Saturday Open Thread [7.19.14]

Filed in National by on July 19, 2014

The world would be a much better place if John McCain were put back on his meds, if he just retired to a home, or just slipped away. His hyperbolic statements are getting a little outrageous lately. Yesterday, I saw a quote from notorious murderer and former Congressman Allen West (yes, he killed someone intentionally and yet was elected to Congress) that blamed President Obama for the downed Malaysia Airlines Flight 17. You can chalk up that kind of quote to the insanity of Mr. West. Then McCain repeated it.

Mr. McCain said that Mr. Obama is running a “cowardly administration that failed to give the Ukrainians weapons with which to defend themselves.”

Mr. McCain, how… IN THE FUCKING WORLD… would this intentional act of murder on the part of the Russian backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine been prevented by the President giving Ukraine weapons? Hasn’t this incident, and the rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and our prior experience with Bin Laden in the 1980’s already proven that it is a really fucking bad idea to arm non-state militants with state level weapons of war? Introducing more weapons to a conflict will not reduce violence, it will increase, you old decaying pretend President.

And now you are saying that this period of world history is the worst turmoil and danger he has seen in his long long long life. Fareed Zakaria took this old fool to the woodshed for suggesting that:

“I do believe that the things we’re seeing in the world today, [which is] in greater turmoil than at any time in my lifetime, [are] a direct result of an absence of American leadership,” said Sen. John McCain last weekend on CNN.

Really? McCain has had a long and distinguished life and I’m sure he remembers what happened in, say, 1973, the year he and 590 others were released from imprisonment in Vietnam. That year, in Vietnam alone, several hundred thousand people died as a result of the war.
And that doesn’t include the tens of thousands who died in the Yom Kippur War, also in 1973. The effect of that war was that, in retaliation for America’s involvement, the major oil-producing countries announced an oil embargo against the United States and its closest allies. Within a year the price of oil had quadrupled and the industrialized world was plunged into deep economic crisis, forever losing its access to cheap energy from the Middle East.

All this happened under the shadow of a potential nuclear war. The superpowers had almost 45,000 atomic weapons aimed at each other. During the Yom Kippur War, U.S. forces were put on high alert — DEFCON 3. The only time they had been placed at a more serious state of readiness, DEFCON 2, was during the Cuban missile crisis.

I could have picked 1956, the year the Soviet Union brutally suppressed a Hungarian uprising, France’s control of Vietnam collapsed, the French, British and Israelis mounted a failed invasion of Egypt, and Sino-American tensions over Taiwan continued to simmer, tensions that a few years earlier had Washington contemplating the use of nuclear weapons.

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  1. SussexAnon says:

    McCain was born in ’36. WWII, anyone?

  2. Geezer says:

    I’m not sure we can yet say that this was an “intentional act of murder.” They might have thought it was a military craft, as I can determine no potential benefit of shooting down a civilian craft going from and to countries with no dog in the fight.

  3. Delaware Dem says:

    Intent follows the bullet. A doctrine of law for ya. The rebels intended to shoot down a plane, whether the plane was Ukrainian military or a civilian jet. Murder was the desired result. It does not matter who actually was murdered. I could intend to kill person A, but the bullet deflects and hits person B. I would be just as guilty of premeditated intentional murder as I would be if I actually hit person A.

  4. puck says:

    On the other hand, it’s hard to argue with McCain’s expertise on crashed planes.

  5. citydem says:

    Yes, it is a bad idea of giving non – state actors weapons- and Putin has upped his play – it is time to stop sending Ukraine – MRE’s and Kevlar vests and start understanding Putin does not want to play according to “our rules” – The Netherlands lost almost 200 people – the war and it is a war increasingly has come to Western Europe warmed by Russian Gas- wonder what the wunderkind Merkel will now do to cover Putin’s complicity in this shoot down?

  6. Tom Kline says:

    Biden should resign and move back to Scranton.

  7. Delaware Dem says:

    Quite an odd comment from a resident crank.

  8. rustydils says:

    All 60 million people who voted for Obama shot down that plane. Including all the delaware liberals who continue to cover up for the sleeze bag and chief. By now we all know that Romney would have stood up to Putin, not backed down from him like the little weisel obama is doing. You guys can go try and wash the blood of all those innocent people off your hands now. But, it is probably going to be a little harder to clear your consience.

  9. Jason330 says:

    No it isn’t.

  10. puck says:

    How many people do we have to kill to clear our consciences?

  11. Aint's Taking it Any More says:

    Before your puss pocket gets too itchy, and instead of asking stupid questions, maybe it would be useful to think before posting.

    Dumb ass question 1: “how… IN THE FUCKING WORLD… would this intentional act of murder on the part of the Russian backed separatists in Eastern Ukraine been prevented by the President giving Ukraine weapons?” How about radar? How about missile defense systems? Your question presumes that the US military has no capability to protect against surface to air missiles AND that they wouldn’t share it with an ally.

    Dumb ass question 2: “Hasn’t this incident, and the rise of ISIS in Syria and Iraq, and our prior experience with Bin Laden in the 1980′s already proven that it is a really fucking bad idea to arm non-state militants with state level weapons of war?” Really!!!! Like it or not governments routinely arm others to do their bidding. Its been standard operating practice for thousands of years. Its been successful for thousands of years. Yet, you are ready to turn your ass forward because problems arose as a result. Thank the heavens you ain’t running policy. Oh and bye the way, the Ukrainian government is not a de facto government like ISIS

    Dumb ass question 3: “Introducing more weapons to a conflict will not reduce violence, it will increase, you old decaying pretend President.” Like every arm chair general, you’ve done a marvelous job criticizing but failed to offer an alternative. What would you have done in the face of the Ukrainian/Russia problem. Pissed your pants I expect.

    McCain may be dead wrong but don’t for one moment pretend you have a clue.

  12. Falcor says:

    “How about radar? How about missile defense systems? Your question presumes that the US military has no capability to protect against surface to air missiles AND that they wouldn’t share it with an ally.”

    You want the military to give the technology it uses to prevent airplanes being attacked by SAMs to airlines from Malaysia in response to turmoil in Ukraine? You’re that stupid?

    “Like every arm chair general, you’ve done a marvelous job criticizing but failed to offer an alternative. What would you have done in the face of the Ukrainian/Russia problem. Pissed your pants I expect.”

    I can tell you what would have done. Nothing. I don’t give a flying fuck about Ukraine, Georgia, Chechnya or any other the other former Soviet Republics that Russia feels like pimp slapping now and again.