? for Michael Moore

[AccidentalRepublican]

Obviously my first post, but I’ve “lurked” (sounds so sinister! The Evil Queen in Sleeping Beauty lurked!) before, just didn’t have anything I was interested in discussing. Great boards, with lots of readers, so I think this is a great place to get a diverse range of answers to this:

If the Kurds of Northern Iraq were gassed with Mustard Gas (a WMD) in the eighties, and there was intelligence indicating that Saddam had developed WMD (the Brits and even the Russians also apparently came to this conclusion) that was unaccounted for, were we supposed to trust Saddam that he had destroyed all such weapons after Gulf War I? You say that Bush lied about WMD in Iraq (that was NOT the only reason to go in, BTW--pay attention!)--where did the WMD go? Did it vanish? Aren't you worried where it is?

A follow up: If we had let Saddam continue his reign, then discovered he (or his regime) had handed over WMD knowhow or a weapon to Al Qaeda (the enemy of my enemy is my friend) which was then used against us at a time of their choosing, would you , Michael Moore, then assert that President Bush should be impeached or otherwise removed (i.e. voted out) for his inaction?

My question for the general public is: Is the issue here proactive (vs. reactive) action against our enemies, or hatred of a hawkish, Republican President?

Judged on reaction (or lack thereof) to the NY Times/Washington Post (et al) sponsored unofficial recount in 2001, and seeing how Lieberman was unceremoniously dumped based on his pro-war positions, I’d say the answer is the latter.

p.s. How many UN Resolutions does it take to be serious? Why were Bush I and Clinton so timid? True leadership involves making difficult (and sometimes -GASP- unpopular choices). Lead, follow, or get out of the way! It’s easy to protest, but difficult to lead. Just ask Lech Walesa! (If you have to ask who he is, you should probably pay more attention; in any case, just google his name.)

 

[DukeStreetKing]

Wow, you certainly announced your presence on this board with a bang!

Good thing I've paid attention to world events. I wouldn't want to get scolded.

 

[BostonTigger]

WOW!!!! What a start AccidentalRepublican. Welcome to the boards.

 

[birdiesunshine]

o.k. I usually don't get involved in political threads but I find it odd that the OP just registered this month and wanted this to be their first post. What's your "real" screen name?

 

[we3luvdisney]

I'm sure Michael Moore won't be responding to your questions, but most of the Democrats on these boards will give you their 2 cents.

Welcome!

 

[TheBellhop]

 

[bsnyder]

A fellow Republican Floridian!

Welcome!

 

[Pugdog007]

Welcome!

Prepare for flames. The Kerry supporters and naysayers do not want to hear the truth. They've been brainwashed by the peaceniks.

 

[TheBellhop]

 

[RNMOM]

Yeah, well, I will tackle this one.

For my part, I have not made up my mind that going to war was necessary or not. What I feel is we had many people trying to stop the hastiness of the war. We had a lot of people encouraging us to wait for more assistance in this endeavor. As far as the WMD, well, it didn't convince me the first time around so to not find them doesn't come as a surprise. What I feel now is that many of our children are over there being injured and killed for something the people of Iraq don't appear to have wanted. Yes, I know it was brutal there. It still is. What I would have liked to have seen is a larger force that could have wiped out more of the splinter groups, stayed to keep them contained, and give the country more time to set up it's government. Now we have what appear to be some very strong groups that are doing a lot of harm. How are we to stop them?

What I see is a very long occupation with continuing casualties on both sides and more importantly, the innocent citizens of Iraq. War is never good. I also am having a hard time seeing a light at the end of this tunnel. I have heard a lot of rumbling about moving troups to N. Korea too from family members in the Army. That is disturbing, to say the least.

I support Kerry. I also feel he will bring new people to the situation that may get it resolved and limit the loss of life on all sides.

 

[Dan Murphy]

Originally posted by AccidentalRepublican
Obviously my first post.....

Ahhhh, come on, I bet it's not your VERY first.

 

[Samsara]

Originally posted by Pugdog007
Welcome!

Prepare for flames. The Kerry supporters and naysayers do not want to hear the truth. They've been brainwashed by the peaceniks.

You mean the republicans have been brainwashed by the w administration. Oh, wait... You wouldn't be able to see that...

 

[goin2disneyagain]

Wow, I like the way you think. I completely agree with you.

 

[shortbun]

"Where's the beef?"

 

[Viking]

Originally posted by Samsara
You mean the republicans have been brainwashed by the w administration. Oh, wait... You wouldn't be able to see that...

How can you 'brain'-wash a Republican

 

[Kendra17]

No surprise here! And, yes, I agree with the conclusion you partially based on the fact that Joe Lieberman was unceremoniously dumped. I noticed that Zell Miller--who unceremoniously dumped his own--was also ignored at the Democratic Convention. . .Ed Koch is another one who is ignored by his brethren!

I agree with every comment you've made!

 

[AccidentalRepublican]

Dan Murphy et al: I've posted before--on other websites! www.Airlinelogbook.com, and flightinfo.com mostly for...you guessed it, pilot stuff, although I've got a different username. My most controversial post to date discussed scabs.

And before everyone assumes the red and blue postures, lemme throw some curveballs at you. I'm a union member, and a Navy Reservist who spent almost 10 yrs on active duty. I've got big beefs with Ken "Kenny Boy" Lay and his ilk, both as an employee of a big company with a history of greedy management, and as a direct and indirect shareholder of big companies with histories of greedy management, but I think that a well-regulated (not completely regulated, blue people, and not laissez-faire, red people) marketplace is essential to America's success, and that given every Carly Fiorna that thinks she can just ship jobs overseas as a panacea to her company's quarterly bottom line, there's an American entrepeneur that sees the long-term value in well-educated, English-as-a-first-language speakers that can think on their feet and communicate to the 300 hundred million or so people that live in America and are ready to purchase/provide some product/service.

Now back to the issue at hand. If I was a propagandist, I would've asked "Are you comfortable with the current location of Iraq's gas weapons?", because they're the only WMD of which we had proof (they're part of the historical record). Then I'd ask a series of equally-loaded follow-up questions until I had you in a corner, looking foolish. Now, we see this every day on the cable debate shows, but the guests are expecting it there, and so you get a somewhat entertaining (if only for about 120 seconds) argument that doesn't really discuss the issues, only goes over each partisan's talking points. As an added twist, I could pull a Moore and ambush you, so you were completely unaware that this was coming; like, pass myself off as an NRA member seeking a friendly interview, a la the Hestin scene in Bowling for Columbine. I saw part of this interview scene as I was channel surfing in a hotel room on the overnight in Someplace, USA, but I was completely disgusted. I changed the channel after Moore placed the picture. I guess it's still a documentary if it doesn't have the background music.

What I'm really wondering is: What are Moore's ulterior motives, where/when will he stop? Can you trust someone who's trying to manipulate you in this way? How did Joseph Goebbels get his start, and at what point did he realize he was helping to trick an entire nation? Was the money and the power worth it? Can America get beyond how it feels on an issue and really get it in your teeth and chew on it?

And here's the big Kahuna: How, short of a nationwide lockdown with internal passports, do you react/defend against terrorism?