A Few of FR's Finest...Every Day...07-01-04...The Handover: Will Dems blame Bush for it?

JohnHuang2; Aquamarine; Billie | JohnHuang2

[Aquamarine]

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

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The Handover: Will Dems blame Bush for it?

by JohnHuang2

Democrats predicted it wouldn't happen. So it happened early -- two days early, on June 28, precisely. (Which means Democrats will insist they were right -- there was no planned Handover on June 30). In a brief ceremony which stunned the world, the U.S. granted sovereignty to an interim Iraqi government on Monday, bringing the 14-month old occupation of Iraq by brutal, evil, ruthless, heartless, infidels -- Halliburton and Dick Cheney (see Michael Moore) -- formally to an end. (If you think that's something -- just wait for the planned handover of power from liberals to conservatives over CNN/MSNBC/ABC/CBS/NBC on June 30, 2525).

Now, I don't mean to rain on anyone's parade here, but anybody who thinks the handover means clear-and-smooth sailing from here on must be smoking some funny weed. Going forward, things are bound to get worse. Much worse. In the months ahead, expect mounting problems and setbacks and losses and challenges and headaches and letdowns and comedowns -- for the Kerry campaign, which felt badly out-maneuvered yet again. The Kerryites, already plagued by daily good news on the economy, were shaken by the news from Baghdad, news which could signal a growing threat to Quagmire there, stoking Democrat anxiety here. Without Quagmire, a successful handover of power from Bush to Kerry next November appears all but impossible. Monday marked a day of great sorrow for the French-looking one, but for America and Bush's approach of Going-It-Alone with 32 countries, Monday marked a day of vindication.

Attending a summit meeting of NATO leaders in Turkey, President Bush called it a day of "Great hope for Iraqis and a day that terrorist enemies hoped never to see. The terrorists are doing all they can to stop the rise of a free Iraq. But their bombs and attacks have not prevented Iraqi sovereignty. They will not prevent Iraqi democracy."

Bush noted that, months after liberation and days ahead of schedule, "the world witnessed the arrival of a full sovereign and free Iraq." With news of the handover, NATO leaders agreed to help train Iraq's fledgling security forces -- another coup for Bush designed to disrupt the handover of power in Iraq to al-Qaeda (which Democrats insist has no ties to Iraq). With the handover and NATO agreement under his belt, this was clearly no way for Bush to run the most inept and reckless foreign policy in modern history (see Kerry). With the march towards freedom undeterred, Bush brazenly failed to get it wrong! Kerry, who blasted Bush's "ill-advised" war in a speech Monday, voted for Bush's "ill-advised" war in 2002, though he notes that the reason he did this is because he had no idea a vote for war meant a vote for war.

In Baghdad, one by one, members of Iraq's interim government stepped forward to take their oaths, each placing their a hand on a book titled, 'My Life,' -- oops, I meant the Koran. Afterward, Allawi outlined his goals for Iraq in a speech which strangely said nothing about raising taxes on the wealthy nor enacting 'affordable' health care schemes at a bargain basement $900 billion.

Look, don't get me wrong: Bush is not out of the woods. Not yet. Militants, who for months have waged a steady campaign of attacks on Coalition forces, aren't about to close up shop just yet. The attacks will likely continue as militants grow ever more desperate. Indeed, hours after the handover, a militant by the name of Richard Holbrooke unleashed a volley of attacks in a CNN interview, blasting the war as "disastrous". He denounced the secrecy of the handover ceremony, which barely 5 billion people knew about before it happened. The harsh criticism was the first in a wave of attacks since the handover. Or how about that militant Howard Dean? "I think we still don't know whether the Iraqi people are better off or not," he sneered. (Saddam slaughtered more than a million, gassed and tortured and mutilated and jailed hundreds of thousands, ran rape rooms, and filled mass graves. So, what's not to like?)

In a statement to the press, Kerry, for his part, congratulated U.S. troops for doing a splendid job in Iraq. Kerry also blasted Bush as the reason U.S. troops are doing a crummy job in Iraq. (At least Saddam made the trains run on time). Dean touted a pre-handover Gallup poll which showed 51% of Americans now saying the war was a 'mistake'. (Another pre-handover poll, this one by Fox News, shows 50% of Americans saying this 'mistake' was the right thing to do, and they fully support this 'mistake' of going to war. That figure hasn't changed since early April). And now that the 9/11 Commission says there was no Collaborative Relationship between Saddam and al-Qaeda, Americans are convinced there was a Collaborative Relationship between Saddam and al-Qaeda, 56%-28%.

In any event, Holbrooke angrily dismissed the handover as a ploy (pay no attention to the Quagmire behind the curtain!), saying the fact that it came days ahead of schedule is proof we're not making progress there. Two-hundred and twenty-eight days ago (on Nov. 15, 2003), the U.S. announced the handover would occur on Day 228; the fact that it was moved way, waaaay up to Day 226 shows how Bush policy has failed. Holbrooke notes that Bush has not done enough to impose security in Iraq. Holbrooke and others also accuse Bush of over-regulating Iraq and being heavy-handed. Reuters reports that L. Paul Bremer, "As Iraq's highest authority," had "issued more than 100 orders and regulations, many of them Western-style laws governing everything from bankruptcy and traffic, to restrictions on child labor and copying movies.

"One law requires at least a month in jail for people caught driving without a license," another "demands that drivers stay in a single lane..." Some are very, very controversial -- like the one prohibiting groups from buying ads that even mention candidates just before an election ... oh wait, that's McCain-Feingold.

So, in one fell-swoop, Bush a) out-foxed the media b) out-foxed the "insurgents" c) out-foxed the pundits d) popped the 'Blood-For-Oil' balloon and e) sucked the winds out of the sails of the Kerry campaign, driving the skanky, scuzzy, slimey dregs of the loony-Left loonier still -- all of this just the opening act to a brand new and free Iraq.

Next up: The Saddam trial.

Don't you love it when a Quagmire comes together so deliciously?

God bless our President, God bless our troops and God bless the United States of America!

Anyway, that's...

My two cents.. "JohnHuang2"

THIS WEEK'S THREADS 06-28-04...Military Monday 06-29-04...Hall of Fame #8 06-30-04...FR Pet Day... Pfc Hammer Finds a Home

Opinions by our own 'King of Ping' The guy's good, folks!

Thanks, Mixer!

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CLICK

[dixie sass]

Thanks for the links.

[dixie sass]

Thank you Maggie, they are much appreciated.

I am still trying to get to Aiken to see Robina - Momma's best friend and constant inspiration in my life growing up. She is now 87 and is at Hitchcock House on Crepe Myrtle. Getting to Aiken is a definite must...

[The Mayor]

AMEN!

[The Mayor]

I've had bad teeth for years, just the back ones.

I have 3 root canals, a couple of fillings, and a tooth
that has been missing for years so he is making me a partial.

I have insurance thru the state of NY that is covering it.
We are all paying for it with our taxes.

So the crap about un insured when your poor is crap.
It's the people stuck in the middle that need the coverage..

[The Mayor]

I don't know what is going on with my sister.
She may be lurking and busy with her kids, she has 3 girls.
The baby is 5 months old, keeps her on her toes.

[LadyX]

I understand WHY Dorinda cannot be online a lot, Rus, with
"busy with her kids, she has 3 girls.
The baby is 5 months old, keeps her on her toes.." !!!

Been there - done that in the "BC Days" - Before Computers.

Just wanted her to know how pleased we are
she is among us - visible or not..:))

Couldn't help extending a
Welcoming Hand, Dorinda..:))

[The Mayor]

I know I am raising 6..
2 grown and living in mass.
2 grands living in mass
4 here with us.

They keep you busy!

[The Mayor]

This is how I am serving coffe from now on.
what do you think? No better way to start the day, coffee and the Word.

July 2, 2004

Love Is Vulnerable

Read: Hosea 11:1-11

How can I give you up, Ephraim? . . . My heart churns within Me; My sympathy is stirred. —Hosea 11:8

Bible In One Year: Job 22-24; Acts 11

---

The experience of a heartbroken Christian woman (I’ll call her Mary) illustrates how love makes the lover vulnerable. Mary was a devoted wife who deeply loved her husband, but after 8 years and two children he left her for another woman. Her faith in God and her love for her children kept her going.

Today, her son is living a sinful lifestyle, and her daughter has abandoned her husband and children. Neither of them will have anything to do with their mother.

The prophet Hosea suffered a similar heartbreak because of his adulterous wife Gomer. What he experienced mirrors how God must have felt when His people turned to pagan idolatry and all the wickedness associated with it. God had been a loving husband and father to them, but they had spurned His love. Although His holy character demanded that He chasten them, He also felt deep anguish.

Centuries later, God came to earth in the person of Jesus, who endured the agony of Calvary to bear the sins of the whole world. Yet many people still reject Him.

Yes, love is vulnerable, and there are no guarantees that it will be returned! But God continues to love, and in His strength we can do the same. —Herb Vander Lugt

Your love, O God, would spare no pain
To conquer death and win;
You sent Your only Son to die
To rescue us from sin. —Gustafson

Nothing costs as much as loving—except not loving.

[LadyX]

I do like the combination, Your Honor.
It offers an earthly stimulant - -
and the more important flavor of the Lord to savor - -
the 'Savior Flavor of the Day'..:))

Keep pourin' it for and on us, with our portion of The Daily Bread!!

[The Mayor]

'Savior and Flavor of the Day'

Boy I like that!

[Kitty Mittens]

She is WONDERFUL! And so is LadyX, who taught me how to start posting pictures! :^D

[LadyX]

Hi! Believe it or not, I'm still here on the East Coast - -
Expecting a delivery by a Baxter truck in the a.m.,
and am making room for all 'the stuff.'

How goes your day/night/whatever it is, KM??!!

[LadyX]

Here's a glimpse of some of God's Awesome Creations - - -
guaranteed to soothe whatever is ruffled in ya.

After growing up in our flat Florida, JH2, I was blessed to live in the Rockies for a year (Rapid City, South Dakota); and to drive from there to Fairbanks, Alaska (for 3 1/2 years), going around the literal top of the Rockies.
Camped out one summer there above the Arctic Circle, with snow flurries on August 12th, and then went down to Mt. McKinley to see The Big One - camped at 88 Mile on an overlook where the scene stretching so VASTLY below was something only God could create!!

In one fell swoop, backtracked down the Rockies, across the South to South Florida to visit family - and then up to Myrtle Beach, SC.
A REALLY LONG Road Trip!!

Also later spent 19 years in the Piedmont section of North Carolina, often visiting the Blue Ridge and Smoky Mountains.

I know The Mayor enjoyed his year in the Virginia mountains, and jwfiv loves those in California.

[LadyX]

(The photograph above is in the Smoky Mountains in East Tennessee.)

[Kitty Mittens]

I'm just fresh from praying at the Prayer Thread for our President, so I'm feeling wonderful, and having a fine night. I love that daily devotional time, although I keep such odd hours I'm usually among the last people there.

Hope you are having a nice night, Lady Maggie! I'm still full of gratitude to you for all you have taught me in this new cyber-life!

Thank You, O God our Great King, for this dear sister, sweet Maggie; her lovely spirit shines out from her, reflecting the Glory of the King of Kings, our Loving Savior! Please bless her mightily, and grant her every good Gift, O Father! In Thy Son's Wonderful Name I pray, amen.

[JohnHuang2]

Aqua -- *Standing ovation* for an Absolutely outstanding layout!! KUDOS!

LadyX -- LOL!! Loved your latest letter 'dearly' ;-)

Thanks to every one of you for the kind words and encouragement.

[Mama_Bear]

Good morning!

Please join us HERE for our
Finest 4th of July celebration!