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Joan wrote: " I can't leave the Democratic Party. I never leave <u>any</u>
party until all the booze is gone, and I'm wearing the lamp shade on my
head. "<br>
<br>
Hey, Ted Kennedy has been trying to end the party for some decades
now. One more term and you'll be ready to take your leave. Hope
springs eternal. (Yes, yes, I know... cheap shot.) <br>
<br>
As for Howard's yawp (which I spelled "yaup" as my inability to spell
is only outdone by my ability to write torturous run-on sentances , but
I'm thinking Uncle Wally would forgive if he were alive today) was,
well, rather poetical (sic). I'm looking forward to four more years.<br>
<br>
Dave Budge<br>
<br>
ps. I've gotta fact check you on the numbers from <b>The Lancet </b>but
Spiritual Advisor #1 (my now 9 year old daughter) requires a birthday
party for which I'm the chef. Today's menu: pasta topped with olive
oil, artichoke hearts, calamata olives, fresh basil, garlic, red
peppers and a splash of lemon juice for brightness. Sounds far
superior to Chomsky, Horowitz, Paglia or Hitchens doesn't it.<br>
<br>
Joan Opyr wrote:<br>
<blockquote type="cite"
cite="midBAY10-DAV831D4AC531C967F9F21ECC5690@phx.gbl">
<div>David, I certainly apologize for putting words in your mouth --
that was not my intention. As you can no doubt tell, the name "David
Horowitz" has a less than salubrious effect on me. In fact, it's
downright Pavlovian. He makes me want to bite someone. This time, I
guess it was you.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>I am not as suspicious of <strong>The Lancet's </strong>figures
as you are because <strong>The Lancet </strong>is tracking the body
count via Iraqi hospital reports. Not coincidentally, we began our
bombing campaign -- our shock and awe -- with targeted hospital
bombings. This suggests to me that we (meaning the US) didn't want an
accurate civilian body count. But why quibble? Shall we split the
difference between 30,000 and 100,000 and call it 50,000? I don't know
about you (except that you are hardly hunlike in any of your arguments)
but 50,000 doesn't make me feel any better. And I don't think it's
correct. It is possible that <strong>The Lancet</strong> is counting
the victims of car bombings. Those aren't directly our fault -- though
I suppose that, too, is arguable. (Ted? Tom? Feel free to jump in
here.)</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Now, speaking of putting words in mouths, I <u>don't</u>
support pulling out of Iraq now. In fact, I support the Colin Powell
position: we broke it; we bought it. It is now our moral obligation to
see this thing through. But it will cost us, and it will cost us
dearly. People on this list have recalled our "democratization" of
Japan and tried to use that as a justification and a projection of what
we might do in Iraq. I think we can both agree that that is a poor
analogy: first, we completely and utterly defeated Japan. We razed
Hiroshima and Nagasaki to the ground, atomically. Then, we occupied
the country with 300,000 troops for ten years. That doesn't seem to be
our plan for Iraq. I can't tell that we <u>have</u> a plan for Iraq.
What I fear is a quick and dirty pull-out, something akin to our
departure from Saigon. We'll leave a lot of "collaborators" behind to
be massacred by their own, and we'll find that the Middle East is more
unstable than when we began this misadventure. But then we can't let
that happen, can we? So how will we get more troops to Iraq? No, wait
-- how will we get more troops, period? We're not meeting our
recruiting quotas, so, well, you do the math. I'm only on my first cup
of coffee.</div>
<div> </div>
<div>Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment</div>
<div> </div>
<div>PS: I can't leave the Democratic Party. I never leave <u>any</u>
party until all the booze is gone, and I'm wearing the lamp shade on my
head. And you can gawp all you like; I think Howard Dean is da bomb.
He was a great governor of Vermont; he speaks his mind; and the Party
establishment hates him. That, at the moment, is good enough for me.</div>
<div> </div>
<br>
</blockquote>
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