undemocratic middle eastern states and let the joy of democracy radiate all over the place. Such ivory tower ideas had no place in the grim realities that led to the unconditional defeats and occupations of Germany and Japan. - Both Japan and Germany were also technologically quite advanced at their time which eventually allowed them to rebuilt the industry and infra structure of their countries independent from occupiers despite the fact that almost everything was pulverized during WWII. Iraq was and still is a third world country before and is heavily dependent on US contractors and civil services of US army despite the small amount of destruction during the war and the large natural resources. US technological and economic involvement will persist for years, reinforcing colonial sentiments. If there are any historical comparisons of Iraq 2003 they have more to do with British colonialism in the early 20th century in the same country. But the Iraq "war" and occupation have absolutely nothing to do with WWII. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

serious questions -- can US soldiers, during duty and in uniform, really fully exercise the first amendment rights without repercussions. Like burn a flag and such? Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

still no answer to my question what is the "framework"? ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

can someone enlighten me WTF this phrase means I can easily come up with "frameworks" that will determine methods of the Spanish Inquisition not to be cruel and unusual -- as well as many things that the US government did to its citizens over history which are deplored today. Do they have some fancy algorithms or a computer that spits out "only mildly cruel" when you enter a form of punishment? Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

Principle and precedence is a great factor in what makes the two scenarios different - but I'd also throw in a subconscious yet caculating sense of self-preservation. Suppose the second medical scenario sets a moral precedence. That can mean that the next time you go to your physician for a sprained ankle or an annual check-up he/she runs your data through a computer data base as a routine. What are the chances that there will be three or four patients in the US in critical need of organs for which you are a matching donor -- Very high I'd presume -- and before you know you're put in an induced coma and out come the scalpels to cut you into little pieces. This scenario is far to common place and likely to affect everyone to bear the thought that other would be allowed to play god. The first subway example is, by contrast, contrived and exotic. The chances of you being the lone worker on the other track in real life are next to nil. The moral decisions in this scenario will not set any far reaching moral precedence that will affect many people. We are essentially sitting in Philosophy 101 and it is quite save to play god. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

it's the light bulbs -- they watch us everyday and they are all connected through wires which they use to communicate with each other. They have started their subversion of our lives, particularly anything electrical, in preparation for their revolution. Save yourself and unscrew all light bulbs, and you'll be fine. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

the nomination is essentially an arithmetical fait accompli -- and if Obama continues to show more of such attitude he will essentially hand over the WH to Bush the third. So much for the great orator and uniter. Congrats, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

is this supposed to be proof that whoever is stronger in OH, PA, and FL now will be a weaker candidate later?? The point is that the claims perpetuated that Obama will be the stronger candidate originate from head-to-head polls made a moth or so ago -- which since have been nullified by newer polls or if you factor in the electoral system. All the prognoses at this point that one candidate will be stronger against McCain in the fall are simply non-sense. There is no real evidence for any of this. Obama is as vulnerable to swing voter fluctuation and "desertion" as Clinton is. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

even if after months Obama comes out on top (and this is where the best are) a long primary campaign has also its benefits. One of the biggest vulnerabilities of Obama is that he hasn't been vetted -- and indeed a lot of stuff has floated to the surface that could have meant disaster for the dems if ti had come up November 2nd or 3rd instead of half a year earlier. McCain will not be able to say that we don't know Obama. Generally, I'm also puzzled by a political wussification that seesm to take hold these days. Republicans and Democrats do have deep philosophical and political differences. It is a serious difference whether your main goal in health care is to expand coverage through regulation and subsidies, or if you see the main problem in efficiency in health costs that should be improved with freeing up insurance market and tax incentives. There is a big difference whether you aim for the fastest possible disengagement from Iraq seeing further involvement as an overall minus for the US, or if you aim to establish a US presence in the middle east as in Europe or S Korea for reasons not too far from the initial PNAC philosophy. There is a huge difference whether your upcoming SCOTUS appointments will be counter balancing the appoinments and retirements of the current administration, or if the new appointments will continue the trend of the recent ones by someone who, e..g, openly likes to see Roe V Wade overturned. In the end of the day one part of the country will not convince the other, or 300Mio will sit down and work out a complicated compromise which everyone is happy with. The differences in views are by all means fundamental and with that wishy-washy in between compromise has nearly nill chance of being actually functional . There will be a debate, a battle, a decision for one or the other, and there will be winners and losers. This is part of democracy. It seems half of the country has gotten scared of the democratic process. Something else puzzles me: The democratic candidates are essentially one the same page in the above issues and other decisions, and the republican candidate is starkly on the other sides. That people would switch parties depending on who wins on the democratic primary seems to really indicate a considerable indifference to the policies for the country that these votes would entail. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

she shows stronger than Obama against McCain in all the big swing states (PA,OH,FL,...) see latest RCP ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

this guy will turn the SCOTUS in a SCOT-GOP reverting social politics to that of the 1960's. I certainly will not vote for that. one word --- economy Cheers, Thomas ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

maybe not riots -- but there will be questions about how people could have been led to believe he was the stronger candidate against the republicans. For the general election his constituency is in fact less stable - the independents and moderate republicans that have been polling for Obama are more likely to run back to McCain at the first sign of trouble than the blue collar core democrats that are biased towards Clinton. Also, if people get worked up about the civility of the primaries now they have surprise coming in the general election, when things will get decidedly worse. Unless you want to see McCain win you want someone battle hardened to run against him who won't flinch and counter attack when needed. One pundit explained why Clinton stayed in the race despite mathematical impossibilities as follows: When they say that Obama hasn't been vetted enough it is not just a political argument but that is something they truly believe in and count on. They're waiting this out in the hope that some crap will come to the surface or evolve in the remaining weeks that will make Obama an impossible choice. A long shot maybe - but the best they got, and not too far from its target given the recent couple of controversies. I have high hopes though that McCain will turn out to be a much weaker candidate than suggested by current polls. He is riding the nominee high right now, and hasn't gotten any serious flak yet from the dems. His stupid quotes on Iraq (100year, sunni/shia) seem to accumulate and should serve well to slaughter his edge on foreign affairs. He is set to reverse Roe v Wade which will not score him points with 70% of the population and he's unpopular with the remaining 30% anyway. He gets flustered on policy details, esp economy, which will make him not look very good in debates. etc etc So even Obama may eventually have a chance against him once the nomination is settled. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

He got at least as much initial coverage as people like Huckabee who made it to the front. Paul also caught head lines with his single day fundraising records and there was plenty of TV coverage about his grassroot appeal in Iowa. The latter always puzzled me - what exactly is the grassroot or youth appeal of Milton Friedman? ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

that was hardly a credible option to begin with after he history between the two .... ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

if there is one thing in regard to military strategy to learned from Iraq then it is that the involvement in Iraq is NOT a police action. That was the perception of the "Rumsfeld doctrine" to occupy a country of 20+Mio with light forces at less than a third of troop strength that is conventionally asked for to establish law and order in country this size. Promptly US military lost control right from the beginning with the widespread looting, sharp rise in common crime, and start of religiously/ethnically motivate crimes. The lawlessness right from the start was quoted by former Al Qaeda people as the one thing that helped them most to establish themselves. So essentially AQ in Iraq owes their existence to the "Rumsfeld doctrine". Apart from AQ the disintegration of public order and safety also led later to the tribe wars, ethnic cleansing, violence against women, and murders of common crime. The idea that you can occupy a country such as Iraq as a matter of a police action has cost huge amounts of lives and will have repercussion for decades to come. Aside from the humanitarian cost it entailed the obviously substandard occupational force is also a violation of basic international law which puts the responsibility of providing for the safety and public order for ordinary people on the occupier - to do what is required within "industry standards". Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

He'll learn from Bob Dole post-election popularity before the election. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

Yes - but not by itself. IMO the minimum requirement for high school teaching should be at least a Master's or similar advanced graduate degree in a core discipline. That in addition to pedagogical training and probationary employments under supervision for the first couple of years -- possibly also federal mandatory teacher tests in future years. People who get masters degrees and subject themselves to this training will have many more and easier job opportunities. By basic supply and demand mechanisms this will force states and school to increase teacher salaries considerably (as well as justifiably). There are good reasons for asking for more advanced degrees even if the material learned is far beyond what can be taught in the class room. At the BA/BS level there are still too many who take subjects "just to get by" and never really get on top of a discipline with a broader perspective. They carry an attitude of "here is the short cut/trick to get through this type of problem" or "here's how to have fun with it even if you don't understand it" into the class room rather than a more authorative view that tries to lead students to core principles. This would alleviate also another factor that keep many good people out of the teaching business - namely, the fact that the prestige and recognition of the profession could be better. It's not enticing to listen to stuff like "those who can do - those who can't teach". If you increase the academic level of people hired for the job this will change. Implementation would be a nightmare though - as you cannot really fire all BA/BS high school teacher and would have to run a two tier system for couple of decades. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

this sort stuff you hear from guys about women who turned them down for a date or dumped them for someone else. There is a lot of talk about whether we are transcending race etc - this sort-of shows there's a problem of similar magnitude about gender. (I mean which male cadidate has to listen about how his voice sounds like or what fashion problems they have with pant suits etc) Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

They don't call Obama the Starbucks candidate for nothing. Map matches pretty well with Starbucks locations (see attached) but there weren't enough locations for him to win. Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true

I am always puzzled why the 9/11-looneys like to show up at Bill Clinton speeches. I remember several reports recently. Why do they think Bill needs to be convinced more than anyone else? Cheers, T ******************************************************************* Fear causes hesitation, and hesitation will cause your worst fears to come true