foxbat's Comments (275)

“Kucinich is about the only liberal that liberals would have been truly happy with because, as you point out, all of the rest of the heavyweights are much more centrist than most would care to admit. They just look really far-left when put on the same stage with many of the GOP canidates ... and especially so when some of the far-right show up as contenders. Even Dean's starting to look more centrist than he did a few years ago.”

“Thanks for pointing this out. Obama was a pragmatic left-centrist during the election and that's what he has been since the election. With Christmas fast approaching, it reminds me of the joy and euphoria that everyone feels in the lead up to Christmas and the griping and moaning that always happens afterward as people complain about what they got or didn't get, how long their inlaws stayed, who undercooked the turkey, how much weight they gained, how short their vacation was, and how all the snow that fell, that was so beautiful on Christmas Day, is such a pain to maneuver through traveling back to work.”

“Good synopsis.”

“We take clean water for granted here in the West, but even in the West, there are citizens of countries that are in need of fresh drinking water. Also, when you look at the kinds of things that fresh drinking water helps to mitigate, it becomes almost criminal not to work to provide it. We often get overwhelmed in assuming that there's little that we can do to solve the world's problems and, to solve them all, it is quite a daunting task, but fresh water is one of those, pardon the pun, "drop in a bucket" kind of issues. When you realize that one of the leading causes of water-related death is as simple as diarrhea and that the majority of these are children, something as simple as clean water can be a world of difference. Couple that with concrete floors in dwellings, as opposed to dirt floors, and a dramatic impact can be made with just some minor inputs. Throw in a little education and all of a sudden, folks have a fighting chance.

The world has a lot of things that need to be repaired or improved upon and it can seem like an overwhelming task, but there are some really easy places where we can individually and collectively make a difference and clean water is one of those.”

“While I agree in part with your sentiments, we citizens have abdicated our leverage by allowing the recent political climate to escalate to the level where it has grown a life of its own. When people care about politicians only because of who they slept with or what idiotic thing they've said today as opposed to the fact they've offered no legislative leadership, then it's a big problem. When someone like Palin, who has shown in the last year that it really is all about her and no one else, can be talked about seriously as a presidential candidate, then we know that we've lost our grip. Before we start talking about taking back the White House or government, we need to start by taking back our local representative spots and not giving way to the likes of Joe the Plumber or Jon and Kate as those that we give the spotlights to. Just look at our current TV reality shows and you'll see just what kind uphill battle we are up against. I haven't seen a reality show yet that caters to intelligence, good manners, helping others, etc. Instead, the people who get our attention and spotlights are the ignorant, the rude, the dysfunctional, the bullies, the irresponsible, and the list goes on and on. We are at poltical junction, but more than that, we are at a cultural junction and, unfortunately, our politics may be the least of the battlefields.”

“What's so funny is that World War II was seen as FDR's war because he had the biggest impact and skin in the game, despite the fact that Truman was president at the end and also unleashed the atom bomb on Japan. And that's almost 65 years later.

Guess it's all a matter of timing. Now it may well turn out that this will end up being Obama's war depending on what he says tonight and what happens over the next few years. I'm actually going to wait to see what he says tonight and what gets done over the next years before automatically re-assigning the war to him. Bush has/had considerable skin in the game and even when he left, still has skin both in Iraq and Afghanistan.”

“Given the context of the quote and the sentence before and after it, it's quite apparent that 1) she either read the whole thing, but didn't want to give credit to the Native American author or 2) she Googled it and didn't do any research other than Wikipedia. Par for the course.”

“If they had to? That's SOP with Blackwater.

Now, taking them out back and kicking the cr#p out of them, that's one of those "if they had to" items ... come to think of it, that might be SOP too.”

“Let's get off the liberal "gotcha" stuff. That's what O'Reilly's folks do for a living. If someone's foolish enough to buy a t-shirt with incorrect information on it, then they are fair game. People like Jackie think that they are being cute and that they are politically astute, when they really aren't. There are several politicians that also fit that same bill. They should all be called on that ignorance. The problem is that ignorance is becoming the new gateway to celebrity, but scarier still, to political power.”

“Actually, it was the flag ... or more specifcially, flag envy. Apparently the skinheads had a "bigger" Hitler flag than some of the other protesters.”

“While she didn't necessarily bring down the killer, Munley is still a real hero. And so are the other countless people who came to the aid of others that day. From those that put themselves in harms way to bring this guy down to the ones who were wounded, but still sought to help warn others, to those who risked themselves to help the wounded, and everyone else that responded. The problem with the way things turn out is that we are always looking for someone to pin the medal on. Sometimes there are a lot of medals that need to be pinned on several folks.”

“Bush didn't care to recognize that he was the president of the whole country. He only cared about 50%+1 and, after the 2000 election, he actually realized that it didn't even have to be 50%. With him it was always "you're an American as long as you agree with me" and he made no bones about running his admin and the country that way.”

“True, but it feels more like a year because W checked out as soon as he was assured that someone/anyone else would be taking over. Bush was AWOL even before the actual election, but he certainly mad himself really scarce in those last three months in office.”

“They need to turn Spiny Norman loose on them ... "Dinsdale?"”

“Actually, that's "Who is John Galt?," but the point made is correct. For the staunch GOPers who often mis-apply Rand, it's quite ironic that they would rip off copyrighted material from a true capitalists. Certainly seems to be the case of "biting the Rand that feeds them" ... pun intended.”

“It's interesting that the GOP seems to get in so much trouble with rights infringements. How many times did artists have to issue cease-and-desist for GOP candidates to stop using their songs in this past election? Of course the really neat trick was the recent trick when they kind of re-wrote Jackie Robinson's history and turned him into a GOP hero. These are also the same guys who want to tell you who you can and can't marry and what you can and can't do in the bedroom.

For guys that are SOOOOO gungho about THEIR rights being taken away by a "socialist government," they sure don't seem to have any qualms about taking away the legitimately granted capitalist rights of others.”

“Good addition. Too many that used to be able to partake in the American Dream are slowly entering into the ranks of those for who the dream is illusory.”

“That response to Couric's bailout question was frightening. At that instance, McCain would have shot up 10 points in the polls if he had walked onto the stage, said "This interview is over" and then told Palin, on national TV "You're fired!"

Still brings shivers to my spine that there was a chance that Palin could have been a heartbeat away from the presidency. Yes, it's possible that McCain would have completely shut her out of anything other than attending foreign funerals, but then again, given McCain's lapses of judgments and Palin's extreme ambition, she could have also become Dick Cheney Jr.”

“It's a shame that it has to take that to make them consider the options. Almost everyone knows someone who's had a similar situation or problems with insurance that have caused financial hardships, etc. All it really takes is a good ear and an empathetic heart, but unfortunately that's a lot of what's missing in our politicians today ... a good ear and a good heart.”

“Well presented!”

“Now I've listened to those speeches and what I find amazing is that anyone would consider Obama liberal from his speeches. His speeches are not rhetoric, but you are quite right that he uses his words carefully and in a time where we've grown accustomed to not really listening, think "uniter not divider," think "Read my lips, no new taxes," think "It depends what your definition if 'is' is ... this provides a challenge to mainstream America. When I saw Obama in the primaries and the general election, to me he looked like a left-centrist pragmatist. Now that he's president, he looks like ... a left-centrist pragmatist. The problem is that many saw him and thought "opposite of Bush" and then figured out what 180 degrees was and, erroneously, placed Obama there. If you want to track keeping campaign promises verses not keeping them, then it makes sense to use a third-party scorecard ... www.politifact.com. By that scorecard, he's doing quite well of keeping versus breaking. Your assertion of "failure to deliver on ANY campaign promises" is actually the rhetoric that I see.”

“I recall another president who's far left side gave him such grief for not moving fast enough to grant equal rights to another class of people: Abraham Lincoln. The Radical Republicans, quite an interesting name, were dismayed that Lincoln didn't move fast enough on slavery. It took over a year for Lincoln to eventually get around to the Emancipation Proclamation and even that may have taken longer if it were not for the Civil War. As a matter of fact, in his first innaugural address, Lincoln probably gave those who voted for him much more reason to go nuts if they were expecting the abolition of slavery. In it he said,

"I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that 'I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.' "

Despite that slow start, look what came from that administration. Similarly, I believe that we are witnessing historic times, but a little understanding of history and patience helps out. As such, I offer a prayer for patience ... Lord, please give us all the gift patience, and give it to us right now. :-)”

“Nicely stated.”

“Very shallow assessment of the man. I can tell you that everyday he leaves the WH he has to worry about whether he comes home that night and everyday he kisses his wife and kids goodbye in the morning, he has to worry that it might be his last kiss. True, all presidents have this worry to an extent, but that reality is more so for Obama. Yes, King put his life on the line, but Obama has taken a mantle on his shoulders that King never had ... and I say this with no disrespect to Dr. King or his legacy. Obama carries the weight of the race on his shoulders and he knows it ... the same way that Jackie Robinson carried it on his shoulders and Jim Brown and Ernie Davis carried it on their shoulders. They just can't be the first, they have to be extraordinary. In some respects, we've come a very long way as a country, but in some respects, the struggle still continues; however, just like Dr. King, Jackie Robinson, Borwn and Davis, and all of the other "firsts" before him, Obama will still shine, despite the amazing hurdles and will deliver. Sometimes there is a destiny and sometimes that recognition of destiny comes before the promises have all been fulfilled.”

“Sorry ... just noticed that "sending a general into battle with an army" should have been "sending a general into battle withOUT an army."”