Oh For Christ's Sake, now we're going to war with Pakistan too

PLEAASSSEEE!!!!!!!

Tell me that SOMEBODY got that on video...

Lets see...war with Russia, invading Pakistan, a short side trip to punish Spain for not being where McCain thought they were (somehow they sneaked out of Central America and swam to Europe), A naval bombardment of Czechoslovakia, dash over to Germany and arrest President Putin...

What else have I missed?

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

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by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 06:23:30 AM CDT

there is video

I can't seem to get the embed to workso here's the link: http://www.cnn.com/video/#/vid...  FWIW she does appear to be quite personable but McCain still had to issue a statement retracting hers:

Sen. John McCain retracted Sarah Palin's stance on Pakistan Sunday morning, after the Alaska governor appeared to back Sen. Barack Obama's support for unilateral strikes inside Pakistan against terrorists

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by: ol cranky @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 17:13:14 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

This is why she's so perfect for McCain

He never met a war he didn't like.  

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by: David Ehrenstein @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:24:29 AM CDT

Obama

said pretty much the same thing in the debate Friday night--as arch-Obama supporter Aravosis has noted on AmericaBlog.  

I am not interested in picking up crumbs of compassion thrown from the table of someone who considers himself my master. I want the full menu of rights.  -Archbishop Desmond Tutu

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by: QScribe @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:32:03 AM CDT

You are knocking Obama Policy in this Diary

As it is exactly his view on the situation with Pakistan.  It is John McCain who does not share this view.  Rather than berate her for having the same opinion as Obama in regards to cross border excursions in Pakistan, you should be berateing her for having the oposite view of a topic than her running mate, and it is a topic in which he constantly hits on Obama for holding this view.

Why didn't you post this type of diary when Obama came out with this view?

I am all for exposing the inadequicies of Palin, but not by hitting her for a view with which I agree with both her and Obama.

Here is the rest of the story that you either did not get in the story you read, or you decided not to add to this diary:

During Friday's debate, Obama criticized the Bush administration for sending billions of dollars in aid to Pakistan without ridding the border region of terrorists.

"If the United States has al Qaeda, bin Laden, top-level lieutenants in our sights, and Pakistan is unable or unwilling to act, then we should take them out," Obama added.

McCain fired back hard, arguing that newly elected Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari has had his "hands full" and suggesting that Obama's tough talk was naïve.

"You don't say that out loud," McCain said. "If you have to do things, you have to do things, and you work with the Pakistani government."

Palin's apparent disagreement with McCain's position on Pakistan came as the Alaska governor was picking up a couple of cheesesteaks at Tony Luke's in South Philadelphia. She was approached by a man wearing a Temple University t-shirt, who later identified himself as Michael Rovito.

http://www.cbsnews.com/blogs/2...

Let's be honest about this.  If you disagree with her on this, then you have to admit that you disagree with Obama on this.  There is no difference in their stance on this issue.

 

The trollish sounding blogger formerly known as BURNSEY

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by: R.K. Wright @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:44:06 AM CDT

Not even close...

First, Obama doesn't suggest that there is any linkage between hunting terrorists and the economy of Waziristan - where that giant leap comes from is beyond any rational explanation.

Second, I read no restrictions, limitations or caveats in Little Sarah's off the cuff remark.  There is no "we need credible intelligence" - just "Absolutely, we should."

This same knee jerk immediacy without reflection was evidenced when she said the exact same thing about invading Russia. "Probably so..."

It is this tendancy towards absolutism, a dogmatic predicate of her evangelical belief system which separates the two.

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

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by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 10:08:24 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Let's examine the Waziri Economy in detail

I can understand Sarah's concerns?????????????????(heavy satire)

While the authorities hitherto used to hand out construction contracts to tribal leaders as inducement, cash is now the preferred mode of enticement.

The government had also offered, on March 3, 2005, to buy weapons at market price from the tribesmen in South Waziristan, intending to purchase anti-aircraft guns, missiles, mortars, rocket launchers, landmines, hand-grenades, light machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles, according to the local administrator, Khan Bukhsh.

Waziristan's economy has always been dependent on the smuggling routes that run through the area linking Pakistan with Afghanistan.

Before the September 2001 attacks on the United States, trafficking in foreign militants was a relatively controlled affair, "closely monitored and often orchestrated by the Pakistan army".

"But the sudden influx after the Tora Bora bombing led to a kind of a free-for-all," says a tribal in Wana.

"Swathes of unemployed locals, many of whom had never had connections with the militant networks in Afghanistan, suddenly discovered the lucrative business of harbouring foreign militants."

Sources BBC News/CIA

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

---

by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 10:34:00 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Let's examine the Waziri Economy in detail

I can understand Sarah's concerns?????????????????(heavy satire)

While the authorities hitherto used to hand out construction contracts to tribal leaders as inducement, cash is now the preferred mode of enticement.

The government had also offered, on March 3, 2005, to buy weapons at market price from the tribesmen in South Waziristan, intending to purchase anti-aircraft guns, missiles, mortars, rocket launchers, landmines, hand-grenades, light machine guns and AK-47 assault rifles, according to the local administrator, Khan Bukhsh.

Waziristan's economy has always been dependent on the smuggling routes that run through the area linking Pakistan with Afghanistan.

Before the September 2001 attacks on the United States, trafficking in foreign militants was a relatively controlled affair, "closely monitored and often orchestrated by the Pakistan army".

"But the sudden influx after the Tora Bora bombing led to a kind of a free-for-all," says a tribal in Wana.

"Swathes of unemployed locals, many of whom had never had connections with the militant networks in Afghanistan, suddenly discovered the lucrative business of harbouring foreign militants."

Sources BBC News/CIA

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

---

by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 10:34:02 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

For Goodness sake.

She was responding to two or more questions from Michael Rovito at one time.  The reporter did not link the things you suggest in his questioning, and she DID suggest the same tactics as Obama did.

There are enough real differences to attack Palin on than ones that are made up.  EVERYONE in the press and on blogs are evisorating her for agreeing with Obama's position and not that of John McCain.  Yea, conventional media can be somewhat dense, but the facts of the matter are that she agrees more with Obama on this than she does the top tier of her own ticket.

I suppose one could argue that The Huffington Post, Americablog, and all those other liberal blogs are wrong then, in that they share my view about this topic.

The trollish sounding blogger formerly known as BURNSEY

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by: R.K. Wright @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 10:44:22 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

Yes...

One could.

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

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by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 11:23:53 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

first off

I'm knocking her on two things:  #1 her statement is inconsistent with McCain's purported stance and #2 going to/expanding war seems to be her stock answer for all questions pertaining to foreign affairs.

Secondly, I did not realize that I am required to agree with Obama on all points (as I do not, nor have I ever implied that I do).  While I do think the Obama-Biden ticket is vastly superior and better for the country than McCain-Palin, Obama was not my first choice. This being said, Obama's statements on the issue are more tactical indicating a need for fine tuned precision whereas, as Snooky indicates, Palin's tends toward the sweeping absolutes.

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by: ol cranky @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 11:06:50 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

If that's the case, then my apologies

But I didn not see anywhere in your above text that states issue #1, or I would not have brought it up (if there is a refrence in this diary to your issue # 1 then please, point me to it and I will gladly eat crow-but after re-reading your diary I still do not see any refrence to the difference of McCain and Palin's statements).

And I didn't say you had to agree with Obama on this issue, I don't agree with him on some issues myself.  I don't expect anyone to go in lockstep with him or any other politician.  But I would still ask, why was there no Diary about this when Obama made the same basic statement of going after terrorists in Pakistan if the Pakistani's  would not.  Her argument is basically the same as Obama's in that if we need to do it, we should do it.

Obama was not my first choice either, mine was Edwards (glad that didn't work out after he cheated on Elizabeth).  There are many aspects of Obama's campaign that I do not agree with and I vocalize those differences often right here.  And I do agree with you that Palin, like the majority of republicans, is WAR WAR WAR, and she is a very dangerous individual who should not hold any office.

But these are just my views and you can discount them at your liesure as at the end of the day, it really doesn't matter what I think or say.  Everyone has an opinion, and we all know the rest of that saying.

And with that I'll be done, as it is obvious that my view doesn't count here.  I do notice that no one even replied to the one person who stated my view here before I even mentioned it, why is that?


The trollish sounding blogger formerly known as BURNSEY

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by: R.K. Wright @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 11:52:15 AM CDT

[ Parent ]

my bad too

I kind of assumed people were aware McCain had attacked Obama over Obama's statements on Afghanistan and Pakistan but maybe that's just old news.  I also thought McCain had sort of brought this up again during the debate and implied stupidity of anyone broadcasting plans for any military action (something his running mate does more often than a teenager says "like).

I don't know why others jumped on your statement vs Qscribes, my guess is that yours was more substantive than the previous comment (that's a compliment).  I responded to yours because I had to address a little more than disagreeing with Obama.

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by: ol cranky @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 13:21:53 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

plus i got the feeling

that palin didn't truly understand the questions.  as we've seen in her extensive interviews ;P she has a habit of repeating the question as a way to avoid looking like she doesn't know what's going on.  just wait, someone will say "and the antarcticans are becoming a real concern to our national security", and she'll answer "yes they are, and we need to take the fight to them so they don't bring it to us.".

Lurleen on Twitter

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by: Lurleen @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 12:13:15 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

You forgot

the bit where she feigns outrage and concern for the fate of the "Antarcticanian people", with their rapidly blowing up economy and all.

Please, won't SOMEONE think of the Antarcticanian ECONOMY???

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

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by: Louise @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 13:47:28 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

The whole debate can be over in 5 minutes.

Here's how...

Put up 2 chalkboards, back-to-back as to prevent "copying" answers, in the center of the stage.

On each is a full but unlabelled map of the world, chalk, and an eraser. Behind them is a large time clock, so they can see how much time is left.

Give the candidates 30 minutes to label all of the oceans, seas, gulfs, etc and fill in as many country names as possible.

Within 5 minutes, Sarah will throw a hissy and QUIT.  

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

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by: Louise @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 09:45:49 AM CDT

no, she'll just label

everything "US" or "THEM".  what more need she do for the base?

Lurleen on Twitter

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by: Lurleen @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 12:14:39 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

Head slap!

Yes, you're right of course, Lurleen.

Debate over in 5 seconds, with Sarah standing looking smug and smirking to the audience and cameras, arms akimbo and eyes rolling comically as Biden continues his labeling for another 20+ minutes.

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

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by: Louise @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 13:50:10 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

ah the effort to

"otherize" people as perfected by the republican party

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by: ol cranky @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 14:21:35 PM CDT

[ Parent ]

My point above

was that I think Palin's answers are so cookie cutter-styled generic, whether or not applicable, as to be obvious as to what they are.

That's why the completely off-the-wall tie-in with the economy stands out. Same sort of absurdity where McCain mistakenly thought Spain was not an ally- the "grab any pat answer out of a hat" mentality.

Psst! Sarah! Here's some info about Waziristan and its "blowing up economy"...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W...

Good lord, she's making my cat look more and more intelligent every day.

"It goes on one at a time, it starts when you care to act, it starts when you do it again after they said no, it starts when you say We and know who you mean, and each day you mean one more."

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by: Louise @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 10:20:41 AM CDT

McCain explains it...

"She was in a conversation with some young man," McCain said during his own interview Sunday on ABC's "This Week." "She understands and has stated repeatedly that we're not going to do anything except in America's national security interest and we are not going to, quote, announce it ahead of time."

McCain said Palin's exchange was not an official policy statement.

"I don't think most Americans think that that's a definitive policy statement made by Governor Palin," McCain said.

Change 'most' to "any" Senator.

Question:  What does an atheist do when they fall to the floor and start "speaking in tongues"?

Answer: Get a CAT scan.

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by: Snooky Ookums @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 19:46:40 PM CDT

Low Expectations

Pam, I think we need to be careful in setting really low expectations for Palin in the VP debate.

The only reason Bush "won" (not really, but in the court of public opinion) any debate against Gore or Kerry was not because he was more eloquent, more visionary, or more in command of the facts, but because he stunned the world by speaking in complete sentences for 90 minutes at a time.

Sarah Palin could easily "win" her debate in much the same way unless she is held to the standards we should hold any Vice Presidential candidate to; it's not enough for her to do better than she did with Katie Couric or Charlie Gibson (because, frankly, with a bar that low, I could win a debate with Joe Biden too).

Love the Blend; glad to be back ...

"There are two kinds of people in this world -- the kind who separate the world into two kinds of people, and those who don't."  -- Gloria Steinem

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by: red7eric @ Sun Sep 28, 2008 at 20:33:17 PM CDT