Last Resort? I Don’t Buy It, Mr. President

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Bush: Force last resort on Iran

“JERUSALEM (Reuters) — U.S. President George W. Bush said on Israeli television he could consider using force as a last resort to press Iran to give up its nuclear program.”

“‘All options are on the table,’ Bush, speaking at his ranch in Crawford, Texas, said in the interview broadcast on Saturday.”

“Asked if that included the use of force, Bush replied: ‘As I say, all options are on the table. The use of force is the last option for any president and you know, we’ve used force in the recent past to secure our country.'”

I have that deja vu feeling all over again. I’m almost certain Bush said the very same thing (almost to the word) about Iraq before the invasion. Hmmm…

“‘In all these instances we want diplomacy to work and so we’re working feverishly on the diplomatic route and we’ll see if we’re successful or not,’ Bush told state-owned Israel Channel One television.”

My memory is getting clearer now…

I couldn’t find a quote from before the Iraq invasion, but I did find this from the 2004 presidential debates.

“But a president must always be willing to use troops. It must – as a last resort.”

“I was hopeful diplomacy would work in Iraq. It was falling apart. There was no doubt in my mind that Saddam Hussein was hoping that the world would turn a blind eye. “

“And if he had been in power, in other words, if we would have said, ‘Let the inspectors work, or let’s, you know, hope to talk him out. Maybe an 18th resolution would work,’ he would have been stronger and tougher, and the world would have been a lot worse off. There’s just no doubt in my mind we would rue the day, had Saddam Hussein been in power. “

“So we use diplomacy every chance we get, believe me. And I would hope to never have to use force. “

Any of that language sound familiar to anyone besides me? When Bush gives lip service to diplomacy and calls military action the last resort, it seems to be code for “Yeehaw! Lock and load!” Brace for impact, folks. We’ll be going to war faster than you can say “plumeting approval rating”.

BTW, if anyone has a relevant Bush quote from before the invasion, let me know. 🙂

Welcome Post-Gazette Readers! :)

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picture of Eric Williams and Rob Carr by Alyssa CwangerI mentioned yesterday that an article about Pittsburgh BlogFest 3 was forthcoming. I had no idea it would appear so soon. Nor did I know that I was going to feature so prominently. *blush* I also had no idea they'd use such an unflattering picture. 😉

To those who are reading my stuff for the first time I offer a hearty welcome. For more information about me and my blog, go here. Comments are appreciated and encouraged. 🙂

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No Open Government in Pittsburgh

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political cartoon by Ben Sargent from 12/13/01Recently I highlighted a grassroots effort to make Pittsburgh's government more open to public scrutiny – or return it to that state, as the case happens to be. Sadly, that effort has met with failure.

"Pittsburghers won't have a chance to vote for an 'open government' referendum on Nov. 8, but they will be able to vote for the referendum's creator — longtime activist and Squirrel Hill resident David Tessitor."

"Tessitor, former head of Pittsburghers for Open Government, is running for mayor as an independent candidate."

….

"The referendum needed 8,493 signatures to get on the November ballot, and a group of 100 volunteers managed to collect about half that number over the last seven weeks, Tessitor said."

I'm less than impressed for a few reasons. 1) A non-Democrat hasn't a chance in hell of getting elected in this yellow dog city. 2) He's a complete unknown. 3) If his campaign is as disorganized as the Open Pittsburgh petition effort, he'll still be an unknown on election day.

Expanding on #3, take a look at the Open Pittsburgh website. The news page hasn't been updated since the site was created. I'm also skeptical that only around 4,000 people in the city care about this issue enough to would be willing to at least put a referendum on the ballot. Surely more people could have been reached with a more organized and enthusiastic effort. I don't mean to totally trash the effort. I still agree with the proposed referendum. I just think that Tessitor could have learned a few lessons from Bob Brigham and Tim Tagaris or perhaps Grassfire.org.

"He said Pittsburghers for Open Government will conduct a new signature campaign either during the winter or next summer."

When they do, I'll let you folks know. I'll help spread the word however I can.

Everyone’s a Victim

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Radio Network Claims It’s Being Bumped for Howard Stern

"The Word Network, an urban religious station featuring programs like ‘Rainbow Push with Jesse Jackson,’ claims that it is being dropped by Sirius Satellite Radio to make room for shock jock Howard Stern."

….

"Sirius has a ‘duty to find room on their dial for wholesome broadcasting that serves the public interest,’…

The fact of the matter is that satellite radio is losing money. If the Word Network isn’t making Sirius money, why should they be obligated to continue broadcasting it? I’m getting really sick of this entitlement crap and its attendant victims and martyrs. There are Christians in this world facing real persecution. This kind of whining reflects poorly on on Christians and does nothing to help people who really have no voice.

"The Word Network started a letter writing campaign to try to retain its broadcasting place on Sirius Satellite Radio. The campaign has resulted in over 15,000 letters being sent to Sirius calling for ‘more balance to programming,’…"

I wonder how many of those 15,000 people ponied up the $150 per year for the service (plus the cost of the radio).

Anyhow, what do you folks think?

BlogFest the Third

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BlogFest 3 name tagI didn’t attend BlogFest’s 1 and 2, but last night I attended Pittsburgh BlogFest 3. It was really cool to meet some felow Pittsburgh bloggers in person. Being the shy guy I am, I started with Rob of UnSpace and Mike of Grabass and Pittsburgh Webloggers, with whom I recorded a podcast interview a few months back (part 1, part 2). Through them, I met folks from the following blogs:

UnSpace
All Jacked
Subdivided We Stand
2 Political Junkies
Central Park Bench
Gclectic
It’s important to be warm
Froth Slosh B’Gosh
the.dahl.pod
Honsberger is a Liar

I had a good time meeting the people behind the keyboards. There were a few awkward moments related to political discussions, but nothing uncivil or unpleasant. My only regret is that I didn’t step out of my comfort zone more and meet more people. Perhaps by the next BlogFest I’ll have read more Pittsburgh blogs and have added incentive to be less shy. 🙂

Tim McNulty, staff reporter for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, was also in attendance (with photographer in tow). I look forward to reading his article. 🙂