On this anniversary, I salute Robert Byrd, Natalie Maines, Janeane Garofalo, Phil Donahue...

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

Paul Wellstone, Scott Ritter, Ted Kennedy, Tim Robbins, Susan Sarandon, Michael Moore, Mike Ferrell and all the others who spoke out against the Iraq debacle.

It's easy to forget just how lonely it could be standing up to Bush's errors in the post 9-11 war frenzy, but these people risked their careers (and some paid heavily in the media) to give a voice to the millions in the street opposing the war, who the media completely ignored.

Remember, this is the mentality we were dealing with at the time:

[niyad]

1. k and r

[HangOnKids]

2. K & R To All Brave Souls Who Opposed The Madness n/t

[malaise]

3. Top notch post

Rec

[Deuce]

4. Yes...k&r

[rhett o rick]

5. k&r

[sadbear]

6. Keith Olbermann

[Euphoria]

7. Their voices were the only sane voices of reason and conscience.

Thank you.

[Curmudgeoness]

8. Oh, god, I forgot about Freedom Fries.

I felt like I was living through the McCarthy years.

[WillyT]

9. HUGE K & R !!! - Thank You !!!

[ReRe]

10. A great video compilation there!

Last edited Tue Mar 19, 2013, 09:49 PM - Edit history (1)

K&R

That was our lives, folks. And we fought a brilliant fight. Had there been any other President, we would never have started that preemptive war of invasion. But NO, it was the Capitalistas, "My way or the highway" with Dick and his little GW puppet and administration. Came into office rattling the sabres and I knew that before we knew it we would be in a effing war. Little did we know what horror would unfold.

Edited to correct spelling!

[nineteen50]

11. And the

millions in the streets world wide that new better than the CIA and the American Government.

[RoccoR5955]

12. You left out Dennis Kucinich.

Amy Goodman, Noam Chomsky and Howard Zinn, to mention a few.
Just sayin'

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

28. you are correct

and I just realized I didn't mention Helen Thomas as well.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

31. and how could I forget Molly Ivins

God, I miss her!

[RoccoR5955]

44. And I also forgot General Wesley Clark!

As well as others.
There were smart people there, who could see through the Bush Crime Syndicate's smoke screen!

[pacalo]

13. K&R.

Thanks for putting these videos together, Adenoid.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

14. As much as I liked Hillary Clinton in the 90s

I lost all respect for her and Kerry as political leaders when they voted for that war. I sure hope she doesn't run in 2016.

[Daniel537]

22. +1

Even if she truly repents for voting for that debacle, i just can't trust anybody who supported that crime to be our CIC. No way, no how. It shows they were either naive, or just flat-out warmongers.

[UnrepentantLiberal]

24. They did it because they thought they had to do it to be elected president.

Simple as that.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

25. Clinton and Kerry were joined by others, including Biden and Lieberman:

Sen Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) voted for it, as did Senators Dodd (D-Ct), Carper (D-DE), Bill Nelson (D-FL), Cleland (D-GA), Miller (GA), Bayh (D-IN), Harkin (D-IA), Breaux (D-LA), Landrieu (D-LA), Carnahan (D-MO), Baucus (D-MT), Ben Nelson (D-NE), Reid (D-NV), Torriccelli (D-NJ), Schumer (D-NY), Edwards (D-NC), Dorgan (D-ND), Hollings (D-SC), Daschle (D-SD), Johnson (D-SD), Cantwell (D-WA), Rockefeller (D-WV), and Kohl (D-WI).

[UnrepentantLiberal]

27. And they all did it for political reasons.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

29. "The Immortal 23," as Byrd called them

He has the vote framed and kept it hanging on his wall. In his final year, Byrd said the vote against going into Iraq was the single thing in hist 58-year Senate career that he was most proud of:

(Byrd and Iraq vet Tomas young reading the names of the 23, from Donahue's 2006 'Body of War' documentary)

[AnotherMcIntosh]

32. Impressive video. Thanks.

[moondust]

30. Hillary, of all people, should have known better.

I always assumed that Bill privately advised both Tony Blair and Hillary. After all, her husband was up to speed on Iraq intelligence just two years previous and Saddam's capabilities wouldn't change that much in just two years. I suppose we'll never know why he presumably went along with it.

[politicasista]

34. Well, Obama respects Kerry

so does Biden and Warren and Kennedy (R.I.P.) did.

That speaks volumes that show(ed) more respect for Kerry than most people ever will.

Let's throw him under the bus despite that fact he is liberal and SOS. That will teach him and Dems a lesson.


Rove thanks you very much.

[rurallib]

15. Thanks for that clip on Garafalo

she is really sharp. The way those assholes twisted her words-

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

17. Had the pleasure of talking to her a bit back then

She told me she and other actors from the Win Without War coalition had mixed feelings about going on TV, knowing they would be dismissed as 'just a bunch of actors.' She said they knew this was by design that retired generals and more 'legitimate' opponents of the war were not being booked.

She said it would be like if the media did the reverse and booked nothing but military figures for the antiwar side, and then tried to frame the pro-war guys as being comprised solely of Chuck Norris, Toby Keith and a bunch of entertainers.

But they knew the antiwar voice wasn't being heard at all, so they decided to speak out anyway.

I think she did a fine job.

[rurallib]

19. really used to enjoy her on Air-America

with Sam Seder.
They would have her Dad on fairly frequently. He was pro-war. Their arguments were fun(?) to listen to.

[zentrum]

18. SAm Seder.

And what about Keith Olbermann?

[rocktivity]

20. I had taken the position that it was ludicrous to celebrate a lie wrapped in a scam

and while it's tempting to give the MSM a hard time about their complicity, keep in mind that a wave of envelopes containing either pink slips or white powder was deployed first.

Nonetheless, thanks for reminding me that there IS something to celebrate here.

P.S. Air Force veteran Randi Rhodes said she tried to re-enlist after 9/11 but was told she was too old. I'll bet they're regretting it now!


rocktivity

[erronis]

21. My heart was wrenched

While the lies were being spewed I think I accepted some of them, even as I disliked the originators. Watching these videos of the heroic defenders of our real liberties I understood I should have stood up more quickly.
Thank you.

[GainesT1958]

23. Jack Welch at GE supported that war full-throatedly..

Because he was licking his chops at the windfall he knew it would be for his firm all the way around..including at NBC and MSNBC. Why else would a cable network fire its TOP-RATED show's host?

That's why Welch ran into the NBC News Election Studio command center yelling "Call it for Bush...NOW!!" on Election Night 2000. I'm convinced he knew we'd be at war with Iraq within two years, max...

Rachel Maddow mentioned a "Special Place in Hell" for those scamming our vets..well, I know she also feels, as I do, that there's another "Special Place in Hell" reserved for all of those who served as cheerleaders for an Iraq war leading up to it, and as it unfolded...be they in the media, in Congress, or the top executors of that war in the Bush Administration itself.

[riqster]

26. And those fucking "I support our troops" decals

NewSpeak at its worst.

[politicasista]

33. Doesn't matter

Last edited Wed Mar 20, 2013, 02:19 AM - Edit history (1)

It's just an opportunity for those to brag and say "Ha, ha, ha! We were right and you were wrong; We knew, and got it right, while you got it wrong." "You got blood on your hands, ha, ha." Nothing else matters, you just failed the liberal exam.

Those Dems, Americans who voted against, spoke out = heroes, treasures, always respected

Those Dems that voted for = failures, no longer respected


So that is how the game is now, just bash away.

[Adenoid_Hynkel]

35. yes, let's learn nothing from the past

and just pretend the whole thing never happened and give all the Bush enablers a pass.

[politicasista]

36. Well, not going to let Bush off the hook

Last edited Wed Mar 20, 2013, 02:20 AM - Edit history (1)

because he owns this war.

[progressoid]

39. The point.

You missed it.

[politicasista]

40. To be honest, I don't care anymore

Just tired of seeing decent people be berated, disrespected and hated on by the left, center, and right.

That's fine. Nobody will never understand why I am coming from.

[progressoid]

41. The OP berated, disrespected and hated no one.

It celebrates people.

Although, I did disrespect you in my snarky post. Sorry bout that.

[politicasista]

42. No, the OP didn't but the replies in this thread have

They can always join the chorus of Democrats and Progressives (those who are strictly Pro Obama/Biden) and bash and pile on people like Kerry, etc in social media.

Wish that Uncle Ted was still here. He was one of those that really stood up for his fellow then-Junior Senator. Would love for any aide to punch those people in the face if they ever came across Obama's Sec.State in real life. But, that's fine. Have gotten into some clashes here over that, so will leave it there.

You weren't disrespectful or snarky. Was just voicing how I see it and picked the wrong time to come back and post. No apology needed.




edit words

[liberal_at_heart]

37. k&r

[freshwest]

38. Ah, all of those and Robert Byrd. He is missed.

[Shankapotomus]

43. "If we want to get Arab states that are churning out terrorists,

there's certainly a whole lot of places we should be. Saudi Arabia and Pakistan." - Janeane Garofalo

Bin Laden was in Pakistan.