October 11, 2006

• It's a shame he is allowing himself and the memory of his son to be used as a political tool
• It's tempting to deride Beamer's father but it is also possible that there has been some skillful manipulation of a grieving parent. And of all the loony post-9/11 conspiracy theories, the shooting down of Flight 93 seems to me to be one of the most plausible.
• Islander, I would be very interested to follow any links you might be able to provide that connect to reasonable theories that the flight was shot down. All that I have seen heretofore have been wacko fringe stuff. No one could or should criticize the elder Beamer if he has been manipulated by Rove and company or whomever. But we have no evidence of that. It seems tho, that like his Beamer's wife, this man is using his son's awful death for purposes that are unconnected to the miscreants who caused this tragedy, and to gain either personal celebrity or to further a political agenda that is not supported by the facts of their family's horror.
• We should never give up our fight against O'Saddam Bin Laden. Of course they are on the same side! They aren't on our side, so that makes them buddies by default.
• Osama Bin Laden: 3,000 dead Americans. George W. Bush, 600,000 dead Iraqis.
• George W. Bush, 600,000 dead Iraqis.
• Prior to 9/11, Beamer Sr. most likely held politcal convictions similar to those he now espouses and his anger over his son's death is certainly understandable. But I'd be willing to bet that he didn't come up with the script of the ad on his own. So, yeah, he's probably cashing in (financially or otherwise) on the situation, but he's getting lots of professional help doing it. And he also lost a child, which would screw up anyone's sense of perspective. As far as Flight 93 goes, the whole story just sounds too pat, heroic and made for TV. I'm skeptical of the conspiracy theories but I'm also skeptical of the official accounts as well.
• I don't believe anything that comes out of the US Gov's mouthpieces. They've lied too much about everything else. We haven't been told the truth about any of the events of 9/11, that much is for certain.
• Any?
• Other than the US was attacked.. /shrug You can't believe a word these bastards tell you. Separating fact from fiction is pretty hard. That's not to say I believe any crazy-ass conspiracy theory coming out the pipe just because it's not from the 9/11 commission, but the US government's record on truth telling & ethics is down around whale shit right now.
• If this is the ad I think it is (I'm on dial-up and it's late, so I'm not going to go watch it) what bugs me the most about it is "killed in action." Well, no, he wasn't, because he was a civilian. I don't think anyone can deny the heroism of that flight's passengers, but that doesn't posthumously make them "killed in action" any more than I would be if I were shot while trying to fight off a burglar. That commercial or a similar ad suggests that "3,000 Americans" were killed on 9/11, which is also not the case... I don't know the exact numbers, but plenty of people who died at the WTC were not US Citizens, even if the majority were. And here is where I would write the random line about how upset I am with the Republican Party right now, which would probably include some invective, if I were actually to formulate it properly.
• There is still hope that the electorate will get so sick of their government that they vote in a liver-lillied liberal next time.
• You can't believe a word these bastards tell you. I've never known it to be so bad. Seriously, it is fucked up.
• >>There is still hope that the electorate will get so sick of their government Is there still hope that the elections aren't rigged? That's one thing I'm worried about. If we're actually counting votes this year, then there's a chance that the wisdom and perspective of the American voting public will be made manifest. That's the other thing I'm worried about.
• I'm not one to say that things are hopeless, Stan. But I'm about ready to sit down and cry.
• I don't cry well, being male. I have been considering tying up my possessions (frog, harmonica, sammitch) in a red handkerchief and running away from home.
• Good ol' Hopkin green frog.
• Piss in their eyes!!! Fuck 'em! Can't take your freedom!
• Of course they can; all of our freedom is being pumped through tiny conduits to Iraq. Lots of freedom over there, from what I hear.
• It's outrageous that this crap is still going on, especially after Shrub & Co.'s recent declarations that they never intimated Saddam or Iraq had anything to do with 9/11. The jump in logic in that commercial was astounding. How did we get from talking about 9/11 to Iraq? Because we've created a breeding ground for terrorists? Funny how they skipped that step.
• Point of order: the neocons have never suffered logic well. Have you ever seen an alcoholic deny their alcoholism while drinking alcohol? Well, it's like that. Only with bombs and innocent lives and political power and it doesn't wear off by itself the next morning. That's all. Hey'd you see that LED Rat thread? Fucked up, eh?
• QUESTION: What did Iraq have to do with it? BUSH: What did Iraq have to do with what? QUESTION: The attack on the World Trade Center. BUSH: Nothing. Even the man himself stopped pushing this lame justification, once he got the slaughter he so dearly wanted.
• The implication is that the Bush administration didn't explicitly say that there was a link between Iraq and 9/11; however, they did not disabuse us of the notion, either. How convenient for them.