I certainly apologize for the dear part.

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we all get frustrated on here from time to time.  As far as Obama picking pubs for positions, there's the sec of defense, Robert Gates, and Lahood for transportation, and I think a few others.  Someone said something about the pubs being picked are just token pubs, but I think if he is just going for token picks, it wouldn't be for sec of defense.  I think this pick said a lot about Obama and his intentions.

I really do hope that he does listen to pubs as well as dems.  As a poster mentioned earlier, there are good ideas in both parties.  I'm not trying to paint a rosy picture here, but we really need to find some kind of common ground, and I think (whether successful or not) Obama is trying to create that kind of environment.

BTW, I like Rachel Maddow much better too.  She isn't as blatant as Olberman, but she is a little sarcastic.  LOL.  I picked Olberman's video because it showed Obama going to the dinner as I was counting on someone to say that it didn't happen because it wasn't in conservative news.  While I do think Olberman is funny at times, I mostly just go with the quotes and video he presents and kind of tune the commentary out.

?????

Pyongyang's Foreign Ministry said in a statement the country "will be compelled to take additional self-defensive measures" unless the U.N. Security Council apologizes immediately. "The measures will include nuclear tests and test-firings of intercontinental ballistic missiles."

Barack Obama: 'arrogant US has been dismissive' to allies

President Barack Obama has offered an apology for the Bush era, declaring that America had “shown arrogance and been dismissive, even derisive” towards its allies.

His speech in Strasbourg went further than any United States president in history in criticising his own country’s action while standing on foreign soil........

Our European 'arrogance' in alphabetical order…

SEE IMAGE BELOW:

If I added correctly the count is 104,366 dead and we have to watch any American elected leader who apologizes to Europe and the Middle East that our country is "arrogant"!

Please see my other post in response to yours. 

Could someone just please tell me why one is necessary and how my name wound up in your post?

Or are you just so blinded by your hatred of me that you can't see straight any more when reading these boards?

You poor dear.  You should really see about getting rid of that hatred.  It will eat you alive. 

http://www.audacityofhypocrisy.com/2008/08/30/dailykos-rumors-debunked-here-is-sarah-palin-pregnancy-photo-on-feb-10th-2008/

geezzzz, people.

I'm so tired of trying to make a living but betwen the state and federal government taking it all away when we get finally get near the top of things I really, really get nasty sometimes. My grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be paying for what we could not stop; i.e., stimuls, TARP, and everything else coming down the pike, and I don't think any of it is right. I feel our country is down the tubes and there is no getting out of it. I hope I am wrong, but between the state and federal government and what they are creating, they will take, or try to take, everything we all worked hard to achieve.  Big Brother has come to the USA even if it did take more than 25 years. You all know this country is going down but what, really, is anyone doing to stop it? Not much, because we are not a unified body, and unless we do band together and try, we are doomed. JMHO

Disclaimer: I will not apoligize for any answers I post because I feel they were not out of line.

pray for your souls.  Seriously.  I'm not laughing, and I'm not joking because I truly feel sorry for you. I won't answer you any more because that seems to only make you sicker.

Religious Addiction: a mental illness with deadly social consequences.

I do believe there is a Great Spirit responsible for the creation of the universe, but unfortunately, there have been those who have been the victims of the exploitation of this higher power.

When George W. Bush and the Christian Reich took control of the most powerful country in the world, The United States of America, a very dangerous virus began spreading throughout the country.

The virus: Christian Fascism.

This lethal threat to democracy is now infecting the world, ie...the invasion and occupation of Iraq.

To understand the Right Wing Zealots, it is important to acquire an understanding of what it means to be a religious addict. The following identifies important signs of religious addiction:

SYMPTOMS OF RELIGIOUS ADDICTION as written by Paschal Baute
Paschal Baute is a co-founder and facilitator of the Spiritual Growth Network of Kentucky. He is an organizational psychologist working with leadership and team development and personnel screening. His business web page will be found at www.paschalbaute.com

• Inability to think, doubt, or question religious information and/or authority
• Black-and-white, good/bad, either/or simplistic thinking: one way or the other
• Shame-based belief that you aren't good enough or you aren't doing it right
• Magical thinking that God will fix you/ do it all, without serious work on your part
• Scrupulosity: rigid obsessive adherence to rules, codes of ethics, or guidelines
• Uncompromising judgmental attitudes: readiness to find fault or evil out there
• Compulsive or obsessive praying, going to church or crusades, quoting scripture
• Unrealistic financial contributions
• Believing that sex is dirty; believing our bodies or physical pleasures are evil
• Compulsive overeating and/or excessive fasting
• Conflict and argumentation with science, medicine, and education
• Progressive detachment from the real work, isolation and breakdown of relationships
• Psychosomatic illness: back pains, sleeplessness, headaches, hypertension
• Manipulating scripture or texts, feeling specially chosen, claiming to receive special messages from God
• Maintaining a religious high, trance-like state, keeping a happy face (or the belief that one should...) (1.) © Paschal Baute 1993

Condensed 'Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System.' Dr. Thomas Edgington is the principle author and contributed 90% of the following:

• God is seen as impersonal and vindictive: members tend to have a grace- deficit theology. (Their religion and experience are based totally on fear, not on relief.)
• Emphasis on theological correctness to the neglect of relationships and of loving others.
• Demonstrates a spiritual arrogance [considers those from outside as less spiritual].
• You will hear comments like I pride myself on my humility.
• Majors on minor theological issues and ignores or minimizes major ones.
• Scripture is said to be of primary importance, but in reality it is the leader's interpretation of Scripture that has primary importance.
• Traditions often overrule Biblical truth.
• Scripture is often misquoted, used out of context, or is degraded to the level of trite, pat answers in order to prove a point or to exact obedience to a system.
• Intellectual development is limited to what fits the system; we think the way we do because we are right; the thoughts and opinions of others are not considered.
• Dogmatism is common: the point under discussion is often explained by the quotation of a Bible verse, again, usually out of context.
• Members attempt to impose their personal opinions upon outsiders or upon those still within the system but under suspicion.
• There is a lack of objective accountability: leadership is accountable to itself ONLY. [Often explains why the religious fear and despise psychology... fear of exposure by outsider]
• Leadership is viewed as infallible and beyond reproach.
• Undue/over-emphasis upon submission to authority.
• Expression of certain emotions, particularly anger, is seen as unspiritual.
• Low self image, hyperactive conscience, undue guilt, and an inability to forgive, either others or oneself is very common.
• Communication often centers around theological issues; personal issues are rarely discussed. When they are, two phenomena find expression: shredding people,setting up and knocking down straw men.
• Interpersonal intimacy is often lacking.
• Poor ability to relate to hurting people; offers pat answers instead of demonstrating loving care (2.)

Religious Addiction preys on the Weak and Vulnerable

After reading and processing the above characteristics of a religious addict, it is very to easy to find incidents of religious addictions since George W. Bush took power:

A while ago, I was watching the news stories about the Ten Commandments Monument being removed from a Government building in the United States. As I watched the protests, I thought how twisted right wing Christian zealots are; the way they whined and moaned lying on the ground reminded me of a religious addicted cult. There is so much hate and mental defects within the Christian Coalition. It is scary.

It is important for all countries to separate government from Organized Religion. Christian Right Wing Organized Religion is a very dangerous political institution. They have decided how people should live and those choosing a different way of life are viewed as deviant or enemies.

When looking at two men, George W. Bush and Mel Gibson, it is easy to see how dangerous Religious addiction can be to the rest of the population. Both these men are recovered drug addicts and drunks. What lead to their recovery was replacing their chemical addictions with Christian addiction. Like a cult, Christian Extremists target people when they are at their weakest; both men have weak minds which made them easy prey. They should not be respected, but looked at as very weak little creatures.

As President of the United States, the mentally feeble man, George W. Bush, has been given the power to flex his religious addicted muscles: supported challenging affirmative action, proposal to ban gay marriage, increase funding to religious groups that help alcoholics and drug addicts recover, invading and taking over Iraq, funding the promotion marriage (push women in the kitchen, barefoot and pregnant, eh Georgie?)

The Christian Right seeks to oppress those who don't conform to their way of life. In order for society to evolve, Right Wing Religion must be kept out of positions of political power.

Religious addicted Mel Gibson is now a right wing fundamentalist. He believes he knows God personally, and has a whole lot of money, giving him the power to push his beliefs on the rest of us. There is nothing more dangerous than a rich right wing fundamentalist. About Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion of the Christ, Movie Reviewers and News Commentators did not have the courage to give Mel Gibson's movie a real review. It is probably like during the invasion of Iraq; people who spoke against it were intimidated, and the media was very biased toward the bullies.

Religious addiction is a serious mental illness in our society. Religious addicts, when given power, have the ability to do some serious damage to the world and its species.

Religious Addiction: a mental illness with deadly social consequences.

Endnotes:

1. Paschal Baute, Symptons of Religious Addiction http://www.lexpages.com/SGN/paschal/religious_addiction.html
2. Dr. Thomas Edgington, Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System. Nimbus.org http://www.nimbus.org/Academics/ReligiousAddiction.html

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Symptons of Religious Addiction by Paschal Baute
http://www.lexpages.com/SGN/paschal/religious_addiction.html
Retrieved April, 1st 2004

Characteristics of a Religious Addictive System. Nimbus.org
http://www.nimbus.org/Academics/ReligiousAddiction.html
Retrieved April, 1st 2004

Copyright 2004 © TrysDan Roberts

I appreciate your time spent on the Chomsky quotes, however, they are out of context from the overall essay.  Some do seem a bit inflammatory, but I must admit I see the truth in a great many of them.  The US can be a great and noble country, but it often isn't and hasn't been.

Your last paragraph I don't understand - but I have grown tired and have to finish my evening's typing.

Bin Laden isn't dead.  If he were dead, enlarged, beautifully matted and gold-framed photos of his bloody corpse would have been shown repeatedly on every television screen in the world. 

Does it make sense, in your warped world, to go after the man who had NOTHING to do with 9/11 while ignoring the one who WAS responsible for it?  By the way, have you heard?  The Taliban has strengthened.  You have your president to thank for that.

But don't worry about another terra attack.  Ain't gonna happen.  Bush has repeatedly said he is the only one who can keep us safe.  Wouldn't be prudent to have another terra attack before he leaves office.

This was a quote he made back in 2003 -

‘’These two entities — Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac — are not facing any kind of financial crisis,’’ said Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, the ranking Democrat on the Financial Services Committee. ‘’The more people exaggerate these problems, the more pressure there is on these companies, the less we will see in terms of affordable housing.’’

You know what they say about lying down with dogs......well, he was romantically involved with a dog, uh, I mean, executive from Fannie Mae.....

If I were him I sure wouldn't want my face plastered on any newscast anymore. 

The bottom line is that no matter how uncomfortable waterboarding is, terrorists do not fall under protection of the Geneva Convention.  Also, Pelosi was briefed on this type of interrogation and her story is fastly crumbling apart.  The only reason I want them to go after Pelosi is to show that the dems knew about this too and didn't seem to have a problem until now.  Just like a lot of dems didn't have a problem with going to war in Iraq until now. 

As for Hannity...if the best rebuttal you have is that we shouldn't waterboard terrorists because Sean Hannity won't do it for charity.....well....our conversation is done here.

 I said no such thing.

And one of the other voices in your head has already judged me and declared that the Rapture will pass me by, which is fine with me.  Would prefer to spend eternity with those who are nice, loving, kind and HAPPY.

Scarborough's record is public and well known.

So is the objectivity and blatant refusal to ever tell the truth of Bush and his worshippers.

Bush isn't the sharpest tool in the shed.  I can see why you love him.

Why don't you go back to the CON board?  You're showing your colors more and more with each post, and they ain't a pretty sight.

General Giap of the North Vietnamese army wrote his memoirs after the war.  He posted that the antiwar movement in the United States gave the North Vietnamese hope after Tet, when they were decimated and ready to surrender.  It gave them hope, prolonged the war, and eventually led to our precipitous departure.  No, I am afraid you are wrong about your facts.  Here's the post from the 1st Cav. 

Tet Offensive -- Monica
what are the cause and effects of the TET offensive? and who won this campaign? I don't really get this event! can someone tell me the story in a easier version?  I am in the 9th Grade. Monica,   

Here is an answer to a very complex question.  The Tet Offensive of 1968 was an initiative of the North Vietnam Army to have the civilian population of South Vietnam join them in their offensive and efforts to overthrow the South Vietnam Government, forcing the withdrawal of the United States Armed Forces.  

The Tet Offensive of 1968 was conceived by General Giap, commander of the North Vietnam Army and his staff.  General Giap earlier in his career planned and executed the battle at Dien Bien Phu which drove the French out of Vietnam in 1954.  During the battle of Dien Bien Phu, General Giap stated  he was willing to lose 10 men for every 1 enemy soldier killed, which indicated that a person's life in Vietnam was cheap.

By the end of 1966, North Vietnam had suffered large causalities in manpower and supplies through the bombing of the North and the fighting in the South. They consider the war was at a stalemate. North Vietnam would need a major victory if they would continue on with the war. Thus the planning for what is known as the Tet Offensive began with General Giap (Commanding General of the North Vietnam Army) and his staff.

The battle of Khe Sanh (Jan. 21, 1968) was the prelude to the Tet Offensive of January 31, 1968.  The battle at Khe Sanh was similar to that of Dien Bien Phu in which the Vietnamese had surrounded their enemy and cut off all land routes for supplies and evacuation.  Khe Sanh had two objectives besides the obvious objective in defeating the Marines.

1. Diversionary tactic to draw American attention away from the cities of South Vietnam and more towards Khe Sanh.

2. Remind the people of South Vietnam of another battle that took place 14 years earlier at Dien Bien Phu, which would encourage South Vietnamese to join the VC in throwing out the Americans as they did with the French.

The North Vietnamese Army fought the battle at Khe Sanh and the National Liberation Front (VC) fought the Tet Offensive, which attacked the cities and provinces throughout South Vietnam.  

It should be noted that NVA units who were not participating in the Khe Sanh siege supported the VC in their attacks on the cities during the Tet Offensive.  

National Liberation Front - (Also Known As) Viet Cong or VC were comprised of South Vietnamese civilians and North Vietnamese advisors who lived in the cities and villages throughout South Vietnam.  They were part of the North Vietnamese forces in reuniting the two countries as one.

A cease-fire began on January 30, 1968 for the Vietnamese new year of Tet, which falls on the first new moon of January. On January 31, 1968 the Viet Cong broke their cease-fire and attacked many cities and provinces throughout South Vietnam. In Saigon, a small number  of VC (19) were able to reach the American Embassy grounds, but did not gain entry into the embassy itself.

In the Northern part of South Vietnam, the city of Hue was taken over by the V.C. and executions of city officials and their families took place.  The initial reporting indicated the number of people executed was in the thousands (2,300 persons executed in and around Hue during Tet 68 - Time Magazine 31 Oct 69).

Saigon was the center for most if not all of the news agencies that were covering the war in South Vietnam.  Tet offensive of 1968 was the first time, during the war, that actual street fighting took place in the major cities.  Rear support personnel and MP’s did the initial fighting by American troops until support from infantry and armor could arrive. These men did an outstanding job in defending the cities, airfields and bases along with the embassy. The news media were able to capture this street fighting on tape in addition to the attack on the American Embassy. This new offensive was immediately brought into the homes of American families through reporting by television and the press. The sensationalism of this reporting brought forth a misrepresentation of the actual facts that took place during the Tet Offensive of 1968. The reports led the American people to think that we were losing the war in Vietnam and that the Tet Offensive was a major victory for North Vietnam. This was not the case. The VC suffered such high casualties that they were no longer considered a fighting force and their ranks would have to be replaced by North Vietnamese regulars. The civilian population of South Vietnam was indifferent to both the current regime in South Vietnam and the Viet Cong. The civilian population, for the most part, did not join with the VC during the Tet Offensive.

The Wall Street Journal published an interview with Bui Tin who served on the General Staff of the North Vietnam Army and received the unconditional surrender of South Vietnam on April 30, 1975. During the interview Mr. Tin was asked if the American antiwar movement was important to Hanoi's victory. Mr. Tin responded It was essential to our strategy, referring to the war being fought on two fronts, the Vietnam battlefield and back home in America through the antiwar movement on college campuses and in the city streets. He further stated the North Vietnamese leadership listened to the American evening news broadcasts to follow the growth of the American antiwar movement. Visits to Hanoi made by persons such as Jane Fonda, former Attorney General Ramsey Clark and various church ministers gave us confidence that we should hold on in the face of battlefield reverses. Mr. Tin surmised, America lost because of its democracy; through dissent and protest it lost the ability to mobilize a will to win. Mr. Tin further advised that General Vo Nguyen Giap (Commanding General of the North Vietnam Army) had advised him the 1968 Tet Offensive had been a defeat.

The military defeat of North Vietnam after the Tet Offensive of 1968 became a political victory for North Vietnam because of anti-war demonstrations and the sensationalism of the news media.   The North Vietnamese interpreted the U.S. reaction to these events as the weakening of America's resolve to win the war.   The North Vietnamese believed that victory could be theirs, if they stayed their course.

From 1969 until the end of the war, over 20,000 American soldiers lost their lives in a war that the United States did not have the resolve to win.  The sensationalism by the American news media and the anti-war protests following the 1968 Tet Offensive gave hope to Communist North Vietnam, strengthening their belief that their will to succeed was greater than ours.  Instead of seeking a successful resolution at the Paris Peace Conference following the disastrous defeat of the 1968 Tet Offensive, they employed delay tactics as another tool to inflame U.S. politics.  This delaying tactic spurned further anti-war demonstrations.  Those who sensationalized their reporting of the war and those who supported anti-war demonstrations are guilty of giving our enemy hope. Because of their actions, they must share partial responsibility for those 20,000 + Americans deaths. 

We won the war on the battlefield but lost it back home on the college campuses and in the city streets.