Mike.

The removal was that of the Prime Minister of Iran in 1953, not the Shah. Sure it doesn’t have to do with nothing with 9-11. You are not looking at the whole picture. It is the mentality of our Foreign Policy since Wilson and the mentality of the Middle East angst helped created a 9-11.
Our foreign policy should be small and based on alliances of mutual defense (UK/NATO/Japan, South Korea, Israel etc.). Terrorism in the Middle East would be subdued if liberals would stop being the green movement and allow us to drill at home, if the neo-cons stop trying to put troops in every corner of the globe, and finally if the social conservatives and the Religious Right would understand that our foreign policy is that of the United States and not the Pro-Israel lobby.
Speaking about economics, I will never vote for Herman Cain or like his 999 plan. It is refreshing to have someone other than the usually worn-out Ivy League suspects in economics like Paul Krugman, Larry Summers and the like. My advice to the Obama Administration is for them to consider the Asset Tax ideas of Paul C Fisher. My tax idea is to have a sales tax of all products at 2-5% with an asset tax (or a flat tax) for those making over 300,000 a year. I guess I am beating a dead horse here.

BO Stinks.
How about we talk about the issues instead of rehashing talking points? Ok? There is a difference between owning up to SINS, not mistakes, and apologizing. As for that speech, you lied about the so called “apology” because he also placed the blame on Europe for its own “cowardliness”. I do not hear yall conservatives talk about that. This is why some people believe most of yall have an ill-will contempt of the President that has nothing to do with his policies.
Mr. Williams

BS SPOTTER.
Thank you for setting BO Stinks straight with this statement.
“I think most of what people envy about America is illusory. If you strip out our false wealth propped up by debt and our lowest-common-denominator pop culture, what outward appearance would others see? “

I have to admit our pop culture sucks.

Indeed, the devil IS in the details. Maybe everyone will actually read it, same as the Obama Health Care Bill.

Editorial: http://goo.gl/DKunz

"Herman Cain's now-famous "9-9-9" tax plan was crafted by a rank-and-file investment adviser working at a Wells Fargo branch in an affluent rural Ohio town with a population of about 6,000 people.

Richard Lowrie Jr., a Wells Fargo employee in Pepper Pike, Ohio, outside of Cleveland, was the official adviser to his campaign who hammered out the "9-9-9" plan.

According to Lowrie's LinkedIn profile, his education tops out with a Bachelor of Science in accountancy from Case Western University. He has no formal training in economics, and there is no indication that he has ever worked on public policy. According to that same profile, Lowrie's political experience includes working on the board of advisers for Americans For Prosperity, a hardline conservative outfit founded by the Koch Brothers, until 2008. In 2011, the group ran into trouble for posting fake eviction notices on the doors of Detroit families. Lowrie's LinkedIn profile also says he works on the volunteer advisory panel for the American Conservative Union.

It's highly unusual for a top tier presidential candidate not to have high-profile economists with federal policymaking experience or academic gravitas."

http://tinyurl.com/6ddrg57

Michelle Bachmann says it should be 666 because the devil is in the details..:-)

Perry was too easy on Romney. Romneycare is a real disaster to the people in Massachusetts. An April poll showed 49% thought Romneycare was not working - why? Well, emergency room visits have increased because of a shortage of doctors. Wait times to see a primary physician have increased by weeks. Private insurance companies are losing money and expected to go out of business by 2017, leaving the state as the universal payer of healthcare costs.

Romney's answer to Perry's question that everything was wonderful and the people loved it is a flat out lie. I don't like Perry that much but I sure the h#ll won't vote for a liar - unless he gets the nomination of course then I'll have to. Yeah it will make me sick but anyone is better than Obuma.

http://news.heartland.org/newspaper-a...

http://www.forbes.com/sites/aroy/2011...

I like the 999 and that is with even the state/local/etc sales tax. In all reality, it is an even tax and with the payroll/income tax actually decreasing...I will still come out ahead, unless I actually buy a ton of taxable NEW goods (keep in mind, no national sales tax would be applied to used items such as cars, homes, etc). It is a fair tax...everyone would pay their fair share without this huge loophole deal to jump through. In the end, I think it is a good starting point. Cain is right, nothing can be solved if we keep pivoting off of the current corrupt and broken tax code.
On a different note, does the VA fact check their ads they have on their site. It is kind of interesting that as I am typing this, I am looking at an ad by democraticgovernors.org asking for people to sign a petition to keep Republicans from "rigging" elections. I would like the advocate to please publish fact checked details of plans to "rig" elections in 2012?

perry is a JOKE !!

writein

We cannot erase the mistakes we made in removing the Shah of Iran but that had nothing to do with 9/11. Remember, Osama bin Laden was paid by our CIA to remove the Russians from Afghanistan. Our foreign policy is complex and cannot be explained using hyperbole such as calling the president an assassin or that are mere presence in the ME invites terrorist attacks. I just completed Dick Cheney's memoir where he stated that our country takes extra precaution to not insult their culture. For example, Cheney learned very quickly that you don't make surprise visits to Saudi Arabia and expect to be seen by the head of state that day.

Having a non-interventionist foreign policy puts our country in risk. I'm not saying we should police the world, but a smaller footprint , made up of special forces would be ideal. For example, helping the Somalian farmer's dig an irrigation ditch would allow us to befriend them and gain their trust. Why is that important? The special forces could use their Intel to thwart the next wanna be al Qaeda training camp or plots against us. Terrorism is not going away just because we bring our troops home but at the same time we don't need 100,000 troops in Afghanistan. This is just a small example.

BOstinks: "I'd like to read your take on why we are targeted by terrorists."

My take isn't much different than Michael Sheuer's (former CIA bin Laden Unit Chief) take on it. It's a matter of blowback. They didn't initiate force — we did. I'm not sympathizing with anyone who kills innocent people, be it us or them. I'm merely stating they had tangible grievances for which violence was their chosen and perhaps only recourse.
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=udz5_FdoFGU
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=dDVt_hSo_EU
• www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAt6Pf7jZjA

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BOstinks: "Also, if this country is as despicable as you say, why are millions of people risking imprisonment and their lives trying to get here?"

When you speak in relative terms, America is a paradise compared to countries people are escaping. In absolute terms, and even relative to where we should be, America is degenerating on nearly every level. Most of our domestic problems can to linked to government intervention in the economy.

Plus, I never said America is "despicable". If I thought that, I wouldn't be so heavily invested in trying to fix it. I distinguish between my country and its government. My country is a wonderful place, but its government (both parties) is destroying it from within. If you can't admit that much, we can't have a fruitful conversation.

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BOstinks: "The post you wrote would be grounds for imprisonment in many countries."

In my lifetime, my post could be grounds for a drone strike on my home without due process.

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BOstinks: "We are the envy of the world, whether you want to admit or not."

I think most of what people envy about America is illusory. If you strip out our false wealth propped up by debt and our lowest-common-denominator pop culture, what outward appearance would others see? I think our capacity for economic & personal independence is astounding, but our current appreciation of it and awareness of what we've lost is deplorable. If the world truly understood how we've let corporatist/Marxist scoundrels overtake our country and how we've squandered what our founders gave us, they would pity us.

Thomas Paine is attributed with saying/writing, "It is the duty of every patriot to protect his county from its government." Do you disagree? How enviable of a position are we in when our government is protected from its people?

I don't have the Bloomberg TV package, so I was forced to listen to last night's debate via their radio broadcast. I saw some clips this morning and realized how much more you can see with visuals. I think Major Garrett summed it up this morning when he said" at the crucial time in the debate when the candidates got to ask each other questions; Romney got the majority, meaning he was the obvious frontrunner." He went on to say that when Romey got to ask his question, he went to Michelle Bachmann who is not a threat to him. Garrett and other pundits said it was like a slap in the face to Perry because Romney bypassed him, meaning he no longer has to worry Perry. Last night was like a board meeting with the CEO,Romney, telling the others this is how I will govern. It's rumored that since Senator Rubio and said he definitely will not accept offers for VP, Chris Christie is on the short list. Mitt Romney verified this. Th that will be a change, two north eastern republicans at the top of the ticket.It's still 13 months away.

Herman Cain's 999 plan was attacked last night but this morning NBC's Chuck Todd asked Herman Cain a good question he could not answer about the plan. Chuck Todd correctly stated that his 9% national sales tax would be unfair to the middle class and the working poor because Florida (the example he gave) has a 6% state sales tax that would be added to any purchase, for a total of 15%. Herman Cain look startled, but he said that was a state issue. Chuck Todd went on to say that as prices increase the 15% would loom larger. Herman Cain said he thought prices would come down. Rick Santorum surprised me last night when he said that democrats would not like the 999 plan because it would be disproportionately unfair to the poor and middle class. Did he mean that the GOP didn't really care about the unfairness or that it would not get any votes from the democrats?

The final straw was when Rick Perry said that the debates were not his strong suit. Governor Perry ,it's one of the steps you have to take; you can't pick and choose the one you want.

The primaries right now are about positioning and fund raising but in less than 90 days it will be about acquiring delegates by winning states because that's when the primary voting begins. The first four states will be Iowa, New Hampshire, South Carolina, Florida, and Nevada. Florida is the key because Romney has a huge lead in New Hampshire and Nevada, so it's easy to see that if Romney wins Iowa the race will be decided in mid January of 2012.

Not saying this country is perfect. Just saying it is still the best. We need someone in the White House who is deserving to represent our country, not someone who apologizes to every country he visits.

Bostinks.

I am here to correct you on a point. The problem is not whether we are free people. Maybe, just maybe you should look Operation Ajax (1953) and the invasion of Iran in 1943. Look that up and tell BS Spotter and myself where we are wrong. I will not support Ron Paul, although I did consider it a month or two ago, but Dr. Paul is right about American Foreign Policy. I’ll tell it point blank “we” are treating the Middle East and others much like how we treated American Indians. We can’t sit there treated others like children. Before you go off and say I am anti-American, anti-this group or that group and put word in my mouth. I am being honest about history. Anyone can see the patterns in policy. We did not deserve 9-11 and other known terrorist attacks, but Iraq didn’t deserve invasion.

As for Texas, if the Texas Democratic Party would be smart and stop being punks, they can win the Governorship and LT. Governorship in 2014.

Mr. Williams

BSspotter,

Interesting post.
I'd like to read your take on why we are targeted by terrorists.
Also, if this country is as despicable as you say, why are millions of people risking imprisonment and their lives trying to get here?
I have had the opportunity to go abroad and witness firsthand the conditions in which people in other countries live and the freedoms they are denied.
The post you wrote would be grounds for imprisonment in many countries.
We are the envy of the world, whether you want to admit or not. It's not a conceited statement - just fact.

—Lowering Cain—

I like how Cain (and the bulk of the GOP field) perpetuates the warmongering myth that "terrorists hate us because we're free." His website says, "Because we are such a free and prosperous people, we are the envy of the world. Many regimes seek to destroy us because they are threatened by our ideals, and they resent our prosperity." (source: http://goo.gl/wQlXm)

A few questions for the former Fed Bank Chair:
• Are we really "prosperous" when you consider the US' debt/household and shift to service industry jobs?
• Are we really "free", and do I really need to point out the ways we've lost our freedoms?
• Does the world really "envy" us at this point? (If so, I pity them.)
• Are they "threatened by our ideals" because they entail using cluster bombs on city populations?
• Do they "resent our prosperity" OR our civilian death count from both passive (sanctions) and aggressive (coups, death) interventions?

He needs to read about the concept of blowback from decades of meddling in the Middle East: http://goo.gl/OZyU

JLordTree,

I think Cain would be an excellent economic adviser. The more I dissect his 9-9-9 plan, the more I actually like it. It's a start that could morph into something more feasible.

Romney is the clear-cut favorite, but remember four years ago when he couldn't take the heat and handed the nomination to McCain? He has to pick a strong running mate who will balance the ticket. Rubio would do so ideologically, geographically and ethnically.

Well mike, every scumbag candidate you've gone over makes my skin crawl. What do you think about Ron Paul?

Mitt Romney will go into tonight's debate with a bounce in his a step because he'd just acquired the republicans most coveted endorsement, Governor Chris Christie... He already has the Bush family.Karl Rove money machine and others will now come forward.

As a Washington Post reporter just said " it will be interesting to see who Rick Perry focuses his attention on, because that will be the person(s) who he thinks is his biggest threat."

Mitt Romney is definitely the frontrunner but it is questionable whether he can win a southern states because he didn't in 2008. But if he can win Iowa and New Hampshire, then it's over. He's way ahead in New Hampshire and hasn't even made an effort in Iowa ,yet a NBC/Marist poll showed him leading in that state this morning.

I wouldn't count Rick Perry out because he has money but he's dropping in Iowa and in the New Hampshire polls. I know it's stating the obvious but if Perry knocks Romney down a notch or two tonight and pulverizes Cain;he is back in. Why? Mitt Romney is only at 25% on the GOP favorite candidate list,"Don't know" beats him by 2 points @ 27%.

Herman Cain is just the anti-Perry/Romney candidate. Cain's recent surge will make him a target in tonight's GOP debate where his vague answers will not cut the mustard. It's surprising because Herman Cain is running a book selling tour/presidential campaign that doesn't have high paid experienced political consultants or a lot a campaign contributions.

I think Charlie Rose will ask fair and pertinent questions.

Mitt Romney is the established Republic candidate as well as Jon Huntsman, the rest are vying for that acceptable Tea Party/social conservative vote. Will the Republican Party hold their nose or break off into a third party, allowing President Obama a second term. It will be an interesting because of Romney's positions past and present. It will call for some soul searching by some, because they will have swallow their pride and eat their principles.

When you encourage third-world demographics, you get third-world government.

When you elect a banker puppet, you don't get a statesman.

The problem is most of those jokers have TOO MUCH EXPERIENCE fostering our corporatist (going on fascist) state. We need to hit the reset button before it's Game Over. I only trust one of them to save our tanking dollar from gov't-sponsored monetary inflation, enact a foreign policy that strives for real peace versus perpetual war, and turns gov't on its head by restoring a bottom-up model of gov't. Only one considers root causes to our problems and doesn't simply try to promote shallow, reactionary "solutions" that benefit crony corporations. We have been overrun by gov't intervention, here and abroad. There is only one competition of ideas in this race, and it's between Ron Paul's true limited-gov't philosophy and the rest of the field who argue with each other over relative homogeneous minutia. Rick Perry is the worst of them.

If you don't like the way Big Gov't & Big Biz has run roughshod over America, then you have to ask yourself what it means when the corporate/establishment media blacks-/browns-out or talks down to Ron Paul. Is there something more to it that you're not considering? Cui bono?

I dont see Rand running until 2016/2020....which I think could be a very interesting primary.

"Comeback Kid" should refer to a Rand Paul / Ron Paul 2012 independent ticket annihilating the Obama (D) vs Cain (R) two ring circus.

@BO....yes I know Cain does not have direct FP experience, but what candidate completely can cover every aspect? None that I ever have seen. Cain is an extremely smart man. He knows and will actually admit he does not know it all on FP(oh my goodness a person running admitting he does not know it all). He also knows to be successful, he needs to surround himself with people who are experts and depend on them (as it should be). Imagine if politicians actually let the military fight a war?

The ol' boy is crackin' up: http://goo.gl/VKlYy

Come on people, he promised several of my friends appointments and favors when he asked them for money. Its pretty cool to just write a check , get and office or contract and other incentives. This is Texas people and it is how things get done at all levels.

Texas belongs to the corporations and not the people. Get over it and get on with your lives. Your are not a patriot if you think otherwise...or at all....

Perry is done. The rest of the country saw in the last debate what we Texans have known for a long time.

I would jump on the Cain bandwagon, but he has no foreign policy experience. Tonight we'll see what Cain is made of. The sharks will be circling him tonight with Perry now a pretender.

Through it all, Romney has remained steady in the polls.

Yeah, I'm sure he is "pretty confident" because he is the banksters' choice... Also, with this interview he seems pretty cocky to me! Ron Paul is the only voice of reason, and a track record to prove it!

I don't believe Perry is just the wrong choice, but aside from Romney, he is the WORST! It's not that he used to be a Democrat, it is that he still VOTES LIKE ONE! Even he said to the Democratic party after switching to Republican, “I will still vote the same principles, only with an 'R' after my name.”

Americans need to see who the media and big gov. are afraid of -- THAT should be our next president! At least do some of your own research on the candidates, and stop relying on Fox News or CNN to feed you false or twisted information!

I would not trust or vote for that crook, he's nothing but a educated KKK looking wannabe. What happen to all the money from the lottery that was to help education? It probably is in his campaign fund, C'mon Texans wise up to this crook who's good at blowin smoke up your you know what.

Rick Perry then made the rambling comment:

"I'm a rootin' tootin' Texan, and I'm gonna wear lots of pointy boots, and I'll rename Camp David: Camp N*ggerHead. And I'm gonna give all your little girls a mandatory HPV vaccine that might kill 'em, and I'm gonna take your family's land to build a superhighway to Mexico, and I'm gonna try REAL hard to act like Ron Paul..."