Military Strike on Syria?- Page 3

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:13am

"to quote bill haydon from le carre's classic "tinker, tailor, soldier, spy", "it weas an aesthetic choice as much as moral.""

It isn't often one sees Soviet spies with blood on their hands being quoted in support of Sarah Palin.

Updated On: 8/30/13 at 11:13 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:16am

aside from my two votes for dubya, my presidential votes have gone to third party candidates since 1992.

i would welcome a split in the parties to offer something like a truly progressive party and a fiscally conservative/socially moderate party alongside the current parties.

i would also, in their stead, welcome term limits to avoid politician being a lifetime job.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:18am

roscoe, would you do some light housekeeping for me?

[suestorm]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:19am

The Tea Party may become the third party. they are not fans of Boehner

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:19am

"A Randian?"

Not completely...I'm all for moderation. A few Libertarian neighbors have gotten on my last nerve with then endless fuggin' odes to Rand Paul. You can't advocate for laissez-faire capitalism yet turn a blind eye to corporate welfare in the form of farm subsidies for agri-corps and not recognize the marriage of same-sex couples for starters.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:19am

Can any of the big dreams of the dissatisfied electorate come true with the corporate grip on the two major parties in our end stage capitalism culture?

Updated On: 8/30/13 at 11:19 AM

[Roscoe]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:22am

Papa, I'll get word to Ann.

Updated On: 8/30/13 at 11:22 AM

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:26am

*snort* i have missed you roscoe.

javero, but still randy, yes?

depends on which part of the dissatisfied electorate, namo, and which dreams. look at russia to see ugly dreams being fulfilled.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:32am

You can say that again.

And the dreams of the Syrian 'rebels."

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:38am

and look how happy the people are with the sides that we supported and aided in libya and egypt!

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:38am

Namo,

Not to put too fine a point on it, but we also have to get rid of the soft money that now pollutes the quadrennial beauty pageant known as the general election. It's become toxic with everyone thinking they can buy their way into elected office, including Donald Trump.

And don't get me started on the multinational defense contractors that have been awarded sole source contracts to restore a nation and train its internal police presence after we bomb the place to smithereens. I have a cousin who works for one of those firms which shall remain unnamed. He admitted to me a few years ago that he's basically a mercenary with the title of civil engineer.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:44am

Were you inspired in your card-carrying Libertarianism by the ground-breaking philosopher and famous fiction writer Ayn Rand?

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:52am

namo, quit beating up on the libertarian or he'll sick rand paul's dad on you and nobody wants that.

i would probably define myself as a libertarian if i were to choose a political label these days - which i adamantly refuse to do - since i can no longer with any conscience ally myself with the gop. that's more because i find them too stupid as opposed to any specific policy dispute. their abject refusal to evolve and their foolish fealty to the so-cons dooms them to failure. i don't like losing. i especially don't like losing because we've hamstrung ourselves by adherence to a failed cultural gambit.

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 11:54am

It's amazing how little there is about Syria in this thread.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:05pm

i dunno, song, out of 54 comments 16 deal specifically with syria that's a good 30% of the thread.

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:07pm

"Were you inspired in your card-carrying Libertarianism by the ground-breaking philosopher and famous fiction writer Ayn Rand?"

Not really. It's that I've spent nearly 25 years either working for a federal contractor or as a fed employee. In the contracting ambit, the major contracts are awarded based on the efforts of K St lobbying firms and influence peddlers. Inside the gov't, the pay system is socialist which I didn't care for during my stints. It's not an environment that fosters innovation, productivity, or love of labor. Senior execs are often bought and paid for political appointees who just happen to have been major campaign contributors to the POTUS regardless of party affiliation.

DC is a cesspool of nepotism and cronyism. That plus my overall disgust at the doing of the two big parties played a larger role in my leaving the Dems for the idealistic libertarians more so than Ayn Rand's writings. I like some of her literary corpus related to her philosophy of Objectivism but don't subscribe to any cult of personality, not even Obama's.

[FindingNamo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:46pm

"hamstrung ourselves by adherence to a failed cultural gambit."

You captured it all in nine little words.

[papalovesmambo]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:48pm

meanwhile in syria

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 12:56pm

Hollande says that France is willing to join the US in Operation Fool's Errand.
Are the French the Best Allies We Could Find?

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 1:18pm

I do wonder if Cameron will throw the UK into the fray regardless of the parliament's rejection last night. While it would not be morally just, he has the legal authority to do so. I could see him sticking his neck out there in a desperate attempt to continue keeping up the appearance of America's 'wingman.'

[Borstalboy]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 1:33pm

As Tony Blair's actions has crowned him the single most despised man in the UK, I somehow doubt it.

[Liza's Headband]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 1:44pm

borstal, I admit I am not as familiar with Britain's political scene as others on here might be. But isn't Cameron already generally disliked by his people? He's more moderate than Blair. Still, that doesn't say much.

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 2:00pm

White House intel report at the link below. I haven't read it yet because I'm stuck on a gaul-awful teleconference.
US Gov't Assessment On Syria

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 2:01pm

And those who've actually witnessed the theater of war are less inclined to feel the need to flex their military muscles internationally, notwithstanding McCain.

Also notwithstanding Truman (Korea), Eisenhower (Vietnam, Guatamala) and Kennedy (Vietnam escalation, Bay of Pigs, and Dominican Republic).

There's really no proof for your assertion that those who have seen combat are less likely to go to war.

[javero]

Posted: 8/30/13 at 2:13pm

"There's really no proof for your assertion that those who have seen combat are less likely to go to war."

I concede you the point. I was reluctant to append 'with religious zealots' to that sentence.