Freedom's Watch finds a new target
By Steve Benen Sunday Sep 30, 2007 7:20amWhen Freedom’s Watch burst upon the political scene last month, it was part of a coordinated effort to rally support for staying the course in Iraq. The group unveiled four slick TV ads, including one featuring a veteran who lost a leg in Iraq who argued that we have to stay in Iraq because “they attacked us.” It was part of a $15 million dishonest blitz, asking Americans not to believe their lying eyes.
It’s hard to say if the group moved the needle at all — opposition to Bush’s policy is about where it’s been for months — but it appears the group is poised to move onto its next initiatve and start pushing for yet another war in the Middle East.
Next month, Freedom’s Watch will sponsor a private forum of 20 experts on radical Islam that is expected to make the case that Iran poses a direct threat to the security of the United States, according to several benefactors of the group. [...]
Last week, a Freedom’s Watch newspaper advertisement called President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran “a terrorist.” The group is considering a national advertising campaign focused on Iran, a senior benefactor said, though Matt S. David, a spokesman for the group, declined to comment on those plans.
“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,” said Bradley Blakeman, 49, the president of Freedom’s Watch and a former deputy assistant to Mr. Bush. “Ahmadinejad is giving all the same kind of warning signs to us, and the region — he wants the destruction of the United States and the destruction of Israel.”
For far too many on the right, it really is 2002 all over again.
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eat it republican scum
Threatening a war with Iran takes the focus off the god-awful war in Iraq. But it's a hell of a way to do it. Those easily brainwashed will take this shit hook line and sinker. I just shake my head in disbelief.
The leader of iran is giving the same kinds of warning signs???? Anyone with eyes to see and half a brain knows where the real hitler comparison belongs, heil shrubbie.
"it really is 2002 all over again"
with that lying smacked ass Ari Fleisher driving the bus over a cliff.
Gee why didn't they see this before instead of wasting time in Iraq.
Free and easy access to Toilet sex for GOP senators?, Harry Fleisher & Scottie know a lot about the closet side.......
“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,” said Bradley Blakeman, 49, the president of Freedom’s Watch and a former deputy assistant to Mr. Bush. “Ahmadinejad is giving all the same kind of warning signs to us, and the region — he wants the destruction of the United States and the destruction of Israel.”
Hey Bradley, you're a toady. Enjoying playing Waylon Smithers to W's Mr. Burns?
"Blakeman, con all those slack jawed yokels into supporting my 'war for obscene oil profits'"
"Yes sir, Mr. Bush!"
"Excellent"
There's a truckload of Democrats you need to include in that bunch that was gun-ho for war back in '02. Two of them are running for President (although one of them apologize for his vote).
Just curious: What will happen to the U.S. when we run out of boogeymen to chase after?
For far too many on the right, it really is 2002 all over again.
That's because the people on the right do not fight! It's always easy to start wars you don't have to worry about fighting in. Does anyone remember all the young Republicans who were saying they would fight but they have medical issues that prevent them from going over there so we don't have to fight them over here. That's why I say Republicans are the real enemy of America.
The war-mongering Neocons are scaring me big time. Can't they see how diminished the US's influence is already on the International scene? Some one asked if this is " just a temporary blip on the radar screen or is this the start of a major decline on the US as a SuperPower"? History has shown us how civilizations naturally decline for a variety of reasons.
Another point, the cost in lives and financially for the US military and Iraqi civilians is staggering and growing by the second!! Opening another war front by bombing Iran is ludicrous and self destructive in my opinion. I see a major surge in terrorism against American interests around the world in trying to get even with the US for attacking Iran!!
The Democratic Party needs to do more and do it now!! Stop reacting and be proactive!!
The Political Junkie @ 8:
No problem with your comment there. Repukes and Dems are two sides of the same coin.
The only difference between the two parties in my mind is that Repubs absolutely LOVE making money by killing people, while the Dems just love making money. Oh, and the Dems are largely a group of pussies, while the Republics are a bunch of racists, homophobes, and xenophobes.
Scary. These are the same people who lied about WMDs. The same people who insist there were WMDs.
Mushroom cloud my ass.
“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,” said Bradley Blakeman, 49, the president of Freedom’s Watch and a former deputy assistant to Mr. Bush. “Ahmadinejad is giving all the same kind of warning signs to us, and the region — he wants the destruction of the United States and the destruction of Israel.”
Just how, pray tell, can Iran destroy a nuculear armed Israel and United States? Oh, I see! Drag this country into another quagmire, depleting our conventional military strength, sapping our economy with deficits and debt, and cutting off oil to our refineries. Smart folks, them Iranians!
Peace! GWB - WPE - WCE
Marco
From the NY Times article:
The idea for Freedom’s Watch was hatched in March at the winter meeting of the Republican Jewish Coalition in Manalapan, Fla., where Vice President Dick Cheney was the keynote speaker, according to participants.
Isn't one disastrous war for Israel enough for these idiots?
what was it that Tim Robbins said....."They can no longer be called experts because of all the fuck ups that got us into Iraq..........That's a whole lotta fuck ups ".....I think this is what he said...and I think he's right.
Impeachment is the cure for this bullshit but our dermocratic representatives are more concerned about their own skin than managing the country in a responsible fashion.
good morning mudkitty...nice to see you again.
Freedoms botch.
"family" "freedom" and "christian" the new hate group watch words.
they've lost all credibility yet they keep on trying......and the sheeple believe them...................................................................................................................dolts every last one.
these nazi bastards in this country got to go,the main terriorists in this world reside in washington dc, irans got a right to hate american, were the assholes that fed sadam the poison gas shells that murdered many of them, bunch of jackbooted assholes!
Hey, if Hitler had been aborted we'd never have seen WWII. So let's go abort a bunch of Iranian babies while we're at it.
solid @ 9:
Blame Canada?
On the other hand - why do so many people not take this creep ast his word? Not that he isn't a bold faced liar - as in there are no homosexual people in Iran, however his hatred for Jews and Israelis in particular is at the bedrock of his religion supported by the Quran itself.
I suggest that some who consider themselves liberals try to stop the knee jerking reactions to events and take a look at the history of Islam. Better yet - get a copy of the Quran, in English or whatever language you can read, and read it.
Spend a little time with it before you make idiotic statements about Islam as a religion of peace - the propaganda tool that is being used to exploit liberals who want to believe that everyone, even Christofascists and Islamofascists really like democracy, liberal principles and peace on earth.
I've read Mein Kampf. As a matter of fact had leaders in Europe and America read that book when Hitler came to power, they would have known exactly what to expect.
Wake up and smell the coffee. Then get rid of the rose colored glasses.
I would highly recommend that everyone watch the BBC Video "The Power of Nightmares".(Just google it - it's available free to view at multiple sites)
It's a real eye opener and details what conservatives have done in the past and I believe they're up to the same tricks again.
Leland Somers @ 26:
When did someone mention Islam as a "religion of peace", concern troll?
Illegal. Immoral. And just plain stupid.
These people should be in prison.
...
solid @ 9:
Shouldn't be a problem. We'll run out of soldiers and money before Israel runs out of enemies.
Oh, i see. If you want to start a war you send your flunkies out to do the leg work. If you want to start a war which may well put most of the world's oil resorces in the hands of multinational oil companies you had better get organized.
Does anybody know what Karl Rove is up to these days?
Maybe he got a seat on the Carlyle Group.
Leland Somers @ 26:
I always laugh at the 'wake up and smell the coffee' war mongers. Coffee's on. Why don't you wake up and go join the military? Or if you've got some convenient excuse like the rest of the war hawks as to why you can't go, alternatively, why don't you try reading a book that doesn't support your ridiculous prejudices?
It's a shame they don't teach the kids American History anymore. If they did they would all know that we created Saddam to fight Iran. We created Noriega in the Panama debacle, We created the situation in Chile,, etc etc etc.
Arthur C. Clark once predicted back in the 90's that an accidental detonation of a nuclear device in a third world Armory would make the world get rid of it arsenal of Nukes. But in today's world, Bush's world, it would be used as a message of FEAR to control the ignorant masses of America, like they do everything else.
We became are an aggressor nation and it wont change until WE change it.
Get off the Couch/
Get Active.
Make noise.
Write letters.
Make calls.
VOTE !!!.
Blue Buddha @ 25:
It's coming.
Dave Flores @ 24:
think we did that back when the repigs were still sucking sadam off
MargeAggedon @ 21:
Are they really "new" hate group watch words? Seems to me to be the same old ones.
Leland Somers @ 26:
In truth, it is those who listen to the lies of this administration who have rose colored glasses! What someone needs to do if they have an ad highlighting Hitler as a reason to go to war in Iraq, perhaps someone else could have an ad highlighting the way Hitler took over and show how Bush is doing the same thing. He already has his "detainment centers" built, his own personal military (Blackwater and other militias) he is already refusing to obey the laws of this land, he is already restricting the freedoms of the people of this country and he is spying on the people in this country. And there are , I am sure because of his extreme secrecy, even more that we haven't discovered yet.
Want to talk about Hitler? Well we have a Nazi in our white house. His grandfather was with them for profiteering purposes, they just hid it down through the generations, but his actions follow Hitlers own map.
Don'tcha just love how all the fascist crap forced down our throats has been branded with the American flag? (USA PATRIOT, Protecting America, Homeland Security, Freedom's Watch)
Leland Somers @ 26:
maby youd better check some history out yourself might look into the isralies being the first bombers blowing up the british troops in palistien
that was for num 26
Leland Somers @ 26:
Let's take a good long look at the History of the Bush Administration, shall we?
So far i can't think of one thing he has done right and don't say "Tax Cuts" because that is bullshit.
Your "Red Scare" tactics don't wash.
Since Mein Kanmf was writen a large number of books have been writen on the NEOCON agenda. If you ask me you should read a few. World domination by people using (and destroying) the United States and its Constitution is what should be worrying you. Except it doesn't because you can't see through that brown shirt you have burried your head in. Wake up and figure out who our enemy really is.
Wow... Straw man, Libel and a Godwin all in the same paragraph. Good work right wing assholes!
“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,”
Yeah, because just 7 years after a devastating world war and pandemic flu that killed millions upon millions, war was such a jolly option. Invade Germany in 1925 to take out one whacked-out demagogue, collateral damage be damned. BRILLIANT idea.
In today's world, the GOP war pigs are all for it.
EJG @ 37:
Aaah, Prescott Bush, the good Nazi banker. If I'm not mistaken, Prescott was in cahoots to take down the FDR administration in favor of a fascist outfit. Well, I guess ol' Pressy finally got his wish. His grandson, Commander Codpiece, is doing a damn fine job of dismantling our Constitution for the benefit of our current profiteers.
Suprised they havent they latched onto the 1979 Hostage Crisis as the 'new' 9/11 ...
>In today’s world, the GOP war pigs are all for it.
Nah, Germany had no oil.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21064094/site/newsweek/ Blackwater:Unprovoked shooting.US state sponsored terrorism?....i think so.
Islam as a religion of peace ?
All religions are religion of piece, aren't they?
A piece here and a piece there, and another piece there, and another one there, etc.
Suprised they havent they latched onto the 1979 Hostage Crisis as the ‘new’ 9/11 …
They're not going to bring that up because it will reveal that it was Jimmy Carter who got those hostages freed, but Reagan made a call and asked the Iranian government to hold on to 'em until he was sworn in as President, so that freeing the hostages would be considered his first "official act".
Taking the credit that should have gone to Carter. The ReThugs have a history of doing that crap, and it started with a former B-List actor whose best costar was a chimpanzee named Bonzo, who became President of the United States.
Blue Buddha @ 25:
BLAME CANADA....wtf are you talking about, leave us out of your fuck-ups. If you guys want to screw the world up you sure as hell don't need our help. As for blaming us...get bent
The only mushroom cloud ever seen was created by the US. Yet we wet our pants in fear that the next one won't be ours. Any wonder the world is turning their back on us?
The Political Junkie @ 49:
Don't forget the failed hostage rescue. Remember how Carter dodged blame by saying he was just doing what his commanders on the ground told him to do?
Yeah, me neither.
The Political Junkie @ 49:
I thought we had Bozo now
.
Mike the Canuck @ 50:
I could be mistaken Mike, but I think the Blue Buddha was being snarky. At this point in time, I think Canada's only fuck-up has been unleashing Celine Dion on the world.....
From their website:
"Freedom’s Watch is organized as a nonprofit corporation and operated in a manner consistent with section 501 (c) (4) of the federal income tax laws. Freedom’s Watch is dedicated to educating individuals about and advancing public policies that protect America’s interests at home and abroad, foster economic prosperity, and strengthen families. Through outreach and education, communications to key members of Congress, and bold public awareness initiatives, Freedom’s Watch is fighting for the ideals and policies that keep America strong and prosperous. We welcome all those who share our values to join our efforts."
They are not fighting for ideals which strengthen the Constitution or ideals that seek the truth.
And here is their statement of fear:
"Has America forgotten that there are terrorists around the world who wish to bring harm to our nation and its citizens? Have some forgotten the scars left on our nation by the events that took place 6 years ago? Have some forgotten the reason our troops are abroad, fighting to preserve the freedoms we enjoy? It would appear that they have. Even now, some are trying to put a stop to the war on terror, when the threat to our nation is still very real."
Funny i can't find a name on this site...
>I could be mistaken Mike, but I think the Blue Buddha was being snarky. At this point in time, I think Canada’s only fuck-up has been unleashing Celine Dion on the world…
and Howie Mandel.
solid @ 54:
Yep... and besides, Celine Dion is the fault of the Québeçious ;)
#49:
>They’re not going to bring that up because it will reveal that it was Jimmy Carter who got those hostages freed, but Reagan made a call and asked the Iranian government to hold on to ‘em until he was sworn in as President, so that freeing the hostages would be considered his first “official act”.
I watched the whole production on TeeVee thinking "they aren't really gonna fall for that crap are they?" ... IRRC Carter also wanted energy independence
to be the real battle for the decade. Don't imagine Big Oil Cheney et al. were too fond of that.
Iran is Bush's and the Republican's exit strategy from Iraq. If we go to war with Iran, mark my words, this country will face a major collapse, perhaps multiple collapses. If we as a country hold together over the next 20 or 30 years it will be amazing, but I am doubting that we have even that long.
Mel Sembler who is one of the backers of this group has very deep pockets. He was an Ambassador:
From his website:
"Mel Sembler, Chairman of the Board of The Sembler Company, served as United States Ambassador to Italy from 2001 to 2005 and as U.S. Ambassador to Australia and Nauru from 1989 to 1993."
But curiously, also this:
"He is nationally recognized as an activist in the anti-drug campaign and as a staunch, long-time supporter of the Republican Party and its candidates."
Here is what he owns:
Sixty Six Shopping Malls.
Iran ready to work with US on Iraq
By Roula Khalaf and Najmeh Bozorgmehr in Tehran
Published: September 30 2007 19:05 | Last updated: September 30 2007 19:05
Iran is ready to help the US stabilise Iraq if Washington presents a timetable for a withdrawal of its troops, Tehran’s top security official said on Sunday.
In an interview with the Financial Times, Ali Larijani, head of the Supreme National Security Council, which answers to Ali Khamenei, the supreme leader, rejected Washington’s accusations that Tehran is providing weapons to Iraqi militias, insisting the trouble with Iraq was that the US administration was pursuing a “dead-end strategy”.
...
Mr Larijani suggested that both the US Democratic party and the British were getting it right in Iraq. The Democrats’ push for a timetable for withdrawal “seems to be logical”, he said, and the British were “more intelligent than the Americans”, having made the “necessary adjustments” and retreated to Basra airport.
“If they [the Americans] have a clear definition of a timetable we’ll help them materialise it,” Mr Larijani said. “If the US is persisting with its mistakes, it shouldn’t ask for help from us.”
...
The US has repeatedly accused Iran of undermining security in Iraq by supplying advanced roadside bombs and Iranian-made rockets to Shia militias. The US Senate last week called for the Revolutionary Guards, the elite force allegedly involved in Iraq, to be designated as a “foreign terrorist organisation”.
...
Mr Larijani, however, dismissed US accusations as “lies”. He said Iran had asked for names of Revolutionary Guard personnel that the US said were involved in helping Iraqi groups but that it had received no response.
He said Iran was the only country in the region to have supported the Iraqi government and the democratic process, while the US’s allies – by which he meant Arab governments – provided no assistance and worked against Washington.
He also claimed Tehran had information that US officials were holding talks with Izzat al-Douri, the former Ba’athist senior official who is said to be leading parts of the Sunni insurgency. “This is a disaster for the Iraqi people,” he said.
At a time of growing suspicion that either the US or Israel will resort to military strikes to prevent Tehran from pursuing its nuclear programme, Mr Larijani said Washington’s failures in Iraq should be a warning against embarking on a new “adventure”.
Refusing to specify what Tehran’s retaliation might be, he warned that the US should attack Iran if it wished “to receive Israel on a wheelchair” and predicted that Washington would be “sticking its hand into a beehive”.
read whole article here:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/75118b72-6f7e-11dc-b66c-0000779fd2ac.html
Dr. John M. Templeton Jr. is another backer. Here is a short profile from Mother Jones.
Go Ari! Snark.
Another backer:
Anthony H. Gioia
Ambassador, Malta
Term of Appointment: 08/08/2001 to 12/06/2004
On April 4, 2001, President George W. Bush announced his intention to nominate Anthony H. Gioia to be Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the United States of America to the Republic of Malta. The new ambassador was sworn in on August 8, 2001, by U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, and arrived in Malta on August 23, 2001.
A former Chairman and CEO of Gioia Management Company, a management and investment holding company located in Buffalo, New York, he also served in the Gioia family pasta business as Vice President and then president/CEO until RHM, Inc., purchased Gioia Macaroni. He then became the President and CEO of RHM Pasta, Inc. Ambassador Gioia is the former Chairman of the National Pasta Association and was appointed by Governor George Pataki to be a Board Member of the New York State Urban Development Corporation. He is a graduate of the State University of New York at Buffalo, and received his M.B.A. from the University of Southern California.
Released on November 9, 2001
A little more info:
Anthony H. Gioia
Employer:
Gioia Management Inc.
State:
NY
Status for 2000:
Pioneer (George Bush), raised at least $100,000.00
Name Disclosed By Candidate:
Y
Status for 2008:
Bundler for Rudy Giuliani, amount raised not listed
Name Disclosed By Candidate:
Y
Registered Federal Lobbyist:
N
Blue Buddha @ 57:
LOL ok guys
We need wingnut welfare reform. Ari needs to get a job
"Freedoms botch"
Congress:
soon to be "Freedom's be-yotch"
Neal @ 59:
That's the truly stunning thing about the sabre-rattling over Iran. From a strictly strategic standpoint, starting a war with Iran makes no sense. If it happens, they can kiss Iraq (and probably Afghanistan) goodbye.
So what's the point? My best guess:
A) It's all posturing. A new boogeyman diverts attention from the mess in Iraq, and talking tough with Iran might help keep its influence in Iraq in check.
B) They're not kidding. The neocons know they are not going to have another shot at Iran once Bush leaves the White House, so they have to strike now -- consequences be damned.
I'm hoping it's A, but there's a scary amount of support in right-wing circles for B.
Sheldon Adelson
Employer:
Las Vegas Sands Inc.
State:
NV
Status for 2004:
Pioneer (George Bush), raised at least $100,000.00
Name Disclosed By Candidate:
Y
Registered Federal Lobbyist:
N
The New Yorker:
Shifting Targets: The US Plan for Iran
The shift in targeting reflects three developments. First, the President and his senior advisers have concluded that their campaign to convince the American public that Iran poses an imminent nuclear threat has failed (unlike a similar campaign before the Iraq war), and that as a result there is not enough popular support for a major bombing campaign. The second development is that the White House has come to terms, in private, with the general consensus of the American intelligence community that Iran is at least five years away from obtaining a bomb. And, finally, there has been a growing recognition in Washington and throughout the Middle East that Iran is emerging as the geopolitical winner of the war in Iraq.
...At a White House meeting with Cheney this summer, according to a former senior intelligence official, it was agreed that, if limited strikes on Iran were carried out, the Administration could fend off criticism by arguing that they were a defensive action to save soldiers in Iraq. If Democrats objected, the Administration could say, “Bill Clinton did the same thing; he conducted limited strikes in Afghanistan, the Sudan, and in Baghdad to protect American lives.” The former intelligence official added, “There is a desperate effort by Cheney et al. to bring military action to Iran as soon as possible. Meanwhile, the politicians are saying, ‘You can’t do it, because every Republican is going to be defeated, and we’re only one fact from going over the cliff in Iraq.’ But Cheney doesn’t give a rat’s ass about the Republican worries, and neither does the President.”
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/10/08/071008fa_fact_hersh
And if we attacked Hitler before he attacked us, all the white hate groups would have embraced him as a martyr and helped to legitimize him.
"“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,” said Bradley Blakeman, 49, the president of Freedom’s Watch and a former deputy assistant to Mr. Bush. “Ahmadinejad is giving all the same kind of warning signs to us, and the region — he wants the destruction of the United States and the destruction of Israel.”"
That's rich. The same sentiment could be applied to Bush and the neocon puppet masters who pull his strings as regards state sponsored terrorism and illegal wars of aggression. The Mein Kampf equivalent? Choose anything you like from Leo Strauss or the spewings of the PNAC.
This is nothing more than mass-murdering, amoral sociopaths calling an ineffective, small time amoral sociopath, "mass-murdering, amoral sociopath!". Who do these numbnuts think they are persuading other than themselves?
Guess what, guys and gals of the neocon persuasion: you can't accuse or label or indignantly name another as a terrorist or other kind of bloody-handed monster if your own hands are immersed up to your shoulders in an ocean of blood, which was spilled from countless defenseless innocents, all of whom perished at your own hands.
Bin Ladin? Ahmadinejad? Add whoever else you want to the list. Next to Our Glorius Leader, these guys are strictly amateurs. Acting neither singly, nor combining so as to assist one another, will they ever achieve the scale of murder and terror that the Bush regime has already committed. As regards state-sponsored murder and terrorism, they can't top the Bush/Cheney/Neocon regime. They can't equal it. They can't even come close. It's not even a contest.
Not even...
Bush can't even win in Iraq after 4.5 years of fighting an estimated 30,000 insurgents (of which about 7-10% are "terrorists") with 150,000 troops. That's a 5:1 ratio in our favor. What in the hell makes him think that he can defeat Iran? What's that? We'll strategically bomb their asses now and later worry about the troops that will ultimately pour over into Iraq?
Milnet.com says that Iran has 513,000 active duty troops with another 350,000 in the reserves.
It's a hell of a good thing that we didn't have the likes of Freedom Watch here in 1774, because they would have pulled out all the stops to convince our young country that the British would be destroying us in a few years. They sure as hell have a lot of confidence in this country and its ability to defend itself from our enemies.
Helloooooo! Anybody home in America?
Joementum @ 16:
The sole purpose of existence of the USA is to feed the pipeline for Israel, a very symbiotic relationship. ALL US resources, incl. our tax $$$ at work.
""Although the group declined to identify the experts, several were invited from the American Enterprise Institute, a Washington research group with close ties to the White House. Some institute scholars have advocated a more confrontational policy to prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons, including keeping military action as an option.”"
To refresh memory: one of the current stellar American Enterprise Institute experts is no other but WOLFOWITZ, who fell into their welcoming arms right after his infamous World Bank termination. His ho’ - Shaha whatever, is supposedly an expert on this all - that’s why sh’e traveled to Iraq for the US State Dept, NOT being even a US citizen (she has Libyan roots). That should set the experts’ superior caliber.
“Ahmadinejad … he wants…. the destruction of Israel.” - this obseession has put us on straight/PLANNED path for the US destruction, decades ago.
“Mr. Fleischer said Freedom’s Watch was not coordinating with the White House and had an agenda beyond the Bush administration.” - of course, it goes back to Elders of Zion/1921-26/, true or false, like it or not. ALL checks out !
"" ”.. Among the group’s founders are Sheldon G. Adelson, the chairman and chief executive of the Las Vegas Sands Corporation, who ranks sixth on the Forbes Magazine list of the world’s billionaires; Mel Sembler, a shopping center magnate based in St. Petersburg, Fla., who served as the ambassador to Italy and Australia; John M. Templeton Jr., the conservative philanthropist from Bryn Mawr, Pa.; and Anthony H. Gioia, a former ambassador to Malta who heads an investment group based in Buffalo, N.Y. ”
Mr. Sembler, a friend of Vice President Dick Cheney, … who is on the board of directors of the American Enterprise Institute, … said the impetus for Freedom’s Watch “came out of A.E.I.” last winter.
Leland Somers @ 26:
I have read the Koran. I have also spoken to many Muslims and I've lived with Muslims for a while when I was in the Middle East. How many have you spoken with? If you're after the truth and are yearning for unfiltered facts, then why aren't you speaking with the average Muslim instead of buying into spun and filtered views you get from U.S. government officials?
The average Muslim will tell you that Islam recognizes both Moses and Jesus Christ as messengers of God. The same god you (I'm assuming) worship. In mainstream Islam, Mohammad came as the third and last "messenger" of God's "truth".
So, your vilification is not only unsubstantiated, but it rings of bigotry and hatred on so many levels. It's actually quiet sad and unfortunate that close to 1.6 billion Muslims recognize YOUR GOD and YOUR Gospel, but you and many like you see theirs as a religion of barbaric terrorists.
"I suggest that some who consider themselves liberals try to stop the knee jerking reactions to events and take a look at the history of Islam."
Perhaps you should heed that advice yourself next time you come on here to preach your quasi balanced views that are akin to Fox's "We report you decide".
Just checked Freedom's Watch's web site. Can't even call them and talk to anyone. You have to send e-mail which can be, um, "lost." Pussies.
Well, I doubt if this will help but call the Speakers office & raise your concerns about the stupidity of Rahm & Freedoms Watch war campaign.
Office of the Speaker
H-232, US Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
(202) 225-0100
McDuff @75,
Well said. I, too, have read the Quar'an. It is exquisite. Bigots or persons with an agenda can pick and choose anything they want from the holy books of any religion to justify themselves, any act of madness or as the poster @ 26 seems to be doing -to villify an entire people. The Quar'an, The Bible....all the books and scriptures of the world's faiths are neutral; they are their own standards. It's what people put of themselves into them and what they subsequently pull out them that is not.
I can't decide whether the poster is a bigoted concern troll, or is merely passionate, but also shallow and unwise.
They really don't want to dredge up Hitler, they really, really don't. Too many of today's corporatist Houses (like the Bush Family, with Prescott Bush as Hitler's US banker) had plenty of dealings with The Little Corporal before and during that war. Just the transfer of Standard Oil's coal gasification technology to the Nazis during wartime led to the continuation of the war and the resulting casualties after the Nazis lost the Ploesti oilfields to the Red Army advance would have forced capitulation much sooner. If that wasn't treason during wartime and worthy of a firing squad, I don't know what is.
These are the exact same talking points the reich-wingers were flinging around prior to their invasion of Iraq.
If they want to be credible, they should attack rush and faux opinion for bashing the troops.
They will not and are not credible.
Another party over country group.
If Hitler had been aborted as a fetus, we wouldn't be talking about this now. Ergo, Freedom Watch must be pro abortion? Only logical,
“If Hitler’s warnings were heeded when he wrote ‘Mein Kampf,’ he could have been stopped,”
Ironically, those who keep trying to scare everybody with the "we'd all be speaking German if..." mantra would have been the first in line to bow at Hitler's feet. After all, he was such a strong leader, right? The evil became them, and whether or not they embraced it in reverance or fear, enough followed to enable the sick ego that Hitler was. He wasn't the first, and won't be the last as long as there are those not willing to question the illusion of authority they give the Hitlers of the world. It's so easy to see it in someone else's tyrant, but not our own. They can't admit Bush is the man he is, because somehow they've linked their own egos with his, and they've been enabling his destruction.
Leland Somers @ 26:
Why? Does it contain plans? And Allah Said, Attack the Infidels in 2008? Don't Wait! Or is it just a bunch of jumped-up bullshit like the other religious books it's competing with.
I've read the whole story, and the whole thread and no one is making those statements. The statements we're making are on the order of: jumped-up boogeyman, manufactured threat, thousands of miles from here, already fighting on two fronts how could we open a third? Spend a little time with reality before hopping onto C&L to spout hysterical nonsense, don'cha?
So the fuck what?
Give me a break. The guy you're talking about isn't even in CHARGE in Iran. They don't have NUCULAR WEAPONZ. Even if they did, SO DO WE.
America spent 50 years quaking in our boots over the Soviet threat, one jumped-up boogeyman after another, one fraudulent disastrous war after another, and at the end of it all we had to show for ourselves was a giant marble wall on the D.C. mall. The Soviet system solved itself without coming to the war-porn final confrontation that so many little faux-mil weenies were straigtening their pencils for.
Now we're being flim-flammed on the Islamic threat and war-porn weenies are once again stroking themselves blind in anticipation of bodies hitting the morgue and guns and smoke and KABOOM! It's a bunch of fucking horseshit. Take your boogeymen and shove 'em.
opus @ 83:
Opus,
Well said, all of it!
"They have linked their own egos with his". That always happens with tyrants and dictators; the impotent of society end up deriving a vicarious life as lived by the dictator and experienced 2nd hand by themselves. It part of the attraction for a submissive authoritarian. when the time comes, they end up making good brown-shirted thugs and death camp guards.
We'll kill for oil. Will kill for oil. We'll kill for oil....
Too bad America is "addicted to oil", as W. has admitted, 'cause now she's just a bitch at the mercy of Exxon/Mobil and others. How shame filled.
Imagine how many wind turbines and solar panels $500 billion dollars could have bought that have instead been wasted on a war, making the U.S. debtors rich and the American people poorer. The arrogant & ignorant U.S. will never win this war.
*sigh* Every empire falls sometime and it's often they're own fault.
Blue Buddha @ 25:
sure... why not?... we've legalized gay marriage and that's a corrupting influence on family values :-)
for all those idiots on the right who are so uneducated or just stupid, fuck you. you will never learn. please crawl back into the hole you dug.
It would be interesting if someone did a psychological study of the following sub-groups: ultra-rich, elitists, bluebloods, neocons, etc. What drives them to behave the way they do? Is it power and world domination and to see who ends up with the biggest pile of money by the end of their life? Do they have any sense that middle & lower class America is just worried about basic economic survival?
New Rule: Conservative think tanks must submit a comprehensive plan for the post "shock and awe" portion of any more glorious wars they want to start. Timelines for withdrawal and the total number of troops to complete the job effectively must be stated. If the desired outcome is to never leave the occupied territory, then say it up front.
If organizations like Freedom's Watch want to be taken seriously, then come serious or don't come at all.
slippytoad @ 84:
Extremely well, if not delicately, said. I agree completely. It's come down to this: America, and its Corporate masters in charge, can no longer exist without a constant, external, boogeyman threat. No other economic stimulus will do, it must be an external boogeyman threat. As long as you can soil the diapers of 30-40% of Americans, that will do just fine to keep the threat rolling, and the dollars rolling in.
Hitler couldn't stop after the Battle of Britain, he went on to invade Russia.
Leland Somers @ 26:
I agree with this guy (i assume you are a guy! lol) don't get me wrong, i think the current administration is only slightly less evil than, say, satan himself...but we all know that. It seems liberals (and I am one) are more than willing to give a free pass to guys like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and just focus on the Shrub. The fact is, this guy IS dangerous. I am sure he really doesn't represent the normal folks of his country, but that doesn't make him any less dangerous. Just look at Bush. He obviously doesn't represent the majority of people in our great country, but we're in an unnecessary war nonetheless.
All i can say is, don't discount the evil that can be brought about by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and his kind in favor of merely railing against the evil of Bush. Loss of life is always a tragic thing and I hate to see it happen. There are times that war IS inevitable. Not everyone has the belief or the desire to live in peace. If you have religious differences, fine. LIve with it. It doesn't give you the right to kill others because of it. (think catholic church AND the teachings of Islam)
On a personal note, i think we would have been better to just sink the (how many?!) BILLIONS we have spent in Iraq into renewable energy and fitting our country for hydrogen cars and fuel cells and wind energy. We could have been a long way toward being independent of the oil in the middle east. Let them choke on their oil, in my opinion. The sooner we are free from the need for their fossil fuel, the sooner we will have no reason to interfere in their quaint part of the world.
matt @ 93:
Bullshit. Prove it. We had "this guy is dangerous" in the person of Saddam Hussein, and thousands have died, if not hundreds of thousands, and it turned out that he WASN'T. So the burden to prove the truth of this statement IS THE FUCK ON YOU. Prove it or SHUT UP.
slippytoad @ 94:
i think the proof is in his speeches and in his rhetoric. he preaches hate and intolerance. couple that with Iran's nuclear pursuits and it frightens me. no, he is nothing like saddam. Saddam may or may not have wanted to develop a nuclear weapon. I think it was more likely that he was innocent of that charge and the white house cooked the evidence to support that theory.
and by the way, i was civil in my post. just because you don't agree with someone doesn't mean you need to be uncivil. You sound an awful lot like the neocons you probably hate. at least for now, it is a free country. If you don't agree with me that is fine. I don't have to agree with you, either. i wasn't justifying or suggesting any kind of military action against Iran. I don't think it is necessary or smart. I am just saying I am tired of people complaining about bush and leaving out the fact that Ahmadinejad can possibly be just as dangerous as our President has proven to be. When you say the things Ahmadinejad says on the world stage, I say the ball is in HIS court to prove he isn't a potential psychotic, homicidal lunatic bent on waging war. and what did I say that could have provoked such a reaction, anyway? are you that much a fan of Iran? or just of fanatical islamic regimes? I am betting that if it were a christian oriented state, you would show a surprising lack of outrage.
Freedom's Watch is a terrorist front group who need to be arrested and sent to North Korea....just for fun.
AbbeyHoffmansGhost @ 96:
lets all pitch on for the airfaire:)
solid @ 9:
Maybe we could invade Canada and kill everyone, take their land, kill their women and fuck their buffalo
This war is being pushed hard by the Jewish organizations. AIPAC and FREEDOM's WATCH are two of the organizations that are using their political funding and efforts to wage war on Iraq and now to invade Iran.
Just how in the world does anyone think that there will be anything left of this nation after Cheney starts world war III by invading Iran. Russia , China has already joined sides becauses of the aggressive actions of Bush in waging war on nations with lies and propaganda just because he wishes.
It is starting to look as if there is a reason for this total destruction of our nation by keeping the war in Iraq going, and now starting another war with Iran after they have destroyed our economy and military with the deceit and illegal war. They are again talking about a cake walk , same as they said about Iraq , while knowing d... well Iran has a military that has not handed over their arms up like Suddam had.
But, deciders do not give a d... about what is best for people , only about their own power and wealth....
Everyone knows d... well if this administration had evidence from a credible source they would have it in the news media in 2 second and Fox news would be glad to show facts instead of their fiction.
They knew what in the h... they were doing when they committed treason again a covert CIA agent that just so happen to be the convert CIA agent with a spy networth in "IRAN". Looks like they killed two birds with one stone!!!!
Why do I keep hearing our democrats keep saying our president is a nice person , but they just disagree with his policies. These policies show that the person behind them have no concern , love or passion for this nation or the citizens living in it. In fact they have no feeling for citizens in the whole d... war.
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