Friday, July 27, 2012

Miscellaneous 131

1) “It is impossible to bargain collectively with the government.” - George Meany (former head of the AFL-CIO) 1955.............2) When I voted for Mr. Obama in 2008, I did what basically everybody did (those who voted for him, I'm saying). I projected. In my case it was a mixture of JFK's inspiration and Eisenhower's pragmatism. Yeah, huh?............3) And don't get me wrong here. There have been times when he HAS shown the skills and leadership of these two Presidents (two of the finest, in my opinion). Just not lately. I'm especially disappointed in the way that he's been pitting groups of Americans against each other, his denigration of venture capitalism, his giving of credit to the government for entrepreneurial success, etc.. As of now/if the election were held today, I'd be voting for Johnson.............4) For those of you who have an interest in learning more about the Allied bombing of German and Japanese cities during WW2, you might want to check out A.C. Grayling's well revued volume, "Among the Dead Cities: The History and Moral Legacy of the WW2 Bombing of Civilians in Germany and Japan". It's a balanced book that puts forth not just a factual perspective but a philosophical one as well.............5) As for the raw numbers, Professor Grayling and others have stated that well in excess of 300,000 (possibly up to 900,000 - and, no, this does NOT include Hiroshima and Nagasaki) Japanese civilians and approximately 400,000 German civilians were killed by American and British air attacks on various cities. And while it has been argued that these strategic bombings of major population centers possibly hastened an end to the conflict, that is something that has been very far from settled. Grayson personally argues no in Germany (as it did in Vietnam decades later, he argues that it actually consolidated the resistance).............6) Look, I'm willing to give FDR and Churchill the benefit of the doubt here. We were fighting for the future of Western Civilization and maybe these draconian tactics were necessary (though clearly they would have been war crimes had we lost). But if you end up giving one President or Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt, maybe it isn't the worst thing in the world to give 'em all some slack - within reason, I'm saying

7 comments:

Les Carpenter said...

Obama is shifting gears, he's going positive. I mean real positive, almost JFK like. Wow!

Spinning so fast I'm getting dizzy, WOW, what a rush!

Ans I'm sure it will work on the good goosestepping sheeple that walk in lockstep with the democratic party goons.

dmarks said...

RN said: "Obama is shifting gears....almost JFK like."

Of course, now it is "Ask not what you can do for your country - ask what your country can do for you"

dmarks said...

Will said: " As of now/if the election were held today, I'd be voting for Johnson....."

I'm tempted. But I'm a conservative, and believe that Obama should not be re-elected. If my vote made any difference, depending on where I am, I'd be throwing it away on Johnson. (i.e. a vote for him would be a vote for Obama)

However, if it looks like my state is going to be definitely very "blue" according to reliable polls just before the election, I would strongly consider him.

Marcus said...

Ok Will: Will check out this WWII book....I owe it to myself. As I stated previous, in all the conversations I had with my Dad about his time in the Airforce during WWII, he never mentioned civilian targets...He never talked about the concentration camps either. I suspect their were some things he didn't want to relive.

Marcus said...

RN/Les: "democratic party goons." Come on dude...do you really think the Republican apparatus does not act like goons? The political scene in the US is just plain ugly...Yes I am a Democrat but I am at least willing admit that BOTH sides are completely capable of acting like asses...unfortunately, it become a pragmatic adaptation. Obama has been attacked RELENTLESSLY since his election so those who say he is being negative should remember the "I hope he fails", "He wasn't born in the US", "He's a Muslim", "He's a Terrorist" comments... For what its worth, I AM impressed with the Libertarian Johnson.

Les Carpenter said...

Marcus - There are goons in the democratic party and there are goons in the republican party, never said otherwise.

It's just the the democratic party has more.

Since all roads, either from the republican party or the democratic party lead to the same cliff I'm voting Libertarian.

BTW, had you ever taken the time to follow my commentary you would realize I hammer the republicans as much as I hammer the democrats.

Apparently nobody is paying attention from the left.

I sure take it on occasion from the right though because I don't goosestep like a good soldier.

Both are useless parties more concerned abut winning than getting anything done. neither have all the solutions.

Will "take no prisoners" Hart said...

Marcus, I am in no way attempting to denigrate the brave soldiers and air-men of the U.S., Britain, and Canada. I mean, my God, if it wasn't for them, who can even ponder where we'd be.......This was a strategy that came from the top and it's scary to think that 2 great men like Churchill and FDR were responsible for it.