A Few of FR's Finest...Every Day...05-13-04...Abu Ghraib -- Damaging to Bush?

JohnHuang2 | JohnHuang2; Aquamarine; Billie

[Aquamarine]

A Few of FR's Finest....Every Day

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Abu Ghraib -- Damaging to Bush?

by JohnHuang2

I've got to be honest, folks. The images I saw flashing on the TV screen last week were not pretty. These pictures speak of humiliation and torture -- of abusive treatment, no doubt about it. The pictures were graphic, horrific. The gruesome, repulsive photos were incriminating evidence of hideous torture, of humiliation.

And please don't give me this malarkey that you don't see proof of torture and humiliation in these pictures. What pictures? The pictures of John Kerry's face after Friday's sizzling jobs report. You didn't see him? He looked terribly humiliated -- tortured by a booming economy after banking on gloom and doom this Election Season. The embattled Kerry campaign, rocked by revelations of rapid economic growth, felt demoralized and abused by Friday's blow-out numbers.

In a humiliating blow to Kerry, the Labor Dept. reported that employers had added 288,000 payroll jobs in April, on top of 337,000 new jobs in March (revised up from the 308,000 initially reported). The faster-than-expected hiring in April left the Kerry campaign stripped down naked with embarrassment. For Kerry, the report was tantamount to torture.

Even more humiliating for Kerry, who promised 10 million new jobs for butlers, cooks, yacht polishers and limo drivers if he gets in the White House, the April jobless rate slipped to 5.6 percent from March's 5.7 percent.

With such broadcast images of economic growth further undermining the Kerry campaign's struggle for legitimacy and becoming recruiting tools for the Bush camp, Kerry aides feel a profound sense of abuse and humiliation as well -- a feeling of powerlessness, of diminished self-esteem, of rage and anger. Just like Kerry.

More damaging still, economic growth appears widespread, not limited to isolated instances but part of a broader systemic pattern. This isn't the work of a few loose cannons, as Kerry claims. Will he keep his job as Democrat standard-bearer? The graphic images depicting a booming economy spell an uncertain future for Kerry, already muddling through, facing growing doubts from fellow Democrats who fear he just can't warm anybody or anything up (except his foot -- when deeply inserted in mouth, which is frequent). Party leaders don't think he has a clear plan for winning as doubts grow whether going to war against Bush about the war was the right decision.

Economists warn Kerry that more damaging images of economic growth are yet to come. More -- much more -- is going to come out before November. The impact of those images on the Kerry camp could be disastrous, further humiliating an already badly demoralized campaign. The pictures of economic health could damage Kerry's credibility for years.

Yet, political observers say a booming economy won't help Bush's chances much in the fall. That pocketbook issues no longer really matter to voters. That the over-riding issue for voters this November will be treatment of captured terrorists by some U.S. soldiers in two cell blocks at a prison near Baghdad. That mistreatment of terrorist inmates, denied teddy bears and hot chocolate, ranks at the top of voter concerns, as long as Bush does a good job with jobs and the economy. (Oh, yeah -- these prisoner abuse issues always predominate when the economy is booming). Who cares that the economy is sizzling, jobs are coming back, the market is booming?! Abdul the terrorist was stripped naked and his feelings hurt. (It's naked buttocks in Baghdad, not the economy, stupid! BushCo must go!)

(Experts fear some of these terrorists, emotionally scared for life from being strip searched, will become perpetrators themselves, strip searching others rather than blowing others up. Many terrorists, overwhelmed by post-Abu Ghraib stress disorder, will never trust the Great Satan again. Not after this!)

AP reporter Terence Hunt called Abu Ghraib "one of the darkest weeks of (the Bush) administration." It was the darkest week since the last Darkest Week two weeks ago in Fallujah, which was the Darkest Week since the Woodward book, which was the Darkest Week since Bush's prime-time presser, which was the Darkest Week since the 9/11 hearings, which was the Darkest Week since Dick Clarke's book, which was the...

In Abu Ghraib, "President Bush saw America's reputation sullied, the U.S. effort in Iraq damaged and his own campaign for re-election clouded," writes Hunt, the AP reporter.

So clouded was Bush's own campaign for re-election, Bush clouded himself into a 5-point lead over Kerry, 51%-46%, in 16 battleground states which decide the winner in November. That's according to the latest USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll of likely voters, published Monday. In a "hypothetical matchup" nationally, says USA Today, "Kerry fell 2 points" after one of the Darkest Weeks in the Bush Presidency, when Abu Ghraib broke, which AP says clouded Bush's own campaign for re-election. (Kerry dropped from 49% to 47%; Bush held steady at 48%). A poll by the Christian Science Monitor out this week shows much the same thing -- Clouded Bush extending a 4-point lead (44%-40%) in April to a 5-point lead (46%-41%) in May. (Nader gets 5 percent in this poll of 823 registered voters, conducted May 2-8). Kerry, who says Bush is unfit to serve a second term because he -- Kerry -- served in Vietnam and Bush didn't, is spending $25 million airing campaign spots disclosing that he served in Vietnam. (I told you he'd eventually mention Vietnam). The ads also highlight Kerry's record in Vietnam. The ads do not highlight Kerry's record in Washington.

In the Gallup poll, Kerry now trails Clouded Bush nationally, 47%-45%, with Nader getting 5%. That said, it's obvious Abu Ghraib has taken a very heavy toll. On Kerry.

And the Abu Ghraib story -- a real tear-jerker about the abuse of detained monsters -- gets worser and worser for Kerry. Democrats accuse the Pentagon of cover-up. The Abu Ghraib cover-up goes so deep, the only ones who knew about Abu Ghraib since January were NBC/ABC/CBS/CNN/MSNBC/FOX. The details were secretly published on CNN's homepage 5 months ago, as part of the cover-up. We all found out about Abu Ghraib because the Pentagon, in its effort to cover it up, uncovered it. And made it public in a press release -- secretly. The perpetrators are being rewarded with criminal prosecution and court martials.

Regardless, say Democrats, because of these atrocities at Abu Ghraib, America needs John Kerry, who served atrocities in Vietnam, because his atrocities are better than these atrocities. Yes, Kerry cut off ears, cut off heads, randomly shot civilians, but Kerry knew where to draw the line -- no panties on the heads of terrorist prisoners. (The pictures showed naked prisoners stacked into pyramids, fasten to leashes; the shocking images looked like something straight out of Barney Franks' place). No, Kerry would never humiliate prisoners. Just like al-Qaeda would never humiliate prisoners: al-Qaeda beheads prisoners. As they did with Nick Berg on Tuesday, vowing more beheadings in revenge for mistreatment of al-Qaeda comrades at Abu Ghraib. (Democrats insist there are no al-Qaeda links to Iraq). A high-ranking al-Qaeda leader, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, who lives in Iraq, ordered or personally carried out the assassination. (Democrats insist there is no al-Qaeda in Iraq). The beheading was videotaped and posted on a radical Religion of Peace site which acts as a clearinghouse for al-Qaeda.

The video showed five masked men, one of them reading a statement urging other Religion Of Peaceniks to avenge the gruesome barbarism of placing panties on the heads of captured terrorists at Abu Ghraib. Nick Berg, clad in an orange jumpsuit, was shown sitting bound on a plastic chair in front of his captors.

The al-Qaeda statement called Bush the "dog of the Christians," warning the President to "anticipate what will harm you . . . You and your soldiers will regret the day you stepped foot in Iraq." (Democrats insist there are no al-Qaeda links to Iraq).

After the statement was read, the masked men then pin Berg to the floor, chanting "Allahu Akbar!" or "God is Great." As Berg screams, one of his captors puts a large knife to his neck, slowly, painfully slicing Berg's head off. The butcher then lifts and dangles the severed head in front of the camera, shouting "Allah Akbar!"

(Democrats still demand the head of Donald Rumsfeld).

Word of the beheading reached Capitol Hill as Capitol Hill probed fraternity pranks by a few U.S. prison guards on the people who behead Americans like Nick Berg. Some lawmakers said this beheading proves they were right -- that mistreatment of Abu Ghraib monsters would radicalize people who were already radical. (Yeah, we Americans were really popular with al-Qaeda until this prisoner abuse thing broke). CNN/MSNBC/FOX have been airing pictures of Abu Ghraib prison abuse for two weeks non-stop, saying the images are too awful not to air. Even if the images inflame opinion, the public has a right to know. CNN/MSNBC/FOX have not been airing pictures of the beheading, saying the images are too awful to air -- the images would only inflame opinion. The public has no right to know.

May I make a suggestion? Berg's butchers reportedly made an offer -- swap Berg for Abu Ghraib prisoners. The offer deserves a response -- let's not just shrug it off. I say next time, we execute 50 al-Qaeda convicts for every U.S. hostage they hold. If they refuse, we execute 75 al-Qaeda convicts for every U.S. hostage they hold. They'll get the hint sooner or later.

Nope -- as I was saying, neither Kerry nor al-Qaeda would ever dare humiliate prisoners.

Here's something else Kerry will never do: Win this November.

Anyway, that's...

My two cents.. "JohnHuang2"

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 05-10-04...Military Monday 05-11-04...Let's Be Eight Again! 05-12-04...Wishes for Wednesday

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[Aquamarine]

Good morning Dixie! You're up awfully early today.

[Aquamarine]

Good morning Aeronaut. Looks like that flying machine has some missiles...you ready to fight? lol

[Aquamarine]

I can smell another homer here !

He hit it out of the park again!

Thanks so much for your help in finding that black and white pic of Kerry. Was wondering if you could put the first pic of him beside that one. They look almost identical after 30 odd years. Some things never change.
Thanks goes to dutchess and Billie for helping me to track this one down, this was not an easy post to illustrate, very sensitive.

[Aquamarine]

God Bless Our Military ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Below are names of some of our FReepers' loved ones who are serving our country. If you have someone you would like to add, please address a post to Billie; Mama_Bear; Dutchess; Aquamarine and we will add their name to this list. As we pray for them, we pray also for all our nation's leaders, and military personnel, and their families and friends. May God hold them close to His heart.

~~~~~~~~~~   ~~~~~~~~~~

We ask Lord, that You guide the leaders of our great country in their hour of decision. The burden that has been placed on their shoulders is overwhelming. We ask that with Your infinite wisdom You guide them gently to the right decisions.

Please give us the strength, Lord, to get through each difficult and devastating day that faces each of us and our country. Protect and guide our Military that are now being called to duty, strengthen them in their trials and temptations; give them courage to face the perils which beset them; and grant them a sense of your abiding presence wherever they may be; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

OhioWfan........................son mystery-ak..........son, husband Gogrammy................grandson Inspectorette...................son Blessed American..........nephew Slip18..........................nephew anniegetyourgun...........nephew Pippin....niece,nephew,loved one Doug from Upland......son-in-law weldgophardline.....brotherinlaw Future Snake Eater..........cousin WaterDragon..son-in-law,grandson BeforeISleep...................son The Mayor........................niece LadyX.........................grandson fawn796.....................nephew ValerieUSA................2 sons Warrior Nurse...........active duty SK1 Thurman...........active duty David Osborne.........active duty fc2tomschermuly......active duty bkwells..................activve duty LongCut..................active duty Trish.......................active duty StarCMC.........brother Atomic Conspiracy............half-brother....niece....nephew TexKat......son.....and stepson ODC-GIRL............active duty cookcounty................son Donaeus..............nephew thumperusn...........active duty katykelly..................son Notwithstanding.....active duty Lakeside................two sons Q6-God and twin brother...active duty cjk........active duty philman_36.......2 nephews

Maigrey................cousin ladtx....................2 sons Mama_Bear...........2 nephews gator girl............husband severa................husband, brother Hostel....................cousin MozartLover......son, nephew LBGA........................son SpookBrat........nephew and cousin Himyar.....................son boxerblues............2 sons the piper...................son sheeza...............husband kemathen7...........husband Tiffee4Bob.......boyfriend Diver Dave.......niece, nephew deadhead................cousin JimRobinson.....2 nephews Armymarinemom.....3 sons Consort..2 daughters,son-in-law Darheel..................niece dixie sass.............nephew BeAllYouCanBe.........son AgThorn...............2 sons homeschoolmama.......nephew kneezles.................son kimmie7...........brother Spruce.............daughter visualops.................cousin Dubya..............nephew SunflowerGal.......grandson AF_Blue...... active duty RoseBear......cousin's husband Redhead....step granddaughter and her fiance RepubMommy............brother Alouette...............son Veloxherc.................active duty

[The Mayor]

You shall not . . . bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Leviticus 19:18

A grudge is one thing that does not get better when it is nursed.

[The Mayor]

May 13, 2004

Bearing A Grudge

Read: Genesis 27:35-41

You shall not . . . bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself. —Leviticus 19:18

Bible In One Year: 2 Kings 17-18; John 3:19-38

---

English essayist and critic Charles Lamb (1775-1834) had this to say about a person he did not want to meet: "Don't introduce me to that man! I want to go on hating him, and I can't hate someone I know."

Harboring malice robs us of close relationships with others. Jacob cheated his brother and stole his birthright. Understandably, Esau was angry. But what he did with his anger became a serious problem, not only for Jacob but for Esau himself. For years he harbored a deep resentment that robbed him of a warm relationship with his brother.

Grudges can also create a cold, icy environment in churches, and this often keeps people away. Pastor George Gardiner asked the members of a congregation he visited why their church wasn't growing. He received this reply: "There's an elder in this church who holds a grudge."

Instead of bearing a grudge, we must bare it before God in confession and ask for deliverance. We must begin praying for the person toward whom we have negative feelings and, if possible, take practical steps to resolve our differences. We must find ways to show love.

Resentment will fade when the object of our ill will becomes the special object of our goodwill. —Dennis De Haan

When anger lingers in our heart,
It poisons all we think and do;
But faith seeks ways to show God's love
And keeps our spirit strong and true. —D. De Haan

A grudge is one thing that does not get better when it is nursed.

[Aquamarine]

Good Morning Gail. These are very tough times, politically speaking.

[Aquamarine]

Such a powerful message and with such great timing. Where would we be without our God and His wisdom?
Thanks for posting this and for the coffee.

[The Mayor]

May I make a suggestion? Berg's butchers reportedly made an offer -- swap Berg for Abu Ghraib prisoners. The offer deserves a response -- let's not just shrug it off. I say next time, we execute 50 al-Qaeda convicts for every U.S. hostage they hold. If they refuse, we execute 75 al-Qaeda convicts for every U.S. hostage they hold. They'll get the hint sooner or later.

I second that motion..

Thankyou John, well said and excellent presentation Aqua..

[Aquamarine]

Mr. A talks this way too. He's a "We don't need the electric chair anymore...we need electric bleacher's!" kind of guy.

[The Mayor]

We have something in common then.

I have said for years, if you want to stop murder then kill the purp the same way they killed.

no more mr nice guy, it is time to retaliate with a vengeance.

[Texagirl4W]

Agreed. I love that picture of President Bush amid the flags. Have a terrific Thursday, everyone.

[Pippin]

GOOD MORNING EVERYBODY!!!!!

I was thinking about the last few days and weeks, and I came to this conclusion, That is, we are dealing with an enemy far larger and more powerful than Al Queda, The Liberal media, the Terrorist and others are ot have ever thought of being.

An enemy that, if we let it, could destroy us individually and as a nation.

The enemy I'm talking about is EVIL.

Evil is the enemy we need to be fighting, not each other.

How can I make everyone understand this and resist evil in all it's forms?

The reason being, there is a subtle insurgency of evil thrusting is way into the haerts and minds of every soul alive.

How can we fight this enchrching menace?

Brothers and Sisters, we must stand together! we must fight and resist it.

There is a war raging for the souls of us all nad for our counrty, Out CinC, however, is standing by us and with His help we can conqer this evil, This CinC is Jesus Christ and His champion is President Bush among others.

Our prayers and our faith are our best weapons against this.

I came to have an understanding that all is happening for the cause of Evil in accordance with the CinC of the dark side, that CinC is Satin and his minions. The Demons. Thier champions are the likes of Osama Bin Ladin, Hillary Clinton;Ted Kennedy; and others.

Will we let them win?

NO!!!!

We can't afford to!

Instead of airing out our anger and frustrations over an enemy that seems unbeatable, we must remember, that evil is not invincable. That is why we are now living throught the storms of this era. GOOD WILL PREVAIL!

JESUS CHRIST WILL WIN!

I decided I was no longer gonna sit here and whine and moan and complain about these things that I have no control over and as for the ones I can do something about, Instead of complaining a lot, I'll do whatever I need to do to change it.

What I need to do is to focus on what task I need to do and I will focus on the future.

That future is not to be accpomlished without God in my life.

To fight this evil that is trheatening us all, we need God.

I'm not sure what it is I'm saying here, I guess it's that I had an epiphany this morning, My mind was cleared out, so to speak, I no longer have a defeatest attitude, like I was getting ready to get these past few weeks. My new attitude is to look on the more possitive side of things and pray like I have never prayed before, not only for myself and for my family but for the nation and for our troops and for President Bush and Sec. Rumsfeld and all the people who post and lurk on FreeRepublic.

God Bless You All!

[The Mayor]

BUMP to you Pippin!

[GailA]

I did what I didn't think I'd ever do I turned OFF FOX this morning after seeing the latest round of 24/7 'abuse' sex orgy reporting. There has been very little positive reports from Fox on what is going on in Iraq. All I'm seeing is a sex orgy by a few bad apples who would be doing the same thing if they were in a college dorm or a HS class room in the US. My radio is also silent until Rush comes on.

It's eerie!

[Pippin]

Thanks, (((TM)))!

[TexasCowboy]

Good morning, Pip!

Read the Revelation of John on the island of Patmos.
This battle between good and evil has been coming for thousands of years.
It's here, but we're going to have a hard time seeing the forest for the trees in the next few months.
Like you say, it's important to remember that only God can deliver us through His tools on this earth.

Jesus will come back as a warrior.
The time is close.

[The Mayor]

AMEN TC

[Darksheare]

Morning!

[ST.LOUIE1]

Morning, ((((((((Aqua))))))))

Excellent graphics. : )