Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Egypt. Show all posts

Friday, September 14, 2012

Obama proves he is qualified; Romney flails

Let's get some statements, then sort out the timeline ;)

Romney:  "When our grounds are being attacked, and being breached, that the first response of the United States must be outrage at the breach of the sovereignty of our nation. And apology for America's values is never the right course," he said, slamming the Obama administration for "sympathiz[ing] with those who waged the attacks."

Obama:  Romney "seems to have a tendency to shoot first and aim later."  and here are his remarks that embody true leadership and strength rather than threats and accusations based on bungled facts.


Clinton:  “Violence like this is no way to honor religion or faith, and as long as there are those who would take innocent life in the name of God, the world will never know a true and lasting peace” and “a free and stable Libya is still in America’s interest and security.”


Politicians on social media...(monumentally bad idea):


Reince Priebus:   “Obama sympathizes with attackers in Egypt. Sad and pathetic."


Allen West (R-FL, Tea Party):  Repeats weakness, apology, Jimmy Carter talking points, accuses media of protecting President when Romney should be cross examined because he made incorrect statements and is running for president, advocates bringing diplomats home, and unbelievably repeats the incorrect timeline of the Embassy condemnation of the video (confused with White House statement) as a response to the Libya attack.


Jim DeMint (R-SC):  “Governor Romney is absolutely right, there is no justification for these deadly attacks and we should never apologize for American freedom,”


Sarah Palin- Classic Palin: crude, factually incorrect and includes debunked Republican talking points. On Facebook...


Donald Rumsfeld:  The attacks on our embassies & diplomats are a result of perceived American weakness. Mitt Romney is right to point that out.


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On September 11 of this year, our ambassador to Libya died, along with 3 employees. The timeline generally starts at one showing of an anti-Islam movie which barely anyone attended and the trailer for it which, rather, may have been the thing that circulated widely. The film details are sketchy, the funding and producer's details are not known, but an Egyptian Christian ex-con could be involved and the Florida Quran burning pastor had much praise for it. When picked up by Arabic news, this inflamed tensions in the Middle East because wild rumor had it that it was supported by our government (as films must be there) and viewed widely in America, neither of which is true. 

It is widely thought to be an event that extremists used to their advantage and not necessarily the cause of the Cairo protest that turned angry and the tragic Libya embassy attack. It appears to be a well planned attack in the case of Libya. I'll be watching to see if the timing video is coincidence, if the ex-con suspected to be involved with the video was giving info to extremists, or if by chance both the video makers and the extremists wanted to use 9/11 to broadcast their hateful messages.

This is usually a time for putting politics aside and for expressing sympathy for victims' families together as Americans (or humans). Instead, Romney got his facts out of order and used that mistake to try and prop up the long debunked "apology tour" talking point to say Obama is not a leader and we need Romney to provide that leadership in Washington. Misguided is an understatement.

There are several things wrong, here. All pretty much lead one to conclude Romney shouldn't be anywhere close to an office that informs American foreign policy. He would be a disaster. GWB certainly made bad choices in foreign policy and advisers, but Romney is gunning for war and alienating allies well before we vote on who will make the best decisions in cases like these! 

1. He got the facts wrong.
*Obama did not apologize;
*the Twitter statement of tolerance was not an apology and came one guy from the embassy, not the White House;
*and the embassy statement was made BEFORE the attack to cool tensions ignited by an anti-Islam video.

2. He shamefully used the deaths of 4 Americans for political gain, along with Ryan and RNC chair Preibus.

3. It appears that he wasn't moved to make a statement condemning violence or expressing condolences or urging Americans to come together in crisis- his aides urged him to make a political statement separating him from Obama and dividing the nation.

4. Romney, Ryan also tried to tie in the "no leadership" talking point, and in the process proved Obama is the one you want in a crisis, without a doubt.

One of the tired Republican talking points seems to be that Obama lacks leadership, but ironically, this is the very thing in which Romney keeps displaying his profound lack of understanding and leadership. Just as McCain jumped the gun and made a spectacle of himself when the bottom dropped out of the economy (wanting to stop the campaign and debates to appear to be doing something), Romney with his gaffe ridden European tour, irresponsible Libya comments and criticism of Obama's careful diplomacy in favor of Romeny and Ryan's guns blazing, sabre rattling "American strength" does not inspire confidence the way a leader should in times of trouble. In fact, it goes beyond not inspiring confidence, though-  his way is bellicose and coarse, his approach is belligerent, undiplomatic and he is unqualified for the presidency.



Monday, February 14, 2011

Beck, O'Reilly and the budding romance

But I also wonder if we're seeing a transition. O'Reilly is face of Fox News' past success -- an aggressive, usually conservative-oriented take on the news of the day, laced with a dose of alamism and fear.
Beck is a new voice who takes that alarmism to operatic levels, creating a cult of personality through his show that is focused on the issues he finds compelling. Most recently, he's unveiled a 100-year plan to curb what he calls "progressives" attempts to turn America into a "socialist utopia."
Quote from: http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/content/why-are-glenn-beck-and-bill-oreilly-touring-together

Caught this while reading some more on the celebration in Egypt...

I thought Sarah Palin was bad. She is, but no one really takes her seriously.

But, these guys, I know for a fact some people respect. And that's sad.

This is Valentine's Day. I hate what comes out of these guys' mouths, but they appear to be having quite the love fest- appearing on each other's shows, laying the compliments on thick.

This was great:

Why Are Glenn Beck and Bill O'Reilly Touring Together?
http://www.tampabay.com/blogs/media/content/why-are-glenn-beck-and-bill-oreilly-touring-together

Apparently, Beck was on O'Reilly's show Jan 31:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/01/glenn-beck-oreilly-egypt-communists_n_816761.html

And again on Feb 11:
http://www.salon.com/news/politics/war_room/2011/02/12/glenn_beck_egypt_bill_o_reilly/index.html

I think there were other times, but in these last ones they talk about Egypt some.

Beck actually says he thinks Egyptians don't hate us because of our freedoms, but rather because of our meddling in the rest of the world. This will be a serious breakthrough... or point of serious contention with his audience! :) I couldn't believe he actually said that. I mean, it made sense. Somewhat. I don't think Egyptians hate us, actually.

He then goes on to make a few more typical and ridiculous points (to which surprisingly, O'Reilly is skeptical!):

*the uprising "is being orchestrated by the Marxist Communists and the Muslim Brotherhood"
*if Mubarak goes, it will (he does say "could," but you know what he means) be the start of an Islamic caliphate across the region
(He is at least in part quoting Mubarak! I knew I heard it somewhere before.)

Apparently on the Feb 11 show, O'Reilly challenges Beck on these points. I kind of want to watch it, but don't know if I'll waste the time on these two Islamophobic spreaders of conspiracy theory and urban legend.

I wonder if this is a Presidential ticket or just a money making scheme or passing of the fearmongering torch. The Palin/ Joe the Plumber would be much more entertaining. Who would take which role? Surely neither ego would want the VP slot! It's probably about money.