Campaign 2008

[NoCalMike 0]

You need to also consider the possiblity that maybe the story disappeared because there might not have been any truth to it.

The media doesn't talk about a lot of things. Using lack of coverage doesn't validate dismissing this. This isn't even a loony tale about Israel sending missiles dressed up like planes at the towers. It's something that could have legitimately happened, but because it's talking about that day it, as well as a lot of other things, are brushed aside.

 

I don't know what happened, but until its been proven that this happened, we're talking about something that alledgedly happened. I've never heard of this, never seen any evidence of this, and for all I know its just some rumor somebody started. NoCalMike was talking about it like it was a proven fact Guiliani is personally responsible for a no-bid contract no one can verify existed, that there was an equipment malfunction that no one else has mentioned, and that there was a conspiracy by the media or government to cover this up. A pretty serious charge has been made here, and I'd like some proof before I jump to any conclusions.

 

 

I didn't say there was a media conspiracy to cover it up. The media is the media, it is lazy and sensationalistic, they hardly ever cover newsworthy stories, so it's not like I think they PURPOSELY ignored this. It is just the media being the media.

 

http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.ph...r=0&thold=0

Kristin Breitweiser –- Blog -- Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-brei...ct_b_18564.html

 

Can someone please explain to me why Rudy Giuliani gets to give a victim's impact statement at the Moussaoui penalty phase hearing? Which family member did Guiliani lose in the attacks?

 

Forgive me, but Giuliani is the person responsible for deciding to locate NYC's emergency command center in the World Trade Center along with a diesal fuel tank (against the advice of certain FDNY officials) before 9/11. Locating the city's emergency command center in a known al Qaeda target (the towers were struck in 1993 and al Qaeda publicly promised to return to finish the job) was a colossal failure in judgment on his part that cost hundreds of lives on 9/11.

 

During the attacks, because the command center was rendered inoperable, NYC had no clear chain of command and no physical command structure in place to coordinate the emergency response. Frankly, the whole reason Giuliani was on television all day and available for interviews was because he was scrambling around the streets trying to set up a command post since the one he had designed and located was paralyzed during the attacks.

 

Anyone who wants to witness the results of NYC's abysmal emergency response to the attacks need only listen to the recently released 911 tapes that chillingly reveal a total lack of coordination and flow of vital life-saving information plaguing the city and its emergency response apparatus that day. (By the way, Mayor Bloomberg has yet to fix the 911 system--even five years later.)

 

Furthermore, Giuliani is also responsible for giving the FDNY inoperable Motorola radios. This, too, cost hundreds of lives when firemen did not hear the order to evacuate the towers prior to their collapse. (By the way, those radios are still not fixed--blame this on Bloomberg, too.)

 

How is a man who is responsible for such horrific and deadly judgments invited to give a victim's impact statement as to how 9/11 impacted him?

 

By these standards, should I expect Condoleezza Rice (Ms. "Nobody knew planes could be used as missiles"), George Tenet (Mr. "I failed to tell the FBI for 18 months that two known al Qaeda killers were living in San Diego and planning the 9/11 attacks"), and perhaps, George Bush (Mr. "I was reading a story about a pet goat while thousands of people perished and burned alive in the World Trade Center because I didn't want to alarm the school children.") to provide victim's impact statements, as well? Check out comments from readers as well. 95 at time of posting.

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The above proves nothing I know....however I am being dragged off the computer and I was trying to find "something" within a 10 second time frame.

[Art Sandusky 0]

See, I'll never get the "he didn't want to disturb the children" defense. You're the freakin' President! The kids will understand when they get home or hear about it somehow. Shit, the only people in America who had no idea what was happening by 10:30 or 11 were either by themselves in bumfuckingnowhere or still asleep.

 

Back to the 2008 campaign, with various party leaders and whips and whatnot being determined, does this sort of stuff historically weed out Presidential candidates? I know Dole was the Senate Majority Leader when he initially ran and gave up his post during the campaign, but beyond that I honestly don't know.

[SuperJerk 0]

You need to also consider the possiblity that maybe the story disappeared because there might not have been any truth to it.

The media doesn't talk about a lot of things. Using lack of coverage doesn't validate dismissing this. This isn't even a loony tale about Israel sending missiles dressed up like planes at the towers. It's something that could have legitimately happened, but because it's talking about that day it, as well as a lot of other things, are brushed aside.

 

I don't know what happened, but until its been proven that this happened, we're talking about something that alledgedly happened. I've never heard of this, never seen any evidence of this, and for all I know its just some rumor somebody started. NoCalMike was talking about it like it was a proven fact Guiliani is personally responsible for a no-bid contract no one can verify existed, that there was an equipment malfunction that no one else has mentioned, and that there was a conspiracy by the media or government to cover this up. A pretty serious charge has been made here, and I'd like some proof before I jump to any conclusions.

 

 

I didn't say there was a media conspiracy to cover it up. The media is the media, it is lazy and sensationalistic, they hardly ever cover newsworthy stories, so it's not like I think they PURPOSELY ignored this. It is just the media being the media.

 

http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.ph...r=0&thold=0

Kristin Breitweiser –- Blog -- Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-brei...ct_b_18564.html

 

Can someone please explain to me why Rudy Giuliani gets to give a victim's impact statement at the Moussaoui penalty phase hearing? Which family member did Guiliani lose in the attacks?

 

Forgive me, but Giuliani is the person responsible for deciding to locate NYC's emergency command center in the World Trade Center along with a diesal fuel tank (against the advice of certain FDNY officials) before 9/11. Locating the city's emergency command center in a known al Qaeda target (the towers were struck in 1993 and al Qaeda publicly promised to return to finish the job) was a colossal failure in judgment on his part that cost hundreds of lives on 9/11.

 

During the attacks, because the command center was rendered inoperable, NYC had no clear chain of command and no physical command structure in place to coordinate the emergency response. Frankly, the whole reason Giuliani was on television all day and available for interviews was because he was scrambling around the streets trying to set up a command post since the one he had designed and located was paralyzed during the attacks.

 

Anyone who wants to witness the results of NYC's abysmal emergency response to the attacks need only listen to the recently released 911 tapes that chillingly reveal a total lack of coordination and flow of vital life-saving information plaguing the city and its emergency response apparatus that day. (By the way, Mayor Bloomberg has yet to fix the 911 system--even five years later.)

 

Furthermore, Giuliani is also responsible for giving the FDNY inoperable Motorola radios. This, too, cost hundreds of lives when firemen did not hear the order to evacuate the towers prior to their collapse. (By the way, those radios are still not fixed--blame this on Bloomberg, too.)

 

How is a man who is responsible for such horrific and deadly judgments invited to give a victim's impact statement as to how 9/11 impacted him?

 

By these standards, should I expect Condoleezza Rice (Ms. "Nobody knew planes could be used as missiles"), George Tenet (Mr. "I failed to tell the FBI for 18 months that two known al Qaeda killers were living in San Diego and planning the 9/11 attacks"), and perhaps, George Bush (Mr. "I was reading a story about a pet goat while thousands of people perished and burned alive in the World Trade Center because I didn't want to alarm the school children.") to provide victim's impact statements, as well? Check out comments from readers as well. 95 at time of posting.

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The above proves nothing I know....however I am being dragged off the computer and I was trying to find "something" within a 10 second time frame.

 

I don't understand why this blog entry is being presented as credible evidence Guiliani is guilty of criminal negligence on 9/11.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I can't imagine Rudy making it through the Republican primaries without some major flipping of the flop.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Now that my dog Russ is out, I think I might throw my support behind Mike Gravel.

 

http://www.gravel2008.us/

[Guest Felonies!]

They're gonna drive all over him.

[NoCalMike 0]

You need to also consider the possiblity that maybe the story disappeared because there might not have been any truth to it.

The media doesn't talk about a lot of things. Using lack of coverage doesn't validate dismissing this. This isn't even a loony tale about Israel sending missiles dressed up like planes at the towers. It's something that could have legitimately happened, but because it's talking about that day it, as well as a lot of other things, are brushed aside.

 

I don't know what happened, but until its been proven that this happened, we're talking about something that alledgedly happened. I've never heard of this, never seen any evidence of this, and for all I know its just some rumor somebody started. NoCalMike was talking about it like it was a proven fact Guiliani is personally responsible for a no-bid contract no one can verify existed, that there was an equipment malfunction that no one else has mentioned, and that there was a conspiracy by the media or government to cover this up. A pretty serious charge has been made here, and I'd like some proof before I jump to any conclusions.

 

 

I didn't say there was a media conspiracy to cover it up. The media is the media, it is lazy and sensationalistic, they hardly ever cover newsworthy stories, so it's not like I think they PURPOSELY ignored this. It is just the media being the media.

 

http://www.911citizenswatch.org/modules.ph...r=0&thold=0

Kristin Breitweiser –- Blog -- Huffington Post

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kristen-brei...ct_b_18564.html

 

Can someone please explain to me why Rudy Giuliani gets to give a victim's impact statement at the Moussaoui penalty phase hearing? Which family member did Guiliani lose in the attacks?

 

Forgive me, but Giuliani is the person responsible for deciding to locate NYC's emergency command center in the World Trade Center along with a diesal fuel tank (against the advice of certain FDNY officials) before 9/11. Locating the city's emergency command center in a known al Qaeda target (the towers were struck in 1993 and al Qaeda publicly promised to return to finish the job) was a colossal failure in judgment on his part that cost hundreds of lives on 9/11.

 

During the attacks, because the command center was rendered inoperable, NYC had no clear chain of command and no physical command structure in place to coordinate the emergency response. Frankly, the whole reason Giuliani was on television all day and available for interviews was because he was scrambling around the streets trying to set up a command post since the one he had designed and located was paralyzed during the attacks.

 

Anyone who wants to witness the results of NYC's abysmal emergency response to the attacks need only listen to the recently released 911 tapes that chillingly reveal a total lack of coordination and flow of vital life-saving information plaguing the city and its emergency response apparatus that day. (By the way, Mayor Bloomberg has yet to fix the 911 system--even five years later.)

 

Furthermore, Giuliani is also responsible for giving the FDNY inoperable Motorola radios. This, too, cost hundreds of lives when firemen did not hear the order to evacuate the towers prior to their collapse. (By the way, those radios are still not fixed--blame this on Bloomberg, too.)

 

How is a man who is responsible for such horrific and deadly judgments invited to give a victim's impact statement as to how 9/11 impacted him?

 

By these standards, should I expect Condoleezza Rice (Ms. "Nobody knew planes could be used as missiles"), George Tenet (Mr. "I failed to tell the FBI for 18 months that two known al Qaeda killers were living in San Diego and planning the 9/11 attacks"), and perhaps, George Bush (Mr. "I was reading a story about a pet goat while thousands of people perished and burned alive in the World Trade Center because I didn't want to alarm the school children.") to provide victim's impact statements, as well? Check out comments from readers as well. 95 at time of posting.

--------------------------------------------------------------------

The above proves nothing I know....however I am being dragged off the computer and I was trying to find "something" within a 10 second time frame.

 

I don't understand why this blog entry is being presented as credible evidence Guiliani is guilty of criminal negligence on 9/11.

 

It's not. Maybe I misunderstood a previous reply of yours but it seemed that you were saying that because YOU had never heard of what I was talking about, then it wasn't true....so right before getting pulled from the computer by my girlfriend's desire to go shopping(lord knows why I HAD TO GO!?!) I ran a search on the topic and just copied and pasted the first thing I saw just to show I wasn't completely making it up.....Did you read what I typed afterwards, "This proves nothing I know........etc"

[SuperJerk 0]

It's not. Maybe I misunderstood a previous reply of yours but it seemed that you were saying that because YOU had never heard of what I was talking about, then it wasn't true....so right before getting pulled from the computer by my girlfriend's desire to go shopping(lord knows why I HAD TO GO!?!) I ran a search on the topic and just copied and pasted the first thing I saw just to show I wasn't completely making it up.....Did you read what I typed afterwards, "This proves nothing I know........etc"

 

I said there "might not have been any truth to it." I'd like some proof before I jump to any conclusions. Until I see some back and forth between people making allegations and people defending Guiliani, I'm going to consider it a rumor. I didn't see where you wrote "This proves nothing I know........etc"

[Art Sandusky 0]

Isn't a back and forth what's going on now? Oh, wait, it's not a back-and-forth because you're always the authority and are correct, end of story.

 

I'd rather watch the senators from Alaska brawl inside the octagon before either of them ran for President.

[SuperJerk 0]

No, I meant a back and forth between the partisan hacks in the media, who will dig this story up eventually.

 

However, I see your point about how I always think I'm right with my totalitarian-like suggestion we wait until more facts come out before jumping to conclusions, and my use of absolutist phrases like "might not have been."

[SuperJerk 0]

McCain lays out Republican road to recovery

 

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Sen. John McCain envisions a different direction for the GOP after last week's devastating defeats -- and in laying it out, the Republican is sending an implicit message that he should be the next leader.

 

"We departed rather tragically from our conservative principles," McCain lamented recently, offering his take on why the GOP fell from power in Congress. He urged a return to what he called the foundation of the Republican Party -- restrained spending, smaller government, lower taxes, a strong national defense and family values.

 

Fifteen months before the first 2008 presidential nominating contests, McCain is positioning himself as the Republican standard-bearer while President Bush takes on lame-duck status and dispirited party faithful search for a road to recovery. The election cycle was sobering, with GOP candidates losing at all levels of government. (Watch what led up to McCain's bid -- 1:56 )

 

The four-term Arizona senator will deliver back-to-back speeches Thursday to organizations considered conservative cornerstones of the Republican Party -- the Federalist Society and GOPAC. He will discuss the current and future state of the GOP.

 

"Our party's licking its wounds but also looking for a direction. And it's smart for any political leader to stand up and say here's how we move forward," said David Carney, a Republican strategist in New Hampshire. "The Republican activists will listen."

 

'The high ground'

McCain is taking advantage of the post-election period to outline a vision for the party much like Ronald Reagan did after the Republican defeat in the 1976 presidential election -- and, perhaps, preview the central theme of a presidential campaign.

 

"Republicans got their teeth kicked in all over the country," said Katon Dawson, South Carolina's party chairman. "Now, there's a window for all people with presidential aspirations to, in political terms, catch the high ground."

 

As expected, McCain will formally launch a presidential exploratory committee Thursday by filing paperwork with the Federal Election Commission that will allow him to raise money and travel the country while weighing a bid. The committee's Web site -- www.exploremccain.com -- went online a day earlier, and McCain's GOPAC speech will be broadcast on the site.

 

Despite all the action, McCain says he will wait until after the Christmas holiday to decide whether to make a second bid for the White House. He lost to Bush in a contentious race in 2000, when the senator was the underdog and bypassed the revered Iowa caucuses to focus on independent-friendly New Hampshire.

 

This time, McCain no doubt will compete in Iowa, given that he is widely considered the one to beat in a crowded field of potential candidates. His front-runner status is due in part to the Republican Party's history of making the runner-up in the previous presidential election the next nominee.

 

Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani has filed paperwork to test the waters for the GOP nomination, and Rep. Duncan Hunter of California also has announced his intention to run. On Wednesday, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson said he intends to explore a possible candidacy.

 

McCain's other would-be 2008 Republican rivals include Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, Sens. Sam Brownback of Kansas and Chuck Hagel of Nebraska, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich.

 

Over the past year, McCain has repeatedly demurred on questions about his political future and said he was focused entirely on helping Republicans get elected across the country.

 

The strategy

He spent 2006 sowing goodwill within the GOP ranks, making 346 campaign appearances, raising $10.5 million for candidates and donating another nearly $1.5 million to their races. He directed most of his donations in the final month of the campaign to races in Iowa and New Hampshire.

 

In the meantime, his aides were busy building grassroots organizations and lining up support in crucial states, including Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina, with local officials affiliating themselves with his political action committee -- Straight Talk America.

 

At the national level, McCain beefed up his political operation by bringing on one-time Bush advisers to work alongside his own cadre of longtime loyalists.

 

Politically, he continued to build upon his reputation from 2000 as an independent in the party while also seeking to repair splinters with the conservative wing still angry over some of his positions.

 

He has been a forceful defender of Bush's Iraq policy, but also has put his own stamp on how the administration should handle the conflict. He has called for more troops to stabilize the country, placing him at odds with much of the country and to the right of many of his potential GOP rivals.

 

"Basically you're advocating the status quo here today which I think the American people in the last election said that is not an acceptable condition for the American people," McCain told Gen. John Abizaid at a congressional hearing Wednesday. "I regret deeply that you seem to think that the status quo and the rate of progress we're making is acceptable. I think most Americans do not."

 

Many fiscal and social conservatives alike remain skeptical about McCain, but the Republicans' losses in the last election actually could give him an opportunity to strengthen his standing with that crucial GOP base.

 

"The conservative folks are interested in leadership after last week," said Greg Mueller, a Republican strategist in Alexandria, Virginia. "He could use the liberal Democratic Congress as a foil in some ways to appease the conservatives and show leadership."

 

McCain was the only major Republican candidate in 2000 that wanted to use the surplus to pay down the debt instead of blowing it on a tax cut or to not pander to the religious groups. So, yes, of course the conservatives are going to be skeptical of him. Too bad he's spent the last 6 years doing the exact opposite.

 

Republicans should be reassured by the fact that one of their biggest cheerleaders for the Bush Administration has THE PLAN TO CONSERVATIVE ELECTION VICTORY~! at a time the very policies he's been pushing for the last 5 years have proven to have been a total failure and the president is highly unpopular. Let's also not forget McCain's the political genius who somehow manages to win reelection as a Republican in Arizona election after election.

[Art Sandusky 0]

However, I see your point about how I always think I'm right with my totalitarian-like suggestion we wait until more facts come out before jumping to conclusions, and my use of absolutist phrases like "might not have been."

I have a feeling that anything I say is going to result in some cutesy ironic self-assessment as a reply, so I'm going to proactively call you a poophead and let the thread get back on track.

 

The Libertarian Party already has six guys who have announced. I also didn't realize that Tommy Thompson had announced a candidacy too.

[snuffbox 0]

I'm still amazed that, despite the obvious success of a moderate like Tommy, the GOP still insists on running far-right guys in doomed state-wide races in Wisco.

 

For a party that is supposedly so good at politics, they tend to consistently make some really stupid blunders. And have been getting pretty bad about it lately.

[NoCalMike 0]

McCain the "moderate" is such a fucking facade. Well ok, maybe his "true feelings" on certain issues that are buried deep down inside of him, are, but over the past six years he has proven to be nothing more then a hack who will roll over on his own principles to preserve his party's power......"Not as bad as Bush" isn't going to cut it in 2008.

[SuperJerk 0]

Tommy Thompson was the king of welfare reform back in the 90s. Does he have any other issues he can run on?

[snuffbox 0]

He told the Bush Team what's what upon his leaving the cabinet. That was neat.

 

His length in office was impressive.

 

He enjoys beer.

 

And, he seems to have some of that old Lyndon Johnson/Bill Clinton charm with the ladies.

[Guest Felonies!]

Lyndon Johnson strikes me as someone who must've been an extremely flatulent man.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

Sen. Bayh will not be receiving a vote from me, unfortunately. Hopefully, there will be enough execs from MBNA to pull him through if he runs.

 

http://www.drummajorinstitute.com/congress...er.php?billno=2

[snuffbox 0]

Lyndon Johnson strikes me as someone who must've been an extremely flatulent man.

 

It was something he was very proud of.

[SuperJerk 0]

Sen. Bayh will not be receiving a vote from me, unfortunately. Hopefully, there will be enough execs from MBNA to pull him through if he runs.

 

http://www.drummajorinstitute.com/congress...er.php?billno=2

 

I take Bayh voted for this bill made it harder for people to file for bankruptcy? I'll admit some of the provisions don't seem fair, but neither does being able to skip out on paying your bills.

[Big Ol' Smitty 0]

I'd say the $300K he's received in contributions from the credit card industry had more to do with his vote for that terrible bill than anything else.

[snuffbox 0]

Damn, bending over for the filthy credit card urchins. Thats too bad.

[SuperJerk 0]

Remind me to tell you about the time Visa broke into my house, put a gun to my head, and forced me to buy $2000 worth of stuff with one of their cards. Bastards.

[snuffbox 0]

Oh, I know it. They're fine citizens. Children & pets do need credit cards, so sending several letters daily trying to sign them up is important for this country, our future, and the fabled career of Evan Bayh. I do believe that 10 pages of small print that still shades the fact that a 20% interest jump is iminent, and it is appropriate for such changes to come at random. And, it goes without saying that a $30 (or higher) late-fee is, like, totally fair. And also, reminders (phone calls on the half-hour all day) are great when you're late on a bill.

 

We need more courageous Senators like Bayh to stand up to those dirty Americans that get in trouble with their credit cards. Plus, he probably needed a really nice swimming pool installed at his house.

[SuperJerk 0]

Everyone should understand the basic principle of borrowing money for interest. If you pay it off at the end of the month, you don't pay any interest at all. Nobody's being tricked.

 

Maybe interest rates wouldn't be so high if so many people didn't declare bankruptcy and default on paying their bills? If you pay your credit card bill on time, your introductory rate will go down from 20% to under 10%. The interest rate is tied to how good your credit history is. Even 9% is still not a great rate, but its a short term loan and they have to make their money somehow. I'll agree that the amount of credit card solicitations are ridicules, but I just throw the ones I get in the trash. People with bad credit usually can't get credit cards even if they do get applications mailed to them.

[snuffbox 0]

And besides, it was only $300,000 for a vote against people that find themselves in financial trouble. All he has to do is get a few more of these pay-per-votes and he'll have one hell of a campaign fund. Then, Vanilla Bayh can really work hard for middle class families.

[SuperJerk 0]

If your entire argument is that Bayh was bribed by the credit card industry, then present some proof.

 

Otherwise all you have is a link to an anti-bankruptcy reform article written by an interest group which makes no mention of Bayh or who contributed to his campaign fund.

[Art Sandusky 0]

And both of you knuckleheads are ignoring that credit cards shouldn't exist in the first place.

[SuperJerk 0]

Why the hell not?

[Gary Floyd 0]

My God, what have I created?