jakee

Blair believed that it was important for the UK to be internationally important, and he thought that the best way to cement the UKs status as a major global player was to be a facilitator for the USA. To be the voice of reason that could sell the invasion the way that cowboy Bush couldn't. I think he even believed that he could steer Bush's policy and shape the world order post-Iraq, and he was willing to give away our integrity, a fair chunk of our financial stability and hundreds of servicemen's lives and limbs to try and achieve that. Of course it was a naive and foolish hope at the best of times (Bush, Rumsfeld, Cheney et al were never going to be influenced by this brown-nosing outsider) but when he never came close to delivering the second resolution he didn't even come away from it being owed a favour. No transatlantic political credit in the bank whatsoever. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Well - it looks like the FBI is going to get another chance at her. Do you believe in the concept of double jeopardy? Double jeopardy has nothing to do with investigating. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

And you think campaigning against Clinton, thereby helping Trump become president is the best way to ensure nothing bad happens in the future? Don't think Trump has a much better record being honest. You sound like Bush. If you aren't with us, you are against us. Don't be an idiot. With us or against us is a false dichotomy. Unless the Republican party schisms and gives rise to a credible, well supported Independent (and what are the chances of that?) then Trump vs Hilary is a real dichotomy. It will be one or the other. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

And yet some like Rush continue to push the naive assertion that Congress supported the war too, based on the same intelligence as Bush. Bush and Blair set the intelligence agenda, selected the results they liked and packaged them in the most persuasive way they could to support their pre-conceived plans. Chilcot doesn't directly accuse Blair of lying, but he does criticise him for presenting questionable intelligence to parliament as totally reliable, and from restricting other intelligence even from members of his own cabinet (most senior ministers and heads of department) so no-one else knew the full picture. And even then some members of the cabinet remained so unconvinced that they resigned in protest. Robin Cook's resignation speech is worth revisiting for it's evisceration of the case for war, for the rush to war, and for pointing out that no major nation whose leaders weren't already pre-committed to removing Saddam were convinced of the need to invade, despite our best diplomatic efforts. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Again? "Show me your ID." [Blam blam blam!] "He was reaching for something!" Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Yes, those "free stuff from the government" people who were denied coverage because of preexisting conditions: http://khn.org/news/preexisting-condition-consumers-insurance-obamacare-marketplaces/ Yes that would be the "sick" component of "old, sick and poor" So... it's not a good thing that old and sick people are being helped more than young and healthy people by Obamacare? Because, y'know, I kinda thought that was the whole point of medicine in general. Similarly, helping poor people who didn't have good coverage get better coverage was, I believe, closer to the intention of Obamacare than helping rich people with good coverage get even better coverage. Sorta thought that was obvious... Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Ironically, the major problem with the Chilcott investigation was that it was set up specifically not to look at whether there were any illegal, or legally dubious, actions in the run up to the war. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

That was incredibly violent Good work just being able to get the reserve out. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

How about holding hearings on the FBI probe? Some sort of weird cross between the Energizer Bunny and the Terminator (the first movie one). They just won't stop. Like a meta-investigation? This is all getting a bit too post-modern. They should give Thomas Pynchon the book rights. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

According to the Guardian Chilcot actually points out in the report that "Hindsight was not neccessary" since yeah, pretty much everything that's happened since was warned about before the invasion. Bush responded saying he still believes that the whole world is better off without Saddam - despite the insane and unpredictable ISIS (allowed to come into existence by his "wholly inadequate " planning for the aftermath of the invasion) providing an international threat that Saddam never did. And as we all knew, Bush and Blair were talking about invading Iraq immediately after 9/11. Honestly I think the saddest thing in there is this memo from Blair to Bush: "How we finish in Afghanistan is important to phase 2. If we leave it a better country, having supplied humanitarian aid and having given new hope to the people, we will not just have won militarily but morally; and the coalition will back us to do more elsewhere," when the shift in resources to Iraq was always going to leave Afghanistan vulnerable to insurgency and re-invasion by the Taliban. It was so god-damned obvious. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

You are thinking of the (com) Post So you think the Post is shit but the Times is a bastion of strong reporting? You know you're a ditto-head when... Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Because they did not see the level of stonewalling done by Hillary. Even the judges are getting pissed off by it. (the stonewalling) Nice try though. Right, no stonewalling after Watergate. Would you like to buy a bridge? If I remember All The President's Men correctly Nixon and Liddy were so overcome with remorse that they immediately came clean, turned over their co-conspirators, released the Watergate Tapes without a struggle and definitely didn't knowingly destroy evidence. Heck, it was all so straightforward and above board I don't even know why they made it into a film Do you want to have an ideagasm?

I think for quite a while Patrick Stewart has reached the point in his career where he no longer needs to give a toss about whether he's seen as a 'serious' actor or not, and has been putting out a huge amount of ridiculously funny stuff. The best one has to be his sex obsessed cameo on Extras Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Farage's speech to the EP after Brexit vote was utterly cringeworthy. Made me embarassed to be from the same country. Interestingly Farage said before the last General Election that he would resign as leader if he wasn't elected as MP because he would have no credibility left within the party before pulling a quite spectacular U-Turn the day after being beaten. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Right, there's nothing been said about missing the PC. Just terrible flying, target fixation and a low pull Do you want to have an ideagasm?

I thought he was practicing selfie poses. He's got Duckface down to an art. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

The not giving a fuck about reality is strong in you Do you want to have an ideagasm?

That's because science expains what is real. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

Let's remember that the original "House of Cards" was about a British politician stabbing colleagues in the back to become PM. Only much later did Kevin Spacey's version hit the screens. Pssst... The original was written by Willy Shakes back in 1611 (or thereabouts). Sure, but it was still about British politicians Do you want to have an ideagasm?

When Trump breaks it, it's because the thing was so bad, like the worst ever, that it needed breaking. And he's the only one clever enough to realise it and brave enough to do it. No-one else can see it like he can. Do you want to have an ideagasm?

So there isn't an onslaught of science into your rural area? I don't know if calendars count as science, but they might be part of the onslaught you want to embrace Do you want to have an ideagasm?

The onslaught of what, exactly? Do you want to have an ideagasm?

I preferred "tangerine ballbag." Elegant in its simplicity yet still perfectly tailored for Trump Do you want to have an ideagasm?

You're kidding, right? How do you think CIA directors get their jobs? Do you want to have an ideagasm?

You do it all the time, and you just admitted that you do it. Just because you think you're only "returning the favour" it doesn't change what you're saying. You call people who disagree with you uninformed and less smart, and you think you know what's best for other people. That's exactly your criteria for being a liberal elitist, isn't it? Do you want to have an ideagasm?