tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post866320430589687416..comments2023-12-01T16:56:04.415+11:00Comments on Peak Energy: Yes, We Could... Get Out!Big Gavhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00682404837426502876noreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-63993894603438153172010-04-27T22:47:27.673+10:002010-04-27T22:47:27.673+10:00I honestly don't think Obama has changed much ...I honestly don't think Obama has changed much - the spin is completely different but tangible outcomes seem very thin on the ground (yes, he's spent some on clean energy initiatives, but also bankrolled new nuclear, clean coal and offshore drilling).<br /><br />I really don't see the american presence calming things down in iraq, nor afghanisatn - its their presence which guarantees the taliban will eventually win.<br /><br />Th Soviets would have made the same sort of arguments about the communist government in Kabul (some neocons have even tried to resurrect their stories as a way to bolster their own plans) but its just crap.<br /><br />let people sort their own lives out - they don't need foreigners to do it (especially ones with ulterior motives).Big Gavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00682404837426502876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-16003592836121659222010-04-27T15:10:49.217+10:002010-04-27T15:10:49.217+10:00Obama has changed nothing? Are you friggin' k...Obama has changed nothing? Are you friggin' kidding me?<br /><br />Could we start with him putting scientists back in charge of science? No more twenty-something non-scientist telling government scientists what data they could make public and what they couldn't.<br /><br />Stem cell research, huge money to green energy, health care legislation, gay and womens rights improvements, major increases in car mileage requirements, and the list goes on.<br /><br /><br /><br /><br />---<br /><br />Yes, going into Iraq was totally wrong. Evil wrong. But once there I think it necessary to try to help get things calmed down. <br /><br />Afghanistan. Remember the Soviets were trying to conquer. We're trying to allow an independent government to get on its feet.<br /><br />Furthermore common belief among military analysts is that the Soviets basically had control of Afghanistan but were pulled out for political reasons. Part of Gorbachev's redirection of the Soviet Union. <br /><br />It's not clear that the Taliban will end up back in control. Lots of the population do no want these "hillbillys" running their country. <br /><br />Talks are apparently underway with a least a large portion of the Taliban to allow them a role in the final government but not overall control. Basically let them rule the mountainous areas they control much like the Kurds control their part of Iraq.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Reagan. No joke.<br /><br />When he was governor of CA he decided that the state mental hospitals should be closed (very good idea) and that the patients should be moved to community facilities (also very good idea).<br /><br />He promised that the money being used to fund the state hospitals would flow to the counties to fund the new needed facilities.<br /><br />The money was never sent.<br /><br />Thousands of severely mentally ill people got dumped on the streets, most suffered, many died.<br /><br />It took years for the counties to scrape money from their other programs and fix the wrongs that Ronnie had wrought.Bob Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09823785572625960890noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-49228403724420876622010-04-26T09:30:35.834+10:002010-04-26T09:30:35.834+10:00The Ronnie image was a joke (he really did change ...The Ronnie image was a joke (he really did change things though - unlike Obama, who hasn't).<br /><br />As for Iraq, I agree with Tom - the US should leave Iraq now - the "bugging out" argument is just crap and will be used forevermore as an excuse to stay.<br /><br />The Taliban are going to end up back in charge of Afghanistan regardless - even if it takes them 40 years to do it - you've got no more chance of winning there long term than the Soviets did.Big Gavhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00682404837426502876noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-9864176.post-80797318204271760312010-04-26T03:34:39.460+10:002010-04-26T03:34:39.460+10:00I remember that smiling guy. He's the one who...I remember that smiling guy. He's the one who made a secret deal with our enemy in order to help him gain the White House.<br /><br />He's the guy who illegally traded arms for support for an immoral war.<br /><br />He's the guy who took the solar panels off the White House and set back the transition away from fossil fuels by decades.<br /><br />He's the guy who took us down the road of too little regulation which has brought us to almost total economic collapse and deaths in mines.<br /><br />Yep, that's Saint Ronnie. Patron saint of things terrible.<br /><br />--<br /><br />Now for the Tom stuff. <br /><br />Going into Iraq was wrong. But bugging out would have been just as wrong. We broke it - we are obligated to try to fix it.<br /><br />Going into Afghanistan was understandable. The Taliban was in control of the government. They supported and aided al Qaeda.<br /><br />We knocked them out of power and then we failed to finish the job. Now we've got another mess. And we need to put on our big boy Y-fronts and finish the job that another Republican president f*cked up.<br /><br />It's all about taking personal responsibility. Something that Republicans seem to value until they are called to take their share....Bob Wallacehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09823785572625960890noreply@blogger.com