For those of you who are thinking of voting for Kerry...........

[surplus1]

Folks living in a glass house should be cautious about throwing rocks.

I remember that while striking rEAL pilots were picketing the ALPA headquarters at 1625 Mass. Ave., the then President was ordering catering from outside and union workers from the catering company declined to cross the rEAL picket line. That day there were no "D-burgers" served @ 1625.

I remember that a certain union called ALPA frequently rents hotel facilities, in large quantity, from an anti-union hotel chain called Mariott and came very close to holding its bi-annual BOD meeting in a non-union hotel with some workers on strike (until some pilots blew the whistle).

Find a legitimate reason to support or reject your favorite candidate. Grasping at trivia about who charters which airplane fortells a level of desperation in the anti-Kerry camp.

Three more weeks, then back to Crawford.

 

[vc10]

George Bush turned Iraq into the world's largest terrorist training camp. The guys who graduate from this camp will spread terror over the entire world. Further, Bush is the greatest terrorist recruiter the world has ever known. Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden couldn't have asked for more. For many people, Iraq is an immeasurably worse place to live than it was under Saddam Hussein. There's no security---not even within the "secure" Green Zone. There are thousands, maybe millions of seriously embittered Iraqis, some fraction of whom will take up arms against what they see as the occupier. Bush is radicalizing an entire generation of Arabs to hate us. We're going to pay for that and it's the fault of George Bush.

Further, in 10 years, many of the homeless we see on the streets will be the mentally and physically traumatized US vets from Iraq. Beyond the 1000+ boys in bodybags, and the 6000-7000 injured, a lot of guys are coming back with traumatic stress disorder. Just the same way many Vietnam vets ended up on the streets, we'll have a bunch of Iraq vets on the streets. Count on it. Lives ruined, for what?

We've probably already lost Iraq. It may take another few years for that to become painfully apparent, but our invasion of Iraq is a foreign policy disaster that will haunt us for decades, probably even worse than Vietnam. For whatever reason, our defeat in Vietnam at least never resulted in collateral terrorism directed against the US. Pretty clear that won't happen this time.

We have the right to go after terrorists. We have the right to pre-emptively attack threats against us. But we took our eye off the ball (Al Qaeda, Osama bin Laden) and went after something that was, at best, an unproven threat. North Korea, Iran---those were the next biggest threats after Al Qaeda---and we knew it. North Korea had _proven_ nuke capability. Iran was well known to be going down this road. We went after Iraq instead. A state that had nothing to do with Al Qaeda.

And then we failed to execute. FAILED TO EXECUTE. Stood by while Iraq was looted. Failed to have enough troops to keep the country safe. We let the bad guys run rampant through the streets of Iraq. We failed to close the borders, we failed to guard the ammo dumps, we failed to guard the research sites, we failed we failed we failed.

George Bush has led this country to fail. Time to go, George.

 

[surplus1]

George Bush has led this country to fail. Time to go, George.

You know, I can deal with a mistake or several mistakes. I can even deal with a failure or two, when you were trying to do something legitimate.

I can't deal with dishonesty and I can't deal with a fella who believes that he is more infallible than the Pope claims to be.

You're right vc10, it is time to go.

PS. The CDC tells me that 36,000 Americans will die from influenza complications this year. That's 10 times the number we lost in the tragedy of 9-11. The CDC also tells me that more people die from the flu, right here at home, in 24 months than have died from AIDS in 24 years.

Then the CDC tells me that ALL of our flu vaccine is "outsourced" and therefore we can't provide vaccine to even the most threatened segments of our population.

This is on the watch of the same "Commander-in-chief" that tells us that outsourcing is "not a problem" and we should "trust" him to protect us from the possibility of a terrorist bio attack for four more years.

Some of you would like to give this guy the opportunity to control not only the Executive branch of Govt., but also the Legislative and the Judicial, at the same time. All three branches of our government contolled by one party with an ideology that at least 1/2 of the country does not share.

We should NEVER allow all 3 branches of government to be controlled by a single political party, no matter its name.

What's wrong with this picture? Everything! It is time for change and the time is NOW.

 

[LEROY]

Once again, the ABB crowd shows their true colors. What will you NOT blame on the President? Do you REALLY think he could control the growth rate of the influenza vaccine material? Could he have controlled the intel reports that came to him (and the rest of the modern world's intelligence sources, BTW) about Iraq's WTDs? I'm sure this is all a ploy to help those Republican evildoers pervade their tainted beliefs on the rest of us, instead of a genuine interest in the well-being of our country.
How 'bout this spin; the recession began as a result of CLINTON domestic policy...the corporate scandals emerged after 8 years of CLINTON domestic politics...the horrific events of 9/11 occured after the CLINTON administration had no less than 3 opportunites to take out Bin Ladin, but decided not to...CLINTON international politics led to the war on terror the way we know it. Invasion of Iraq was a result (in part) to the CLINTON administration allowing UN sanctions to be violated for better than 10 years.
So if you must, feel free to bash Bush because of todays major national problems, but try to understand where they came from before you blame him and him alone.

 

[habubuaza]

I'm just shocked. I mean Bush did pretty much da_mn near everything we asked of him following 9/11. I don't know why so many people have forgotten. Forgotten what it felt like. Scared? Yeah I was scared. I like many others didn't know what the rest of that day had in store for us. Planes hijacked and used as WMD's, people holding hands and jumping out of burning buildings. I personally couldn't get a hold of my brother who had an office in building #7. It would be 2 days until I could speak to him and know that he was alive. I remember watching TV with people standing next to the carnage with pictures of missing loved one's. Do you guys remember that? I remember here in Florida schools getting closed down immediately, malls being closed immediately, people leaving work, not knowing really what was happening except that we were under attack and in a state of NATIONAL EMERGENCY. I was scared and so were you. We were experiencing the worst attack in our Nations History. Remember seeing people running for their lives in downtown Manhattan? It is during times like these that a country needs exceptional leadership. W provided that. I remember when he went down the the WTC with the firefighters he not only rallied an entire nation, he was also comforting. And I remember how relieved I was when he put the world on notice that we were coming after those people and countries who were responsible. I remember within days seeing the photo's of special forces in Afghanistan on Camel Back on the hunt. Within weeks one terrorist country was overthrown. And others were put on direct notice, remember..Iraq, Iran and N. Korea? The axis of evil. Or did many of you forget that too? Who would have thought that three years would have passed without another terrorist attack? Within 90 days of 9/11 over 1 million jobs were lost. Who would have thought that 3 years later we would have an unemployment rate lower than that when Clinton was re-elected. Who would have thought that 75% of Al Qaeida would be dead or in jail. And oh yeah, they are still trying to KILL US. Did you know that we are stopping an average of one terrorist attack a DAY! Many of you wont believe that but I do. Did you know that Al Qaeida operatives were already arrested in the U.S. whose mission was to assasinate President Bush? That is why the terrorist threat level was raised in August 2002. I also remember the President saying that most of the successes of our war against these monsters will be mostly unknown. Obviously because of the sleeper cells that are still here. I would say that President Bush clearly has had the most difficult Presidency of at least the last half century. He stepped up though, and now many of you want to kick him in the teeth. It's easy to play Monday morning quarterback. Could you have done what Bush did if you were President? Would you have had the backbone, conviciton, and will regardless of popular opinion national or worldwide to do what's right? He did. And I thank God everyday for it. I don't care what ALPA says because my family comes first. You can tell Capt. Woerth, because if we have another terrorist attack on the scale of 9/11, NOTHING ELSE MATTERS!

 

[vc10]

OK, so in what way is the current mess in Iraq the fault of Clinton?

The last two days have seen a unit refuse to take orders in Iraq. It gets more like Vietnam every day.

We're p*ssing away American leadership and credibility. We're becoming a pariah state. We should never do things simply to be popular in the world, but just as you and I are stronger because we have friends to support us, so the US needs friends. We're stronger when we have friends.

Oh, and by the way, Poland will remove troops from Iraq in 2005. DON'T FORGET POLAND! 75% of Poland wants their troops out of Iraq. On second thought, DO FORGET POLAND...

The president isn't getting the job done. Time to go, George.

Once again, the ABB crowd shows their true colors. What will you NOT blame on the President? Do you REALLY think he could control the growth rate of the influenza vaccine material? Could he have controlled the intel reports that came to him (and the rest of the modern world's intelligence sources, BTW) about Iraq's WTDs? I'm sure this is all a ploy to help those Republican evildoers pervade their tainted beliefs on the rest of us, instead of a genuine interest in the well-being of our country.
How 'bout this spin; the recession began as a result of CLINTON domestic policy...the corporate scandals emerged after 8 years of CLINTON domestic politics...the horrific events of 9/11 occured after the CLINTON administration had no less than 3 opportunites to take out Bin Ladin, but decided not to...CLINTON international politics led to the war on terror the way we know it. Invasion of Iraq was a result (in part) to the CLINTON administration allowing UN sanctions to be violated for better than 10 years.
So if you must, feel free to bash Bush because of todays major national problems, but try to understand where they came from before you blame him and him alone.

 

[vc10]

Bush: Criminally Negligent

CRIMINALLY NEGLIGENT.


Planning for after the war in Iraq non-existent

By WARREN P. STROBEL and JOHN WALCOTT

Knight Ridder Newspapers

WASHINGTON - In March 2003, days before the start of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, American war planners and intelligence officials met at Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina to review the Bush administration's plans to oust Saddam Hussein and implant democracy in Iraq.

Near the end of his presentation, an Army lieutenant colonel who was giving a briefing showed a slide describing the Pentagon's plans for rebuilding Iraq after the war, known in the planners' parlance as Phase 4-C. He was uncomfortable with his material - and for good reason.

The slide said: "To Be Provided."

A Knight Ridder review of the administration's Iraq policy and decisions has found that it invaded Iraq without a comprehensive plan in place to secure and rebuild the country. The administration also failed to provide some 100,000 additional U.S. troops that American military commanders originally wanted to help restore order and reconstruct a country shattered by war, a brutal dictatorship and economic sanctions.

 

[46Driver]

VC,
Just curious. You are very outspoken against Bush and his foreign policy. Tell me: 1) How Kerry's foreign policy will differ and 2) What do you think Bush's reasons and goals were by invading Iraq?

 

[68pilot]

So is everyone here stupid?
It took 30 seconds to find out about TAPA, the Transmeridian Airline Pilots Union.
Transmeridian is a Union Airline.
End of Discussion.

 

[kevdog]

Hey, do any of you guys remember what W said right after the 9/11 attacks? Let me remind you...he talked about the war on terror being a religious crusade, Osama Bin Laden being Wanted...Dead or Alive, The U.N. not doing their job with their inspectors and finding WMD in Iraq, ridding the world of EVIL DOERS, etc. Sorta sounds like a SNL skit. All he can talk about now is smack about John Kerry being a Flip Flopper. I wonder why he is so defensive.

W Back to Crawford, if only he could find it on a map himself.

 

[PHXFLYR]

Is the Transmeridian Airlines Pilots Association affiliated with the AFL-CIO?

PHXFLYR

 

[FlightTraker]

I saw a bumper sticker the other day that sums it all up, "Somewhere in Texas, a village is missing an idiot"


Guess who I am voting for........



FlightTraker

 

[Falconjet]

Sounds like you are going to vote for an idiot!

FJ

 

[Dennis Miller]

We make jokes about it but the truth is this presidential election really offers us a choice of two well-informed, opposing positions on every issue. OK, they both belong to John Kerry, but they're still there.

 

[vc10]

1) Won't gratuitously piss off the rest of the world and will make sure that whatever the US does is well planned. After 9/11 we had almost the entire world with us. Imagine if we'd harnessed that allegiance for the task of hunting down Al Qaeda. Two years later, Bush had managed to alienate most of the world. We shouldn't do things just to be popular, but as a matter of simple fact, America is stronger when it has the respect of the world. And we don't.

2) Neocons close to the administration really thought they create a modern democratic society out of Iraq---the same way that post WWII Germany became a paragon of western democracy. Of course, to believe this would be possible, you'd have to ignore massive differences between pre-WWII Germany and Saddam Hussein's Iraq. Germany had a long history of pre-Hitler civilization---it went through the Reformation, it went through the Enlightenment, it was, in many ways, one of the most civilized countries on earth that happened to fall under the sway of a madman---remove the madman, the underlying civilization shone through. Iraq, on the other hand, has none of those traditions. Which isn't to say that Iraq could never be a democracy, but is to say that expecting it to be like post WWII Germany is laughable.

In the end, it doesn't matter what Bush's goal was. It was a dangerous diversion from what we should have been single-mindedly pursuing---the end of religious terrorism.

VC,
Just curious. You are very outspoken against Bush and his foreign policy. Tell me: 1) How Kerry's foreign policy will differ and 2) What do you think Bush's reasons and goals were by invading Iraq?

 

[airbaker]

VC10,

Great post and well articulated.

 

[hoya saxa]

Germany had a long history of pre-Hitler civilization---it went through the Reformation, it went through the Enlightenment, it was, in many ways, one of the most civilized countries on earth that happened to fall under the sway of a madman---remove the madman, the underlying civilization shone through. Iraq, on the other hand, has none of those traditions.

Are you forgetting Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia? Some of the original great civilizations on Earth? Ok, so that was several thousand years ago. Still, for someone who attempts to sound so informed you make a lot of uninformed broad-brush statements...

 

[Dave Benjamin]

I can't take credit for this but I saw a great one-liner posted somewhere on flightinfo.com

"A pilot voting for Bush is like a chicken voting for Colonel Sanders."

 

[vc10]

And were Assyria, Mesopotamia and Babylon democracies?

D'oh!

Are you forgetting Assyria, Mesopotamia, and Babylonia? Some of the original great civilizations on Earth? Ok, so that was several thousand years ago. Still, for someone who attempts to sound so informed you make a lot of uninformed broad-brush statements...

 

[brew3departure]

That's great...

Whomever is throwing around the ABB label - forgive me, all these acronyms. Call me an IVFKBDKWASF (I voted for Kerry but don't know what ABB stands for), but whatever it means, this is a moot (or, if you prefer, a moo) point! TMA does have a union - hey, I've got an idea, let's bash NADER for flying his sorry *ss around on Southwest. How DARE he fly on a non ALPA airline!! Holy unions, batman, what is the world coming to?!

I'll say it again, ya'll. Oil prices. Highest they've ever been. And climbing. No end in sight. Rich oil buddies in Crawford and elsewhere getting absolutely stinking rich. And, might I add, those absolutely stinking rich folks were the recipients of a whopping big and controversial tax cut...

But that's a whole 'nother can of worms, right?

You guys can have your ABB - I see that and I think ... isn't that on the Decee arrival into IND? WTF...over...whatever.

I wish I could vote in Ohio or Colorado instead of this great state...we haven't seen ONE political ad for about the last two months here in IL, last I checked, it's so far gone that Kerry doesn't see the need to advertise nor does Bush. Ah, well.

Take care,
-brew3