The Original DailySkew

LDOTR: Rush Jumps the Somali Shark

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 17:44:00 +0000

Rush led his show saying things like, "Moody's now rates the Somali Pirates AAA ... Somali Pirates are becoming a bank to get bailout money from Paulson ... Bloomberg News is reporting that the Somali Pirates have put in an offer to buy Citibank."

And that's why Rush SUCKS. I'm surprised he didn't have a rimshot play as he did his stand-up routine at the expense of those who have been kidnapped or killed by these scum..

He proceeded to explain that the stock market is down because of fear that Obama will raise taxes ... CNBC talking heads have talked for years about how the market tends to react negatively when Democrats are elected to President.

Anyway, because Rush just HAD to push the envelope, his real point got lost. What a fool. Splish-splish.

One more headline

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:04:00 +0000

A Burmese comedian was sentenced to 45 YEARS in jail for criticizing Burma's military gov't for their poor response to the deadly typhoon you've probably forgotten about.

BBC headlines

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 14:44:00 +0000

These stories may appear on Drudge and Yahoo someday:

- Sadr protests Iraqi timetable for U.S. withdrawal by 2011: Not soon enough for him! Majority of Iraqis disagree and support 2011 timetable.
- U.N. Troops crippled by Political Correctness in the Congo: Have to shoot in the air to announce presence before attacking rebels
- Indian Navy given green light to chase down Somali pirates

LDOTR: Francessa swayed towards Mussina

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:38:00 +0000

Several callers have mentioned that every pitcher with 100 or more wins over losses is in the Hall of Fame, and Mussina has over 100 wins over losses. That and his winning percentage have been big selling points to sway Francessa.

The people against Moose say he wasn't dominant enough. After a few of those calls, Francessa found ten of Moose's seasons that he deemed Hall of Fame caliber.

At one point, Francessa tried to compare Moose to Guidry as a way of showing that Moose didn't belong ... But that blew up in his face. Guidry only has approximately 170 wins! Silly comparison.

We'll see if the baseball writers are convinced by these arguments to let Moose in the Hall of Fame in five years....

What I learned today from GMA and NPR

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 14:01:00 +0000

- GMA talking heads like Sorkin have zero sympathy for Union workers, and applaud the Senate cancelling a vote on a automaker bailout. GMA also reported that auto execs use expensive private jets to fly around.
- GMA had a computer graphic presentation showing how one pirate can cause a ship's captain to surrender a ship merely by capturing one crewman at gunpoint.
- NPR's Steve Innskeep interviewed a Navy Admiral who called for shipping companies to hire "Security details" for their boats. That was followed by a typically frustrating Innskeep interview with the head of security company. Innskeep kept trying to find out when would security on a boat shoot a pirate (trying to pitch the security guy as evil?), then turned around and actually asked why they don't just put a cannon on the ship and blow the pirates out of the water. The security head kept saying they would prevent pirates from boarding, and blowing pirates out of the water would make a security detail as bad as pirates.

I'm glad the MSM is against the auto bailout, and I'm glad the Pirates of Aden are being talked about. I guess the MSM waited for the election to end before covering that story.

Therockradio.com

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 00:32:00 +0000

I just heard G n' R (doing Welcome to the Jungle live), Foo Fighters, Dio, Ramones, Motley Crue, and the Clash on therockradio.com. Glad I found this internet station!

If you're tired of the 4,000 songs on your i-Pod, check it out.

Now they're playing some Aerosmith that never got any terrestrial airplay. Rock and roll!

Whoa -- they're playing terra obscura Coverdale/Page! Wow! YHWH bless this station.

Breaking News: Mussina Retires

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 23:00:00 +0000

Ken Rosenthal of Fox Sports is reporting that Mike Mussina has decided to retire. No official announcement has been made by the Yanks or Moose.

Thanks to WFAN for reporting this historic news.

See you in five years at Cooperstown, Moose. If there is any shred of justice in the baseball world, Mussina will be voted into the Hall of Fame.

Below $2.00

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 17:57:00 +0000

LDOTR: Rush talks SecState Hillary

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:42:00 +0000

I've been wondering what is up with Hillary being considered for Secretary of State? The election is over - he doesn't owe her anything.

Rush just espoused the following theory: Obama wants to get rid of the Clintons. We all know that the Clintons can't answer all the questions on the 62-page questionnaire honestly - Bill Clinton has too many connections to the Sauds, donors from other countries, etc. So, Obama ends up announcing that because of Bill's post-Presidential connections, Hillary can't be SecState.

It is a logical explanation for all this - that this is a set-up to get rid of the Clintons once and for all.

It will certainly tell us a lot about the big O if Rush is right!

BBC Reports on Pirates of Aden

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 14:53:00 +0000

John Burnett, Author of Dangerous Waters and former pirate kidnap victim, basically said there is no military solution for the Somali pirates. It's more cost-effective to just pay the ransom.

I say that if the international community is not willing to pay the cost to end anarchy and piracy now, this will only embolden pirates.

Already they've hijacked an oil tanker that is the size of a skyscraper and, according to Burnett, takes MILES to come to a stop. What started with bitter idiot fishermen has now expanded to any young men in Somalia looking to make a fast buck.

I detect a pattern here, where the international community is unwilling to rebuild a nation after war. Look at Afghanistan after the Soviets were defeated (see Charlie Wilson's War for a quick intro): the U.S. failed to rebuild the infrastructure in the late 80's.

Look at Iraq: the U.S. is highly criticized for the rebuilding process, even though historical precedent teaches us that if we don't rebuild, the results are disastrous.

Somalia, according to Burnett, has had no government for 18 years. Government is a necessary evil; the U.N. must get over the events that led to Blackhawk Down and do whatever it takes to rebuild that nation.

Either that, or ex-punk rockers who espoused anarchy can move to Somalia and live that life. After they step off the plane and get kidnapped, maybe then the U.N. will consider my call to action.

***

BBC news also reported that kidnapped Filipinos don't like Somali food. The pirates, flush with money, have set up kitchens that cook Filipino meals for the captives. They want to keep their captives healthy so they can collect the ransom.

Issue #250: Vahl makes the switch ...

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:12:00 +0000

... to GEICO. Believe it or not, they really did save me a ton of money on car insurance.

My father used to carry GEICO, years ago. I was on the policy when I first got my license. We had a major falling out with the company back in the early 1990's over denial of coverage on a fender bender. Only after years of perspective have I accepted that GEICO should not cover damage to a hood caused because I lent the car to someone in the dorm and they accidentally reared ended it into a Semi!

Ah, the insanity of being a freshman at college....

Anyway, all is forgiven, and I'm back. I'm sure dear old dad would be proud.

I hate to say it, but it was real easy. It was so easy....

Somali Pirates Strike Again

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:44:00 +0000

BBC radio is reporting that the Pirates of Aden have captured a Saudi oil freighter.

It's time for decisive world action.

Vista: First Impressions

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Sun, 16 Nov 2008 21:58:00 +0000

Before I get started, I'd like to thank Best Buy for hooking us up with that line of credit! Big props!

As some of you may know, my boy is back in the hospital. This is an ongoing saga ... I won't get into the details here. If you want, you contact me offline for a synopsis.

Anyway, G. has homework due and an exam. Between death in the family and his hospital stays, it's a miracle she's gotten through this semester. Her professors have been kind, offering extensions when needed.

Unfortunately, there was no way to get extensions this time ... and she needed a computer to do online quizzes and an outline.

During our last hospital stay in September, I managed to lug over her old Sony Vaio desktop over ... in a suitcase! That's what I call an out-of-the-box and into-the-luggage solution!

This time ... I decided it was time to get a laptop.

We went with a new Compaq that's on sale for $399 at Best Buy (no rebates. Just one low price of $399. 160GB hard drive. 2GB memory. DVD read/write. 15.4 " screen). The only thing I was worried about was that it runs Vista Home Premium addition.

I'd heard the horror stories from last year, when Vista was introduced, of not being able to save to certain directories, not being able to install free linux-based programs, etc.

I am pleased to report that, in the past year, Vista was easier to work with than expected.

To make a long story short:

The computer detected the hospital's wi-fi immediately. I figured it would, based on an experience I had last year with Damian's laptop during another hospital stay, but I was still relieved.
A new version of Java installed, that included an installer for Openoffice.org! I think God must be giving me some sort of free pass or cheat code today, between the line of credit and this!
I was able to successfully install Openoffice!
When downloading the .exe file, I was not able to change the folder to save the file. It asked me to contact my administrator ... even thought I was logged in as administrator. However, during the actual install, I was able to select the Program Files and create and OpenOffice folder.

So, overall, I think G. will enjoy the laptop ... and I'm grateful I didn't have to stress too much installing OpenOffice.

Fleeced ... or do you take a corporation at their word?

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 12:08:00 +0000

I was talking to a couple of people yesterday at work about this whole FINANCIAL CRISIS. One older lady who we'll call Ana Benson said, "We have to bail GM out. What choice do we have? We have to bail these people out."

Another guy we'll call Obi-Wan said, "In theory, it's a bad idea, but practically speaking, we have no choice."

I understand the practical side of it.

Afterwards, a question occurred to me: "Do you take a corporation at their word?"

For example, execs from GM are saying they're going to run out of money in January.

If I was in charge, like King Paulson, I would look at them and say, "Well, we'll talk to you in January and we might help you. We'll probably help you liquidate your assets to Toyota, but we'll talk to you then."

Why(tm) would I say that?

Well, let me answer that question with another question: Why would you trust a corporation to begin with?

Has everyone forgotten Enron? Has everyone forgotten Worldcom? Those are companies that lied on their financial statements! How do we know we can trust GM's quarterly statements? How do we know we can trust the auditors who say those statements are good?

We don't know. We are taking banks at their word, corporations at their word, cities and states at their word ... meanwhile, we the taxpayer are getting fleeced.

PSA: Angel Food Ministries

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:56:00 +0000

Struggling to put food on the table?

Angelfoodministries.com is offering food packages to ANYONE for $30. These packages can feed a family of four for a week.

So, if your a family of one ... well, you get the picture.

Contact them today for December orders.

LDOTR: Glenn Beck watches....

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Fri, 14 Nov 2008 14:51:00 +0000

... The Office.

I think this is huge news. I was happy to hear he watches that show.

More Swisher Deal Details

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:08:00 +0000

From WFAN:

Swisher will be starting at 1st. They are out of the Texiera sweepstakes. "Saving money."

Betemit and a couple of other players might be part of the deal.

Ozzie Guillen wants young, fast team - everyone is available.

Yanks will start going after C.C. Sabathia tomorrow. It's either the Yanks or a NL team for less money.

Mets: they will be talking K-Rod (if contract is less than 5 years), and Fuentes.

Marlins with another LaME trade: Kevin Gregg to the Cubs.

Carlos Silva deal from last year skewing numbers?

Check out Damian's Baseball blog for more great Hot Stove coverage!

Yankees Breaking News

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:56:00 +0000

Francessa's WFAN is reporting that the Yanks have acquired Nick Swisher for minor league pitcher Jeff Marquez.

LDOTR: Francessa Talks Mets

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 20:09:00 +0000

Just tuned in to WFAN and heard Francessa say the Mets are looking for pitching, mainly A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Apparently he spoke with Minaya and was relaying the info.

C.C. Sabathia is out of their price range.

They're not looking for Orlando Hudson. They're sticking with Brian Schneider at catcher.

The Mets believe Murphy can be a Pedroia/Youkalis type of gritty player.

I think Burnett would be a great addition to the pantheon of failed Mets free agents. Good luck with that aging line-up. Glad I burned my Mets cap after Kenny Rogers was brought in out of the bullpen by the idiot Valentine back in '98.

LDOTR: Mark Davis Talks Increasing Wages

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:56:00 +0000

During a call, Mark Davis claimed wages have outpaced inflation for years.

Is he insane? Is this a time warp of Rush talking points from the 1990's? Is this a parody?

And now, a special message to R.A.W.:

We all have our crosses to bear. "Hi. I'm Tony Vahl, and I'm a talk radio addict. I have been for twenty years. News talk, Sports talk, NPR ... Bring it all on...."

LDOTR: Mark Davis Filling In

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 18:26:00 +0000

Today's fill-in host predicts we'll be hit with Bush nostalgia.

The reason? There have been no attacks on the U.S. since 9/11.

Uh ... Maybe within the next twenty years ... And that's a big maybe.

The damage Bush did signing that bailout bill might be cursed for years to come, too.

Can't believe this guy is talking nostalgia. What a joke. This guy deserves a muzzle in the name of fairness.

Response to AmEx/Auto Industry Bailout

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 11:37:00 +0000

I have sat quietly watching things unfold since PM Bush and King Paulson railroaded Congress with that $700 billion bailout bill. At the time, I lost faith in both candidates and all the politicians that voted yes for that travesty of a bill.

I have sat quietly by since, not only because I disagreed with the way that issue turned out, not only because I disagreed that we were in a Financial CRISIS, not only because I disagreed that we needed a $700 billion bailout ... I have said nothing because, quite frankly, I did not predict the government's response in Mid-September.

There was a loud SPLISH sound when George Bush finally signed that bailout bill into law. The whole CRISIS and society had jumped the shark in such a way that I had not anticipated. I anticipated the dominoes falling ... I did not anticipate the reaction.

I was wrong about the bankers, who I thought would do the right thing early on. To think that Citibank announced YESTERDAY was FINALLY going to work with homeowners in danger of losing their homes! Citibank - a huge bank that my father had a checking account with when I was a boy ... they have near infinite resources and, I had supposed, near infinite financial intelligence and wisdom ... they waited until NOW, November of 2008, to start restructuring bad home loans and working with people who are losing their homes.

IT'S A LITTLE TOO LATE FOR THAT. There have been sooooooo many foreclosures over the PAST TWO YEARS!

Insanity. It's like trying to plug the whole in the Titanic after the boat is sticking up in the air, about to plunge in the water.

So, I have sat quietly by, trying to figure this out. This is just insane, and, quite frankly, I did not want to sim it in my mind.

Well, I saw a post yesterday morning from Damian where he apparently read my thoughts and called me out on it.

So, here goes:

It's really quite simple. When you've got a Fed Reserve bank that is creating money out of thin air, like crazy, out of control ... that is going to cause the value of the currency to drop!

There's no doubt about that. My parents are from Brazil. I remember in the 1980's, Brazil had a currency called the Cruziero. Their Fed Reserve kept printing money in response to hyper-inflation -- which is insanity -- and kept moving over the decimal point to keep up. They went from the Cruziero to the Cruzado to the Cruzado Novo ... it wasn't until someone must have gotten their head out of their butts and created the Real that the currency finally stabilized. They stopped printing money and moving the decimal point over to deal with hyper-inflation.

The same thing has happened in Argentina and other countries. And now we're doing that here.

I never thought we would see the day that the U.S. would repeat the same mistakes as our South American counterparts. Ben Bernanke, a PROFESSOR by trade, should have more sense than this.

Sure, he claims that the treasury bonds we issue balances out the increase of currency.

It's still a gigantic gamble.

As far as I'm concerned, the only reason we're not seeing the effects of creating currency is because we're in a global recession. Economic activity has gone down.

R.A.W., in a comment, asked how is it that I knew gas prices would go down to $2.00 a gallon. Simple: we're in a recession. Economic activity has gone down due to the price going up to $4.00 a gallon. There would be fewer deliveries by UPS and Fed Ex, fewer delivery trucks sending products to Wal-Mart and Target and all these other places, fewer people driving because they lost their jobs ... so, fewer people and companies buying gasoline. That is what has helped cause gas to go down.

In addition, speculators who had gambled on high oil prices saw that the recession was hitting. Once they realized this, I knew they were going to bail out on oil and cash out their gains ... just the way investors bailed out of the stock market after the tech bubble burst ... just the way people bailed out of housing after the housing bubble burst.

I knew there was an oil bubble. Prices don't go up 200% over the course of three years in a normal economy. It was a bubble. Pension funds and speculators were looking for high rates of return and they ended up buying oil. The recession hit, people sold, and the bubble burst.

That's how I knew.

It's not going to stay at $2.00 forever ... I won't even get into that issue.

The low price of fuel would have helped the economy ... but because King Paulson and company have stepped in and declared a FINANCIAL CRISIS and that the end of the world is nigh and that they need $700 billion dollars to save us ... they have delayed the recovery.

The currency is weakened by this ... and we could see crazy inflation in the near future.

The only other saving grace, other than Bernanke's faith in treasury bonds, is that this is a worldwide phenomenon and everyone's currency is getting hit.

However, if you look at history, you know how this is going to play out for our currency. I just hope that this is some new precadent.

Unfortunately, I suspect that gas prices will double ... and prices for groceries will go up....

Three years ago, I wrote about how the dominoes were falling. Well, they've fallen.

The government is trying to pick the dominoes back up. Instead, they have made the dominoes heavier. They are weighing down the dominoes. It will be harder to pick up those dominoes, thanks to their ineptitude and fear-driven policies.

PM Bush is the most inept economic President since Jimmy Carter, at least. He was led by the nose by this King Paulson, who is a Democrat! It's just absolutely stunning.

And NOW we have a new President who made it clear that he's not cutting Federal spending. Hello -- there isn't going to be any money to implement those lovely social programs, the way we're going.

I suppose, if you're a fiscal conservative, this is a good thing? Talk about throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

Five more cents....

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 01:32:00 +0000

Five more cents...

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:40:00 +0000

Another prediction from Vahl coming true. We're post-election now, so that conspiracy theory no longer applies!

Iraq War, Homeland Cacophony

numbersix@dailyskew.com (Skew) — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 15:40:00 +0000

On the 11th hour of the 11th month ofthe 11th day, the "War to end all wars" came to an end, 90 years ago today.

In honor of this milestone, I thought I'd post a juxtapositon of words and images about Iraq War II, from the run-up to war to now.

I am glad, someday, historians will recall that disposing a murderous dictator was a good and noble cause. Thank you, Damian, for that silver lining.

Anyway, here's the good, the bad, and the ugly. "It is what it is." Quotes are from BrainyQuote; images from Google:

Saddam's goal is to achieve the lifting of U.N. sanctions while retaining and enhancing Iraq's weapons of mass destruction programs. We cannot, we must not and we will not let him succeed.
Madeleine Albright

Iraq has a new opportunity to comply with all these relevant resolutions of the Security Council.
Kofi Annan

I pray that this council, which will probably be too late to save Iraq, will do what it can, which will be immeasurably strong in what it does in trying to save our democracy.
Ed Asner

We should be proud of liberating the 26 million people in Iraq and should remember that this is why it is important to stick it out to it's successful conclusion.
Evan Bayh

They have been saying for a long time that Iraq made an effort to import active uranium, and my colleague demonstrated the other day that they came to the conclusion that it was a fake document that everybody is relying upon.
Hans Blix

We estimate that once Iraq acquires fissile material - whether from a foreign source or by securing the materials to build an indigenous fissile material capability - it could fabricate a nuclear weapon within one year.
John Bolton

My son is not wild about going back to Iraq, but he'd sure rather do that than sacrifice all that he and his fellow soldiers have accomplished by leaving too early and inviting chaos.
Kit Bond

If we can rebuild Iraq, we can rebuild Illinois and Indiana and if we can do Baghdad, we can do Baltimore.
Carol Moseley Braun

America is a friend to the people of Iraq. Our demands are directed only at the regime that enslaves them and threatens us. When these demands are met, the first and greatest benefit will come to Iraqi men, women and children.
George W. Bush

Mission accomplished? The mission in Iraq, as laid out by President Bush and Vice President Cheney, has failed.
Robert Byrd

Victory is the only option. And we will be victorious in Iraq.
Andrew Card

I thought then, and I think now, that the invasion of Iraq was unnecessary and unjust. And I think the premises on which it was launched were false.
Jimmy Carter

On the issues that I care deeply about - the environment, Roe vs. Wade, the war in Iraq, with no weapons of mass destruction, the tax cuts that are now leading to deficits, I've got some deep issues with the president.
Lincoln Chafee

We urge all democratic nations and the United Nations to answer the Iraqi Governing Council's call for support for the people of Iraq in making the transition to democracy.
Dick Cheney

Bush does not want to go down in history as the president who lost in Iraq. His strategy to the extent he has one is to hang tough and let whoever succeeds him take the fall.
Eleanor Clift

No matter what you think about the Iraq war, there is one thing we can all agree on for the next days - we have to salute the courage and bravery of those who are risking their lives to vote and those brave Iraqi and American soldiers fighting to protect their right to vote.
Hillary Clinton

There's no connection between al-Qaeda and Iraq.
George Clooney

Genius, scholar, and war hero though he is, you have to admit - or maybe you should think about admitting - that George Bush might have rushed things a little in invading Iraq.
Alan Colmes

I am a Korean War veteran. I support our troops as much as anyone in this body, but I do so by advocating redeployment out of Iraq as soon as it can be safely done.
John Conyers

I can't accept collective responsibility for the decision to commit Britain now to military action in Iraq without international agreement or domestic support.
Robin Cook

We came to Iraq to liberate them and to make our world a safer place.
Larry Craig, [advocate for clean bathrooms]

Iraq is not the only nation in the world to possess weapons of mass destruction, but it is the only nation with a leader who has used them against his own people.
Tom Daschle

The fact is that we wouldn't be in Iraq if it weren't for Democrats like Senator Kerry.
Howard Dean

What President Bush did in his doctrine of preemptive strike and in his war in Afghanistan and in Iraq was to turn even his allies in Europe negatively toward America.
Louis Farrakhan

The president welcomes peaceful protests - it is a time-honored tradition. The president agrees violence is not the answer in Iraq, and that's why he hopes Saddam Hussein will disarm.
Ari Fleischer

Iraq is a manufactured conflict for the sake of geopolitical dominance in the area.
Janeane Garofalo

Iraq's search for weapons of mass destruction has proven impossible to deter and we should assume that it will continue for as long as Saddam is in power.
Al Gore

In my judgment, the greatest risks are international terrorist groups like al Qaeda and Hezbollah. The war in Iraq has taken our attention off those priorities.
Bob Graham

Syria is a terrorist state by any definition and is so classified by the State Department. I happen to think Iran is too. Iraq, Iran, Syria, they're all involved.
Alexander Haig

When Bush first got elected, the very first time there was talk of going to war with Iraq, the mainstream media gave his position total credibility. I didn't get it then, and I don't get it now.
Ed Harris

If today is anything like the typical day of the past 3 years, three American soldiers will die in Iraq or Afghanistan, the Taliban will get a little stronger in Afghanistan and the civil war will continue to be enhanced in Iraq.
Alcee Hastings

Our nation must manage significant national security challenges over the next several years. We are already facing a potential conflict with Iraq, new challenges on the Korean peninsula, and key decisions in the president's plans to transform the military.
Duncan Hunter

I said I'm the president of Iraq... I did not say deposed.
Saddam Hussein

We can be proud of our record as an international beacon of liberty. From fostering democracies in Eastern Europe to the stabilization of Iraq and Afghanistan, we have been true to that calling and helped spread freedom to oppressed peoples everywhere.
Kay Bailey Hutchison

The President's speech suggested to me that were we to follow his leadership, we will be in Iraq not for months, but for years. I also hope I am wrong on this.
Daniel Inouye

It's now clear that from the very moment President Bush took office, Iraq was his highest priority as unfinished business from the first Bush Administration. His agenda was clear: find a rationale to get rid of Saddam.
Edward Kennedy

My level of cynicism about the reasons that took us to war against Iraq remain just as well-developed as they were before I went.
Ted Koppel

Iraq does not pose an imminent threat to the United States of any of its neighboring nations.
Dennis Kucinich

Why do the President and Vice-President constantly change the subject when asked to explain why things are going so badly in Iraq? The answer is simple. They have been consistently wrong about Iraq, and the results speak for themselves.
Patrick Leahy

I think we should take Iraq and Iran and combine them into one country and call it Irate. All the pissed off people live in one place and get it over with.
Denis Leary

And then there's Israel - a lot of people support Israel, and it's important to Israel to take out Iraq. So it's all mixed together. It's a combination of motives.
Chris Matthews

We must win in Iraq. If we withdraw, there will be chaos; there will be genocide; and they will follow us home.
John McCain

A free and prosperous Iraq will be a major blow to the terrorists and their desire to establish a safe haven in Iraq where they can plan and plot attacks.
Scott McClellan

The new troops in Iraq need to be Iraqi troops.
Mitch McConnell

Bombing the Murrah Federal Building was morally and strategically equivalent to the U.S. hitting a government building in Serbia, Iraq, or other nations.
Timothy McVeigh

The motivation for war is simple. The U.S. government started the war with Iraq in order to make it easy for U.S. corporations to do business in other countries. They intend to use cheap labor in those countries, which will make Americans rich.
Michael Moore

No candidate can win a presidential race advocating gay marriage and opposing the military action in Iraq.
Dick Morris

There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and there are patriots who supported the war in Iraq. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America.
Barack Obama

The president led us into the Iraq war on the basis of unproven assertions without evidence; he embraced a radical doctrine of pre-emptive war unprecedented in our history; and he failed to build a true international coalition.
Nancy Pelosi

Any time you have a situation in which you are calling for more time rather than calling for Iraq to immediately comply, it plays into the hands of Saddam Hussein.
Condoleezza Rice

The President, in talking about freedom and democracy, is sparking a wave of very positive democratic sentiment that might help us override both Islamic fundamentalism that has formed in that region, and also some of the hatred for our policies of invading Iraq.
Bill Richardson

I can't tell you if the use of force in Iraq today will last five days, five weeks or five months, but it won't last any longer than that.
Donald Rumsfeld

Looking at the high cost of occupation in Iraq and the needs we have in this country, would it not have been better to have smaller tax cuts in order to keep down the deficits.
Tim Russert

A devastating commentary on the war in Iraq is that we have been unable to spend money on infrastructure.
Charles Schumer

I would love to support Hillary for president if she would come out against the travesty in Iraq. But I don't think she can speak out against the occupation because she supports it.
Cindy Sheehan

Bush's war in Iraq has done untold damage to the United States. It has impaired our military power and undermined the morale of our armed forces. Our troops were trained to project overwhelming power. They were not trained for occupation duties.
George Soros