Daily Archives: Sept. 9, 2006

Open thread

Sept. 9, 200612:04 a.m.

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Open thread | Comments (31)

Bush is no Churchill

Sept. 9, 200612:02 a.m.

A lot of commentators are rightly taking apart the Bush administration’s overheated, intellectually bankrupt rhetoric comparing Osama bin Laden to Hitler and anyone who doesn’t agree with President Bush’s Iraq fiasco to appeasers.
On the Internet, this fallacy of invoking Hitler to win an argument is called Godwin’s Law and is considered a sign that the thread is dead.
As columnist Steve Chapman points out, “If the enemy in Iraq were comparable to the Third Reich, we certainly wouldn’t be fighting this war the way Mr. Bush and Mr. Rumsfeld have fought it.
“When the U.S. entered the war against the Axis powers, we drafted millions of men, raised taxes and mobilized every resource to ensure victory. When the U.S. invaded Iraq, we sent an undersized force, cut taxes and told Americans to live their normal lives. If Islamic extremists are the new Nazis, Mr. Bush is no Winston Churchill.”
What a disservice these dishonest speeches are to the country.
Posted by Randy Scholfield

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under Iraq, President Bush | Comments (47)

Not just a few conspiracy nuts

Sept. 9, 200612:01 a.m.

“There are few more startling measures of American distrust of leaders than the widespread belief that the Bush administration had a hand in the attacks of Sept. 11 in order to spark an invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq,” the Washington Post reported. And it’s not just a handful of conspiracy nuts. A recent Scripps Howard poll found that 36 percent of Americans suspect the U.S. government promoted the attacks or intentionally sat on its hands. The distrust is especially strong in New York City, where a Zogby International poll two years found 49.3 percent believed the government “consciously failed to act.”
Posted by Phillip Brownlee

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under President Bush | Comments (40)

Get healthy — ‘change something’

Sept. 9, 200612:00 a.m.

Small lifestyle changes can add up to big improvements in health. So the Kansas Health Foundation’s “change something” campaign, which kicks off today with a free frozen yogurt social from 2 to 4 p.m. at the Exploration Place park, is encouraging people to adopt small changes in their daily routines.
“People need to realize you can incorporate a healthy lifestyle in easy steps,” Marni Vliet, president and CEO of the Kansas Health Foundation, told The Eagle editorial board.
That can mean parking in the back of the lot and walking, skipping the soda and drinking water instead, or taking a walk around the block after dinner instead of dropping on the sofa. Whatever it is, “change something.”
Posted by Angie Holladay

By Phillip Brownlee | Filed under American life | Comments (7)