To the editor:
This is a response to “Libya answers” (Public Forum, Sept. 18).
You did well, hitting all the main Republican/teabag talking points with broad strokes. “A” for hitting the mark. “F” for content.n enemy killed Chris Stevens; I doubt they hate all things American. The attack on the consulate was well-coordinated. They were likely disaffected Moammar Gadhafi military striking back at someone supporting the current Libyan government. They were not raging Islamic terrorists filled with hatred for America. If that were the case, why is the Libyan government actively hunting for those who killed Chris Stevens?
This administration is not weak and does not bow to “Arab” heads of state. If it were, we would not be supporting the Libyan government, working with the Egyptian government and so on.
The withdrawal deadlines were designed to get us out of an unsustainable and undeclared war.
President Obama was not apologizing for America. The Washington Post checked all such statements it could find and found them without merit. One source checked was Romney’s 2010 book, which was based on statements taken out of context.
President Obama made himself a target when he ran for president and was elected. Not all of those gunning for him are from the Middle East. Many are from our own country. Look at the Fort Stewart soldiers recently arrested for attempting an armed overthrow of the U.S. government.
Any president would have said we got Osama bin Laden. Our soldiers found Saddam Hussein; President Bush commented on it. Is that bragging or simply stating a fact?
Comments
wounded_soldier 9 months ago
Thank you, good LTE.
tomatogrower 9 months ago
So "disaffected Moammar Gadhafi military" aren't terrorists? Why not? Do you have more respect for "disaffected Moammar Gadhafi military", than you do terrorists? I think they are on of the same - murderers. In fact, let's stop calling them anything but murderers. There's an even better label.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 months ago
You'd be saying the same thing no matter how they reacted to this event.
And if Romney were president, and he reacted exactly the way the Obama Admin. has, you'd likely be falling all over yourself with praise.
KansasConscience 9 months ago
So, bozo is correct in his assumption about you, right? At least that's what your comment leads us to believe.
Getaroom 9 months ago
You express ignorance of simple facts, FactTwister.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 9 months ago
"I think someone needs a little sunshine and fresh air"
Maybe you should invite him out to the Linwood countryside.
kippcolorado 9 months ago
Great response, Ralph. Way too many TeaBaggers on here with nothing to do but spout right-wing nonsense. They make me ashamed of my native state, along with the ridiculous birther/brownbach/kovach/koch CrazyTrain that you have installed in Topeka. Opal Jayne Kennedy would be ashamed of the Kansas Republicans. Right, Ralph? And if you don't know who Miss Kennedy was and how she influenced a generation, then you may not have any true "conservative Kansas values". Y'all really need to pull your heads out of the sand and figure out your politics...or, you could just continue to get older, poorer, and dumber. Which is exactly what your TeaBag heroes have in mind for you. Cheers!
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Speech by President Obama, Rhenus Sports Arena, Strasbourg, France, April 3, 2009.[1] So we must be honest with ourselves. In recent years we've allowed our Alliance to drift. I know that there have been honest disagreements over policy, but we also know that there's something more that has crept into our relationship. In America, there's a failure to appreciate Europe's leading role in the world. Instead of celebrating your dynamic union and seeking to partner with you to meet common challenges, there have been times where America has shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive.
President Obama, interview with Al Arabiya, January 27, 2009.[2] My job to the Muslim world is to communicate that the Americans are not your enemy. We sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect. But if you look at the track record, as you say, America was not born as a colonial power, and that the same respect and partnership that America had with the Muslim world as recently as 20 or 30 years ago, there's no reason why we can't restore that.
President Obama, address to the Summit of the Americas opening ceremony, Hyatt Regency, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago, April 17, 2009.[3] All of us must now renew the common stake that we have in one another. I know that promises of partnership have gone unfulfilled in the past, and that trust has to be earned over time. While the United States has done much to promote peace and prosperity in the hemisphere, we have at times been disengaged, and at times we sought to dictate our terms. But I pledge to you that we seek an equal partnership. There is no senior partner and junior partner in our relations; there is simply engagement based on mutual respect and common interests and shared values. So I'm here to launch a new chapter of engagement that will be sustained throughout my administration. The United States will be willing to acknowledge past errors where those errors have been made.
jafs 8 months, 4 weeks ago
All of those seem to be reasonably accurate to me.
Do you think America is perfect, makes no mistakes, and hasn't been arrogant in it's dealings with other nations?
JHOK32 8 months, 4 weeks ago
I suppose Bush's "foreign policy" is considered a raving "success?"
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
How many Democrats voted to go to war...almost all of them...It was not Bush's war as you want to make it seem, it was our representatives, Republican and Democrats and many other world leaders as well. Try to rewrite history if you will but keep in mind there are those who honestly remember what happened.
Your premise of blaming Bush is infantile it was American Policy.
Sadaam Hussein refused to cooperate and made most to believe that he DID have WMD's after much diplomatic effort and Sadaam's refusals we took military action.
I get so sick of this idiotic line of reasoning which simply is not true. The fact of the matter is this was a bipartisan war and nothing you say or write or lie about can change history.
jafs 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Except that it's clear in hindsight that Bush ignored certain intelligence and exaggerated other intelligence, and specifically made connections that were false - eg. Iraq is connected to Al-Quaeda and the 9/11 attacks.
Also, SH was an ally, who we armed and trained - when we did that, his horribleness didn't seem to be much of an issue. It only became one later on.
Corey Williams 8 months, 4 weeks ago
61% of house democrats and 42% of senate democrats voted against it. And it was "...to authorize President Bush to attack Iraq if Saddam Hussein refuses to give up weapons of mass destruction as required by U.N. resolutions." http://articles.cnn.com/2002-10-11/politics/iraq.us_1_biological-weapons-weapons-inspectors-iraq?_s=PM:ALLPOLITICS
http://www.factcheck.org/2008/02/no-wmds-in-iraq/ But with no WMDs to give up, we couldn't have attacked.
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Teabaggers is offensive. People can disagree without name calling. People do not need to be hoodwinked into believing something about another individual as a result of being called names. Let's examine people's ideas on both sides of an issue and see if they are acting on the level and really believe they are doing the right thing from their perspective for the country.
I suspect they are. The heart will not pump with out the brain and the brain will die without the heart.. All of us need to work together and find ways we can take what is best about both ways of thinking and have them work together.
The Tea Party was formed as a result of an out of control democratic party that even with wide disagreement with how to reform healthcare they shoved it down our throat anyway. Many in the Tea Party were democrats as well as republicans. A government acting in a tyrannical manner should be opposed. The dissatisfaction of the people was heard loud and clear in 2010 and a correction was made to the power structure in Washington. The occupy movement was a similar reaction, the funny part is that the Tea Party and Occupy often talk about the same things.
What I get tired of is people who mindlessly suggest one course of action with out thinking about the consequences or in other words. Sure I would love to fly to Alaska, but if I do, do I have enough money to feed my family? If the answer is no than I should not go to Alaska. We are not only going to Alaska we are hitting Australia and making our way to Norway as well. Problem is we are not paying for it, we are expecting future generations to make it right.
jafs 8 months, 4 weeks ago
I like your first paragraphs a lot, and hope we can talk without insults, and find the best solutions for our problems as well.
The TP was formed as a reaction to the fact that both parties have shown little to no fiscal responsibility for many years, though, in my view.
Agreed - both of those groups are tired of the status quo, and want the government to work better. They just have very different ideas about what that would mean.
deec 8 months, 4 weeks ago
It's kind of funny that people only got offended about the budget and stuff when a Democratic president took over. they sure weren't organizing when the previous president was in office.
The movement sure grew fast, but I suppose it's easy to do when you have Koch money backing you up.
Corey Williams 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Or when Reagan left us with $3 trillion in debt. Where was the outrage about borrowing against our future then?
kippcolorado 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Teabaggers are indeed offensive. I relish the idea of insulting you and your nasty little group of haters. You're Teabagger temper tantrum over the past two years has bored the American people and exposed your quest for for legitimized social selfishness. Prepare to have your Teabagger asses kicked in the national political arena. But not in Taliban Teabagger Kansas, since there are no more responsible adults in Republican politics there. I'm turning your racist, homophobic, paranoid, un-American, Teabagger behaviors right back on you. Think it's only Teabaggers who can raise hell with others in a public setting? Guess again. I'm here, I'm standing with Ralph and the rest of the Lawrence natives I grew up with there 50 years ago when people learned common-sense Kansas values and respect for our government. I will call your offensive Teabagger "movement" whatever I damn well please. Where's your birth certificate? Teabagger.
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
You are such a statesman, your true colors shine through. So glad you are out of office. Scoreboard right now shows defeat after defeat for you and your ilk. Let's take a look at 2010, how sad to lose all of those seats. Losing Massachusetts my G_d, Kennedy's seat! Must really be a sore spot. But compared to what happened in Wisconsin it is no wonder all you can spew is hate and vitriol.
With a failed record like the current administration that is all you have left.
I in the past respected and thought you were a reasoned individual but reading this, I can tell you were just a political hack all along. You care nothing about what happens to this country as long as your guy is in place. Your disrespectful and childish behavior is telling.
Wipe the spittle from your chin, it is really unattractive.
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
BTW, from what I can tell not many in Douglas County learned common-sense Kansas values as the are the only county in the state that has voted for Gore, Kerry and Obama. Lawrence is so far out of step it is ridiculous. If you did learn these values then you have forgotten them, people in the rest of the state are friendly polite individuals not pompous blowhards who can only insult and degrade and when it is suggested that we discuss ideas, they blow a gasket as they know with all of their heart the ideas they represent can not stand up, so much they resort to name calling, asking for tax returns, calling a presidential candidate a felon and a murderer. You may win the presidential election as it is difficult to beat an incumbent but if you do, it was not based on ideas, it was based on lies and just shoving the problems that this country faces to another generation. I promise a chicken in every pot, or beer after you vote gets 'em every-time.
Corey Williams 8 months, 4 weeks ago
"Wipe the spittle from your chin, it is really unattractive."
homechanger 8 months, 4 weeks ago
Corey you just proved his point, thanks.
kansanbygrace 8 months, 4 weeks ago
I was offended by the same things the Tea Party was expressing. I was offended by the multiplication of a more invasive government, the government restricting more of our liberty, the same government throwing enormous amounts of money where it was not needed and was not paid for. That was in 1992. If the Tea Party had made their very arguments seven years earlier, their position would be stronger.
Liberal 8 months, 4 weeks ago
The Republican Party is just as guilty of massive spending...My fear is that the progress that has been made in changing the party will fail. That the republicans will repeat their spending ways and we will remain in the same boat we are in now. Now on the other hand no one has added as much debt as the current administration. I would not even vote republican if a alternative was in place, alas there is not, so Romny it is. Hopefully he will remain true to his word.
We can not continue to spend what we do not have...it is a recipe for disaster and I am not sure why the old guard can not see this. All you have to do is look at Europe and see what road we are on.
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