Yeah. I will. First of all, we have had much worse periods. These were: the Panic of 1890 WW I The Great Depression 1929-1942
Let's compare with Juan Cole's list:
10. wage disparities. Nothing like the pre-WWII era. Incidentally it is called *prosperity* when the rich get richer. Right now, the rich are getting poorer along with everybody else. That is what a recession is.
9. food shortages. What a laugh! We have had nothing in this era that compares with what my parents went through in the Depression.
8. environment. Again, a laughable claim. Bush's "bad" environmental record was a day at the beach compared with the pre-1970s era of pollution in this country. People seem to forget that we have quintupled the population of the US since WWII, and yet, the level of pollution, per capita is nothing today compared with that era.
7. Imperial presidency. Try FDR for a real imperial president. It took decades before freedom of the press was restored in this country.
6. Katrina. It is just plain demogogurey to blame Bush for Katrina. New Orleans was in a hole dug by the corruption of the Lousiana legislature. Local authority gets first blame for issues of emergency preparedness.
5. Yes. It would have been good if we had concentrated on Afganistan, and Iran, instead of Iraq. I would have to say, however, that the sniveling nay-saying rhetoric coming out of the left seems to have been forgotten.
4. We likely should have invaded Iran instead of Iraq. Having said that, I would have to say that anybody in that Commander-in-Chief chair would have to realize that the alternative to invading Iraq, would be sitting on Iraq for the next 20 or 30 years. We did not have a plan for dealing with Iraq after liberating it from the Bathists. Things seem to have gone better though in the past couple of years, so ultimately history may come down on the side of Bush on this one, in spite of everything.
3. Financial collapse. Sorry, but you can't blame Bush for that one. That would have happened no matter who was in the White House.
2. 9-11. Yeah, right. Blame the Republicans for that one, while you are at it. Indeed, if the Reagan administration had not engaged in the arms race that precipitated the collapse of the Soviet empire, there would have been no power vacuum for the radical islamists to fill. Likely Mr. Cole would have preferred that the US aid the Soviet Union during that time.
1. Bush's first election. Basically it was a tie, and all attempts at recounts still showed Bush as the winner. The election was resolved by the rule of law, and if it had gone the other way, I doubt that leftists like Mr. Cole would have uttered a peep.
So, no I am sure that we can find worse times in the US, like right now with more than 10 percent unemployment, rampant socialist legislature passed that will make all of us poorer in the name of "wealth redistribution".
Not that I oppose the health care legislation that passed. The real solution would be to ban all forms of health insurance and return to "pay as you go". That won't happen, so socialism is the only way to go.
Yeah. I will. First of all, we have had
ReplyDeletemuch worse periods. These were:
the Panic of 1890
WW I
The Great Depression 1929-1942
Let's compare with Juan Cole's list:
10. wage disparities. Nothing like the
pre-WWII era. Incidentally it is called *prosperity* when the rich
get richer. Right now, the rich
are getting poorer along with everybody
else. That is what a recession is.
9. food shortages. What a laugh! We have
had nothing in this era that compares with what my parents went through
in the Depression.
8. environment. Again, a laughable claim. Bush's "bad" environmental record was a day at the beach compared with the pre-1970s era of pollution in this country. People seem to forget that we have quintupled the population of the
US since WWII, and yet, the level of
pollution, per capita is nothing today
compared with that era.
7. Imperial presidency. Try FDR for a real imperial president. It took decades before freedom of the press was restored
in this country.
6. Katrina. It is just plain demogogurey to blame Bush for Katrina. New Orleans
was in a hole dug by the corruption of
the Lousiana legislature. Local authority gets first blame for
issues of emergency preparedness.
5. Yes. It would have been good if we
had concentrated on Afganistan, and
Iran, instead of Iraq. I would have
to say, however, that the sniveling
nay-saying rhetoric coming out of
the left seems to have been forgotten.
4. We likely should have invaded Iran
instead of Iraq. Having said that, I
would have to say that anybody in
that Commander-in-Chief chair would have
to realize that the alternative to
invading Iraq, would be sitting on
Iraq for the next 20 or 30 years. We did not have a plan
for dealing with Iraq after liberating
it from the Bathists. Things seem to
have gone better though in the past
couple of years, so ultimately history
may come down on the side of Bush on
this one, in spite of everything.
3. Financial collapse. Sorry, but
you can't blame Bush for that one.
That would have happened no matter who
was in the White House.
2. 9-11. Yeah, right. Blame the
Republicans for that one, while you
are at it. Indeed, if the Reagan
administration had not engaged in
the arms race that precipitated the
collapse of the Soviet empire, there
would have been no power vacuum for
the radical islamists to fill. Likely
Mr. Cole would have preferred that the
US aid the Soviet Union during that
time.
1. Bush's first election. Basically
it was a tie, and all attempts at
recounts still showed Bush as the
winner. The election was resolved
by the rule of law, and if it had
gone the other way, I doubt that
leftists like Mr. Cole would have
uttered a peep.
So, no I am sure that we can find worse
times in the US, like right now
with more than 10 percent unemployment,
rampant socialist legislature passed
that will make all of us poorer in
the name of "wealth redistribution".
Not that I oppose the health care
legislation that passed. The
real solution would be to ban all
forms of health
insurance and return to "pay as you
go". That won't happen, so socialism
is the only way to go.