Jan 15 2007
24 Season Premier, 8:00 AM – 10:00 AM Open Thread
The second two hours of the premiere of 24 was truly rivetting. To me the most jarring moment was when Jack had to kill Curtis. Again, we see the up-until-now prime example of a good American taken over by vengeance and hate. Consumed to the point of endangering everyone else. I cannot help but see the ghost of partisan obsession in that lesson, and I expect we will see more. The lesson is clear: if we decide to discard compromise we risk something much worse. Compromise cannot be seen as preferable over attack and bloodshed. But to many partisans it is. Too many liberals are ready to run from Iraq because they cannot or will not face the ramifications of such a short sighted move.
And many conservatives went over the top in refusing to give an inch to anyone remotely Arab or Muslim. I still cannot forget when I became a Bush conservative and in easy opposition to the Republican Congress. It was over the Dubai Ports deal where fear and bias superceded security. Just like Bauer and the President in this made up story must deal with Assad to stop Americans from dying, the US faced an even easier decision in the Dubai Ports deal. In return for running US port berths (not the ports themselves) using US managers and personnel the UAE was prepared to spend THEIR MONEY to install state of the art Cargo scanning systems at every port they support – many of which are prime entries into the US market. Every Democrat and Republican moaning about container security better not have denigrated the DPW deal – because that deal included a massive increase in inspection capabilities at the point of departure, not here in the US.
As usual 24 is present hard questions with no good answers. There is no “EASY” button in real life. We must not let emotion and fear cloud our judgement. And we can never negotiate with terrorists. That family learned that lesson and President Palmer is learning it – too slowly. Anyone looking for quick and easy solutions is delusional and not worth listening too. All tough decisions are ugly and imperfect. It was thought 9-11 had shook us from the liberal fantasy world of easy answers, where everyone is above average and upper class. Apparently we still have much to learn and a fictionalized TV show is giving us all a good opportunity to contemplate the world as it would be with Al Qaeda running Iraq.
Iraq is not good, but there seems to be alot of moving parts and we need time. AJ look at LGF, a peace process has been worked on beginning in 2004, Israel/Syria. I’m sure there are alot of other moving parts that can’t be talked about. Pam Hess, a DOD reported said today, this struggle is a struggle of National Security. She asked when will the press treat it as Americas struggle instead of a political football. She works for UPI.
There are some very brave souls who have to make heart breaking decisions where the outcome is unknowable for certain. Thank God for those few.
Okay…somebody tell me this doesn’t look bad:
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1768171/posts#comment?q=1
…or at least mass mutiny sponsored by Congress. I am seriously tired of this crap!!!
Carol
Carol, of course it looks bad. And it’s jarring, demoralizing, and puts a quiver in my lower lip. That’s the whole idea. We’re being assaulted 24/7 from every corner of the culture and landscape. Satan is popping corn and relaxing in his recliner while watching the fireworks.
However, below is an excerpt from another soldier’s email — one with a slightly different, more mature perspective. See if his few powerful, to-the-point paragraphs don’t more than neutralize the petition you referenced:
SNIP – from a soldier’s email
Many of us in the military know about the political chatter swirling about. We just shrug and say, “what else is new.†The stakes in Iraq, Afghanistan, HOA, and elsewhere are enormous. We would rather fight here than in our own streets.
And, this is the point many Americans do not believe will happen if we leave this fight early. They see this as an abstraction, or more as fear-mongering. It is not. The assumption that a “Minuteman†response would occur is like believing that a snowball won’t melt in 100-deg weather. The “Minuteman†response would not happen simply because of fear and the terrible loss of life we’ll see.
The terrorists we face over here are stone-cold killers. They would kill their own if it means they get to propagate their hate and evil. And, they are evil in every sense of the word. They are not misunderstood, they are not the misforgotten, etc. They do know who they are. Many terrorists come from a world of privilege, more privilege than many of their kinfolk.
President Bush has done his absolute best. He’s the right man for the time. This is not an easy war by any means a stretch of the imagination. We do put in very long days and very, very short nights. Sometimes we see very good results, sometimes the results aren’t so good. War by nature is very messy. While we do our best to plan for contingencies, we adjust accordingly. With regard to the Vice President and former SecDef Rumsfeld, they’ve been the best to us. They understand the stakes, and this is most important … not the political usefulness. You want people in leadership positions who understand the stakes, willing to make the hard decisions, and take responsibility regardless of the situation. The Vice President and Rumsfeld are such people. But, this is a point that can be argued at another time and by others.
For your son, keep him close. If he wants to join, encourage and support him. Military life can be difficult at times, but there’s no other experience that is better. If he wants to go another route, encourage and support him. Not everyone should see the face of war.
Found at The Anchoress:
http://theanchoressonline.com/2007/01/15/lamb-dragon-counter-terrorism-with-love/
Thanks Sally,
It reminds me that there are honorable people in the world. Having dug into this a little further, it would not surprise me to find out that – a) all the names on this petition are phony; b) someone in Congress who is coordinating this with people outside and, who obviously doesn’t know a thing about the UCMJ or anything else about the military, is counting on the “whistle-blowers act” to cover these guys…which it doesn’t by the way! This just MAY be an attempt to corrupt the Congressional Record reminiscent of the Winter Soldier “testimony”.
God help them if they try that again!
We are at war with the liberals. They are endangering my children and grandchildren’s lives.
24 sent me over the top last night…I am still angry with those who refuse to see that our very civilization is hanging in the balance.
Did you all hear Rush talking today about the media and how they are saying this is designed to help George Bush?
Pathetic. I absolutely DESPISE the media…even parts of Foxnews.
We cannot let them dictate what we know to be the truth.
Ivehadit,
Yeah, I heard that! Now get this:
Of course the Dems have a plan…it’s to review the Millenium Bomber’s case:
http://www.breitbart.com/news/na/cp_w011633A.xml.html
Courtesy of the 9th Circus of San Fran. sigh. By all means…let’s give him at least 10 more times to kill us! After all, that’s only fair.
/heavy sarc/
For an excellent synopsis of last night double episodes,
8 to 10 AM.
Yes, the ninth circus has confirmed ( for the umpteenth time) how much they despise America.
I am sick of it.
Read that link by ERP just above, it’s great, very funny.