Thursday, August 24, 2006
Time for a Change?
It won't be the lead on the news (for surely the tragedy of JonBenet Ramsey's murder some 10 years ago is more important than our troops dying?), but 2 more U.S. soldiers were killed today in Iraq. As with all our fallen heroes, I'm saddened for their sacrifice and pray for their families left behind. I found it a bitter irony that the government of Iraq announced today the release of 55 suspected terror-related detainees who had been held for the past 2 years with no charges, no trials, no lawyers.
So I wanted to reprint this piece from DNC Chairman Howard Dean that appeared today at DailyKos. I didn't support Dean in 2004, but I did attend a rally during the primary season in which he spoke before a good crowd in Atlanta. I found Dean to be a dynamic speaker who comes across as sincere, even if he does shout "ARRRGHHH" from time to time. I may not agree with Dean on many issues, but I don't doubt his principles nearly as much as I have come to question the sincerity of this administartion.
People have had enough. This administration cannot be trusted with our security. Democrats are going to reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world.
We will double the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda. We will implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America's borders and ports and screen every container. And we will fully man, train, and equip our National Guard and our police, firefighters and other first responders.
When it comes to national security, the Republicans have not led. We will.
---Gov. Howard Dean, M.D. [via email]
P.S. We are spending $8 billion a month in Iraq. That's $2 billion each week, $267 million each day, or $11 million each hour. For what we spend in three weeks, we could make needed improvements in order to properly secure our public transportation systems. For what we spend in five days, we could put radiation detectors in all of our ports. And for two days in Iraq, we could screen all air cargo.
And so, rhetorically, I ask the hawks.... would it really be so disastrous to give the other side a chance to straighten out some of the mess George Bush has made? I'm sure they could leave something of a mess in other areas too. But I also like what I'm hearing from Dean on security. Write him off as another liberal dove if you will, but he proved to me that he was anything but typical in 2004 when he boldly stated he wanted the votes of those with Confederate flags on their truck's bumpers too. I don't have one, but I might if I had a truck! And I'd sure like to see that Iraq money put to better use in providing us real security here in America.
So I wanted to reprint this piece from DNC Chairman Howard Dean that appeared today at DailyKos. I didn't support Dean in 2004, but I did attend a rally during the primary season in which he spoke before a good crowd in Atlanta. I found Dean to be a dynamic speaker who comes across as sincere, even if he does shout "ARRRGHHH" from time to time. I may not agree with Dean on many issues, but I don't doubt his principles nearly as much as I have come to question the sincerity of this administartion.
People have had enough. This administration cannot be trusted with our security. Democrats are going to reclaim American leadership with a tough, smart plan to transform failed policies in Iraq, the Middle East and around the world.
We will double the size of Special Forces to destroy Osama Bin Laden and terrorist networks like al Qaeda. We will implement the bipartisan 9/11 Commission proposal to secure America's borders and ports and screen every container. And we will fully man, train, and equip our National Guard and our police, firefighters and other first responders.
When it comes to national security, the Republicans have not led. We will.
---Gov. Howard Dean, M.D. [via email]
P.S. We are spending $8 billion a month in Iraq. That's $2 billion each week, $267 million each day, or $11 million each hour. For what we spend in three weeks, we could make needed improvements in order to properly secure our public transportation systems. For what we spend in five days, we could put radiation detectors in all of our ports. And for two days in Iraq, we could screen all air cargo.
And so, rhetorically, I ask the hawks.... would it really be so disastrous to give the other side a chance to straighten out some of the mess George Bush has made? I'm sure they could leave something of a mess in other areas too. But I also like what I'm hearing from Dean on security. Write him off as another liberal dove if you will, but he proved to me that he was anything but typical in 2004 when he boldly stated he wanted the votes of those with Confederate flags on their truck's bumpers too. I don't have one, but I might if I had a truck! And I'd sure like to see that Iraq money put to better use in providing us real security here in America.
# posted by Jeff Briscoe : 2:24 PM
