It's called nationalism. And if you say anything that might entice others to stray from the Party line...

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and to Mikeyy's point about blind patriotism, it works like this:


"Why of course, the people don't want war ... But after all it is the leaders of the country who determine the policy, and it is always a simple matter to drag the people along, whether it is a democracy, or a fascist dictatorship, or a parliament, or a communist dictatorship ... Voice or no voice, the people can always be brought to the bidding of the leaders. That is easy. All you have to do is to tell them they are being attacked, and denounce the pacifists for lack of patriotism and exposing the country to danger."
[Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring, Nazi politician, at the Nuremberg Trials - 1946]

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Your post clearly demonstrates the opposite principle.

Blind anti-Americanism.

And of course not everyone who purports to be American actually is...or deserves to be.

But, whatever.

Here is a short summary I dashed off one day to someone of your mindset explaining our rationale for invasion:

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Every step taken toward the installment of Sharia law will be justifiable to the person who values appearance more than freedom and democracy.

Let's see if you can figure this out.

One can catch a cold but still be fundamentally healthy.

One can break a leg but still be fundamentally healthy.

One might contract herpes and still be called fundamentally healthy.

One can be overweight, smoke & drink too much and fail to exercise and still be fundamentally healthy.

People in this country can be incredibly dense and in a state of denial about the qualifications of a Democratic presidential candidate but (unfortunately?) still be fundamentally healthy.

I hope you will need no further tutorials on this.

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Every step taken toward the installment of Sharia law will be justifiable to the person who values appearance more than freedom and democracy.

But one cannot have terminal cancer and be considered fundamentally healthy. If you think the fundamentals of the American economy are healthy, you are just as out of touch as McCain.

The American economy is so far from healthy that we're only beginning to realize the impacts.

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The most foolish mistake we could possibly make would be to permit the conquered Eastern peoples to have arms. History teaches that all conquerors who have allowed their subject races to carry arms have prepared their own downfall by doing so.

-- Hitler, April 11 1942

Stepping away from the Washington DC Beltway mindset reveals a whole OTHER set of qualifications which are in short supply there.

One can learn foreign policy. But the principles of good judgment and decision making are the same no matter the level.

A Mayor has more call to use personal judgment in an executive capacity than a Senator. A governor makes the same kinds of decisions as a Mayor but they have more "0's" at the end of the checks they authorize.

Sarah Palin can and will learn something that WE HOPE our Senators possess (but, sadly, I know for certain not every Senator does) i.e. foreign policy knowledge.

But Obama and the Beltway crowd do not have her good judgment nor her experience in making decisions or her salt of the Earth American values.

And that would take Obama years to gain.

One thing I think you need to be reminded of.

It was the Democrats who served up an inexperienced young minority to satisfy America's hunger for a fresh new approach to government.

So, what McCain did was to find the best, fresh, young attractive, intelligent, person he could who had MORE experience and better judgment than Obama.

In a way, Obama could be thought of as the first prototype of what America wanted.

McCain studied him and noted where some improvements were needed.

And so he found and chose Sarah Palin as the new and improved GOP version of Obama!

She has everything America wants in a leader but with fewer nagging questions and potential problems of an Obama presidency.

McCain out Changed the Messiah!

You can't condemn her for being like Obama because she has more experience, better judgment and fewer Communists, terrorists, bigots, felons, Islamists and America-haters in her past than he has.

That is unless you prefer someone with:

LESS experience
WORSE judgment
MORE Commies
MORE terrorists
MORE bigots
MORE felons
MORE Islamists, and...
MORE America-haters

in their backgrounds which they are mum on.

And I wouldn't doubt that you would.

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Every step taken toward the installment of Sharia law will be justifiable to the person who values appearance more than freedom and democracy.

This is not an argument. This is your pronouncement. They are not the same thing. You are never going to field a serious argument about this election. Especially when you spend so much effort in to trying to make Obama something he obviously isn't. There is no evidence that he is a a Commie or bigot or felon or Islamist or America hater. And your best argument is that he has known people you believe are. Did McCain know Mark Foley? Yes. Does that mean McCain is a pervert. Was McCain friends with Randy Cunningham? Yes. Does that make him a criminal? Did McCain know Jack Abramoff? Does that mean he is a crook? I am sure that if anyone spent the time you spend trying to connect to Obama to bad guys and spent half that time digging in to McCains entire political life you could find heeps of questions. In the end it really only comes down is you don't like Obama. When you say She has everything America wants in a leader but with fewer nagging questions and potential problems of an Obama presidency. You are really saying you want Sarah to lead you. I don't have nagging questions. And I don't think you do either. It seems you have decided that he is tainted. You can't prove he is. But he just doesn't feel right to you. You don't need to run him down. Or condemn him by association like the McCarthy hearings. I can see good reasons for you to disagree with his positions. So why isn't that good enough. Why do we have to make him in to a supporter of terror just to say you won't vote for him?

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Truth, Justice and the American way

Sorry, bud. For an American to disagree with a policy or an action of the American government is not anti-Americanism. In fact, the founders of our representative democracy depended on an informed, engaged citizenry to maintain the freedoms they outlined, and they recognized those freedoms could be threatened from within as well as without. The day that disagreement makes one an enemy of the state we will know with certainty that our freedom is gone.

Your charge that I’m anti-American because I disagree with our current policy is completely in synch with Goring’s quote on how to lead people who do not want war, into war. You denounce me as anti-American or unpatriotic. And that’s exactly what happened when Americans questioned our entry into Iraq. At best they were called unpatriotic – at worst, traitors (a la you and Goring!)

I will not question your love for America and the things it stands for, as you do me. But I will challenge you to have the intelligence to make informed decisions about the people and policies you are following. You, too, might find you disagree with them. Hundreds of thousands of good Republicans got hijacked in 2000 by Cheney, Wolfowitz, and Rumsfeld and team. No “revisionist’s history” is required to dispute actions taken by this administration, especially those related to Iraq.


You quote William Bennett/neocon; published by the Weekly Standard/neocon publication owned by Rupert Murdoch/neocon; editor Bill Kristol/neocon, son of Irving Kristol/neocon, chairman of the Project for the New American Century, foreign policy advisor to John McCain and foreign policy analyst for Fox News, also owned by Rupert Murdoch. These are cheerleaders for a disastrous foreign policy founded in imperialism and greed, the usurpation of individual rights, and erosion of balance of power of the three branches of government in favor of a unitary chief executive.


For starters, study up on Irving Kristol, the father of American neoconservatism, who yearned for American empire and whose ideology is rooted in Trotsky (permanent revolution – endless war). Read up on the Wolfowitz Doctrine. Research The Project for the New American Century. Read PNAC’s September 2000 report called “Rebuilding America’s Defenses” furnished to Bush before he was even elected.

There’s millions of resources on the web. PNAC pulled down its website in April of 2008 and only reopened it in August 2008. Original PNAC documents can be accessed in Google Archives. Aside from Wikipedia (replete with names and history), here’s just a couple:
As featured on CNN, June 2003:
How neoconservatives conquered Washington -- and launched a war
How neoconservatives conquered Washington -- and launched a war - Salon.com
June 2008:
John McCain's Chilling Project for America
t r u t h o u t | John McCain's Chilling Project for America

Do some research and see if you really want to buy in. Otherwise you may wake up in a country where you aren’t allowed to disagree with your government, as you would do to me.

Dwight D. Eisenhower, while stating our need for a strong defense also issued this caution:

In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the militaryindustrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.

We must never let the weight of this combination endanger our liberties or democratic processes. We should take nothing for granted. Only an alert and knowledgeable citizenry can compel the proper meshing of the huge industrial and military machinery of defense with our peaceful methods and goals, so that security and liberty may prosper together.

All I can say is all those people who believe that Biden should "go easy on her" are not speaking for Democrats. They say women will be offended if he talks down to her. Listen, I am a Democrat and I am a woman. We are trying to win an election here. I won't care if he called her a dumb blonde with brunette hair, we want to be in the White House in January!

But I think Biden had better be careful about underestimating Palin. She may be playing the ditzy broad role when in reality she may be more like Hillary Clinton! Be on your best behavior, Joe. And win it.

First...

Followed by...

A little contradictory?...

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"You get the respect that you give" - cnredd