Posted on 10/08/2001 10:25:47 PM PDT by ouroboros
Anyone who has visited this once great conservative forum will by now have noticed a crackdown on certain opinions regarding this quagmire into which America’s military has so enthusiastically launched itself. Quite aside from the warmongering comments that now saturate the forum, opinion pieces that are strongly critical of our president, foreign policy, or sacred cows such as Ann Coulter tend to get yanked from their server pretty quickly. Admittedly, not all antiwar pieces that are posted get pulled, but they are predictably panned and trolled by these self-righteous armchair generals. Oh, there are still a few voices of reason and noninterventionism on the forum, but they number maybe a couple of dozen, at most, while the warmongering majority rank in the several thousand. Disheartening, to say the least.
Nor has the forum always been this uncritical of American foreign policy. During the Kosovo war and after, voices critical of NATO and U.S. involvement seemed to be in the majority. It was enough to begin to give one hope that real change for the better might be possible. And it illustrated excellently how the antiwar movement had shifted to the right. Of course, since Bush Jr. became president, none of the damage done to the Balkans has been undone, and the US is still involved militarily there even today. In this matter, Freepers now prefer to look the other way, or to think that it has no relevance to current events. And besides, it’s all Bill Clinton’s fault anyway.
Posting images of nuclear explosions are a particularly popular form of patriotic expression these days, often accompanied by comments such as "Lets Roll!" or "If only we had the will to use it!" Absolutely charming. They must be proud to be able to express such genocidal feelings so openly. If it took an attack on America's home soil to spark this kind of patriotism, one can only imagine the amount of "patriotism" abroad that decades of US military interventionism have succeeded in cultivating around the globe. I strongly suspect that in the case of FR’s nuke-‘em-all crowd, they have at least secretly harbored the desire to drop the big-one on the "ragheads" years before September 11th, and now feeling vindicated, they are able to come out of the closet.
In addition to the absolutely rabid warmongering, there is the new American-syle Hitler Youth/Gestapo mindset. For example, an article written by Justin Raimondo will often bring out the junior G-men on the forum with remarks like: "Who is this Justin Raimondo/Antiwar.com (or Lew Rockwell for that matter)? Has the FBI/CIA/IRS looked into them?" Geez Louise! No doubt these folks on the forum were never good friends of the Constitution and Bill of Rights to begin with, and were staunch supporters of the war-on-drugs. But now, with a new war (and the old one isn’t even over yet) to sink their fangs into and a potential police state just around the corner, they too, are able to come out of the closet.
To the credit of many Freepers, a good number of them (not necessarily a majority) are still questioning some proposals such as national id cards. However, I suspect that this too will get worse, as more and more decide that trading their liberties for security is worth it.
But now a brand new facet in the quest for self-censorship has appeared. One that would be laughable if it weren’t so sad: Under their new "Loose Lips Sink Ships" philosophy FR is now yanking breaking news stories regarding attacks launched on the Taliban, even though anyone can turn on the TV or go to one of the major news sites and get the information for themselves.
Oh, eventually FreeRepublic gets around to keeping the story up on their server. But darn, FR used to be such a great source for breaking news!
October 9, 2001
Malcolm Garris (send him mail) is in charge of web graphics for Antiwar.com and LewRockwell.com.
Copyright © 2001 LewRockwell.com
"Taking my cue from President George W. Bush (fool, he is NOT a "Jr."), I will make no distinction between the leftist "peaceniks," and those who aid their cause by dampening our American citizens' right and spirit to defend themselves, no matter what label they attack to their political philosophies."
Your service to your country is admirable, but again, has nothing at all to do with the article, nor the topic under discussion. As you claim that one should only discuss what the topic of this article is, then do try to stick to your own rules of engagement.
Now, as to putting my money where my mouth is ... just what, pray tell is that in refferrence to ? Being in the military ? Something else ? If the military, I do not believe that women belong in the mlitary . I am not a hypocrite, so no, I was never in the military. I do hope that that answered your inane , banal, hazy , cliched repost.
Yes, it is rather ate. Perchance you should retire to your boudoir and dwell in the arms of Morphous .
I know enough about George Washinton to know that the balancing act between Jefferson Madison, and Hamilton Adams was a piece of work...
Britain and France...
We were a new country... weak, in every aspect... It took what???? 3 weeks to get across the Atlantic???? in those days.
Well we ain't weak anymore... The dollar standard, the western world, and for the most part modern civilization depends on us.
Now we can't turn back history.. We've made plenty of mistakes... But we don't need a nuclear exchange between religious fanatics in the Holy Land.... So we have to show balls here... Facts are facts, and those are the facts.
First of all, there isn't a FReeper breathing who doesn't know the difference between Bill's Excellent Adventure in the Balkans and our current "troubles" with terrorists (hint: the date "September 11th, 2001" figures in there rather prominently). We don't like the US presence in the Balkans, but Bush didn't stick 'em there....and has found out that it's a darned sight tougher to just yank 'em out once they are there without causing even worse destabilization (but, of course, you knew that).
As for "national ID cards".................only "some" against it? Malcolm, you can't be serious. The whole concept has been gutted, rendered, and strewn stem-to-stern here. What do you want???
This is still the best Forum on the Web, bar none. It's still the best place to get breaking news..........and I know, 'cause I'm a serious "news junkie". If threads get pulled, there are reasons. You may not agree with those reasons, and occasionally some of us don't agree.........but we know the heart of the guy who owns the joint, and we trust him. He has earned it.
We're in this together, Malcolm, so cease-fire, reload, and do what you guys do so well: take on the enemies of freedom, NOT its friends. God bless.
I read your repeated quotation. You really must think you said something unique.
You also should read #80. Its content speaks about having discussion, different points of view on the subject of the thread.
I venture that I am more conservative than you and I don't think my past history shows me to be, heaven forbid, a "liberal" or a "peacenik." These are your assumptions, and they are wrong. You talk tough, but you probably didn't serve a day in the military.
If we are to defend ourselves, and that is our sole right, then why was it suggested that NATO fly AWACS over our country? I think we can defend ourselves without calling upon outside agencies like NATO or the UN "to defend us." Frankly, I don't think the UN has done such a good job in the past in "keeping the peace,"even when we pay almost 40 percent of their debt, and I don't look to the UN to effectively fight the war on terrorism, despite the UN's attempt to give lip service to their ability to do so. For me, I say, "Get the US out of the UN and get the UN out of the US! The attack on America deserves more than some more promises of pieces of paper written by NGO's seated in the UN General Assembly. I prefer to follow the directions coming from the U.S. Congress.
Aside from that, which is factually correct, I recall that the only two wars on this continent he thought were justified were the War of Independence and the War for Southern Independence. Mr. Rothbard may have been a Yankee, but I believe his sympathies were squarely with the Confederacy.
"Lew Rockwell.com" in the source line always draws the same mindless, automatic slams from a clique of people who haven't read anything else in the post, but still want to answer the thread. It's very predictable.
That quote has become an automatic justification for opinions which are otherwise unsupportable. Why don't y'all give that one a rest? The president knew better than to say that to his fellow citizens and so should you.
By the way, your A-G-E-N-D-A is showing!
To the contrary, maybe we need to start holding governments responsible for the actions of their outlaws. Although we may be able to snuff out the Al Qaeda menace this time, we can expect a steady supply of Islamic terrorists in future because much of their support in money and recruits is coming from nations that are supposedly our allies and friends.
Enough with the Lew Rockwell stuff all ready!
"FLAME OFF !"
Garde la Foi, mes amis! Nous nous sommes les sauveurs de la République! Maintenant et toujours!
(Keep the Faith, my friends! We are the saviors of the Republic! Now and forever!)
LoanPalm, le Républicain du verre cassé (The Broken Glass Republican)
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