November 2005 Archives

So Rep. Murtha, a Democratic congressman from my state has started calling for an immediate pullout from Iraq. It's notable for him to say this because he is a Vietnam Veteran who served in the Marine Corp and is viewed as a hawk on defense issues.

The President and Vice-President and the rest of Republican leaders did not wait long to criticize him personally.

Personally, I wish just once that one of these democrats that did serve honorably in Vietnam would stand up and say "I find it laughable that the President would criticize my stand on defense issues when I served honorably, and he couldn't be bothered to finish his tour of duty because he was too busy snorting cocaine out of the ass crack of an Alabama hooker."

Just once...then I'd be happy.

I know that France was not so harsh towards the US during the disaster post-Katrina in New Orleans, but much was made about how America was broken, American capitalism was broken, America's "safety net" of socialist programs weren't working because the people in New Orleans were rioting and raping and shooting, etc.

Now we see a country that is supposed to have a vaunted set of socialist programs, cradle to the grave and so forth and the youth there, the disaffected poor people have been rioting more and for a longer time in France than in the US. They're not abating, and the French are reeling.

I feel badly for them. I don't like when any country has to deal with that level of unrest and disquiet. But it appears that America's not so alone in being "broken" after all. Let's be honest here, the stuff happening in NO was after a major disaster when people were dealing with a lack of food, water, and medicine.

These riots are occuring because two youths were running away from the French police and got electrocuted in a power sub-station and died. Really? That's why they're lighting cars on fire and throwing rocks at cops and causing all of this unrest.

So it's even more despicable. But at least we're not the only ones broken.

Last night, NPR ran a story saying that lawmakers are starting to examine drunk driving laws in the U.S. to see if they are too strict. In that story, they interviewed MADD CEO Chuck Hurley who compared drunk driving to a "violent crime" and "terrorism" because it takes innocent lives.

(Link)