Shi'ite pro-Syria protest dwarfs earlier Maronite Christian anti-Syria protests. From Reuters, with thanks to JS:
BEIRUT (Reuters) - Hundreds of thousands of flag-waving Lebanese flooded central Beirut Tuesday for a pro-Syrian rally called by Hizbollah militant group that dwarfed previous protests demanding that Syrian troops quit Lebanon.Hizbollah chief Sheikh Hassan Nasrallah urged the Lebanese opposition to join a national unity government and reject a U.N. demand for the Syrians to leave and his own militia to disarm.
"We call ... for the formation of a government of national unity and we ask the opposition to join it," he told the rally.
Nasrallah said no one in Lebanon feared the United States, whose troops left Beirut in 1984, a few months after a suicide bomber killed 241 Marines at their headquarters in the capital.
"We have defeated them in the past and if they come again we will defeat them again," he said, drawing chants of "Death to America" from the sea of demonstrators....
The huge Hizbollah rally was the first major show of popular support for Syria in Beirut since the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri touched off daily anti-Syrian protests, mainly involving Maronite Christians.
Decades of brainwashing. Like kj says, why offer them any other choice? And just think, if Spain and France have their way, Hezbollah will be considered a political party, not a terrorist organization. By 2008 Hillary will be able to negotiate with them and groups like them.
Gary
Remember she like Terrorist REMEMBER how she got her hubby to pardon those Porta Rician Terrorist??
What ever happened to Sandy Berger [BUGGLER who seals by stuffing papers in his pants]??
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
God Bless the USA and her Fighting Forces and ALL who Fight with her give them Strength, Wisdom, Sight, and Courage to Destroy ALL Islamic Terrorist and ALL who Support them Amen
If it wasn't such a serious issue, it would be almost comical how easily many in some of these Islamic countries are persuaded that America and/or Israel are the source of all of their problems.
We can't, of course, however, question any aspect or sect of Islam or Islamic tradition(that would be "hate speech").
We should all rather accept that this is another case of the "Zionist conspiracy" or "American Imperialism" or some other such bilge.
The idea of "thank you Syria" or "thank you Hezbollah" is laughable(if not for the fact that many people apparently have been duped into believing this balderdash).
At least two things come to mind:
1. The first Lebanese demonstrations were spontaneous, not orchestrated by any leaders; and
2. How seriously can we take the ostensible support? I well recall how days before the downfall of the Shah of Iran, masses of Iranians paraded in the streets bearing pictures of the Shah. It was the same for Saddam prior to his being deposed by the invasion.
The democratic opposition fielded nowhere near the numbers that the Islamofascist put into the street. Why? Their main ally, the US, is projecting weakness, by signalling submission to electoral victories by Islamofascists, who are certain to win most electoral contests in the Middle East.
I suspect a consensus at this forum is to favor the Bush administration's inclusivist policies towards the Muslim Brotherhood, Deobandi, Khomenist, Wahabist, Jamaat Tablighi and other terrorist movements. Let me tell you why that is insane. It is the equivalent of allowing the Nazis to retain party status after Germany's defeat in WW2. So banning a movement is counterproductive, because it challenges democratic solutions? The Allies de-Nazified Germany after WW2. The Coalition Provisional Authority outlawed Baathism (read: Secularism) after the liberation of Baghdad. Indulgence of a willing-executioner movement gives license to the mortal Islamofascist enemy. The problem with Islamofascists is: their lives.
Pollyannas need to be aware that Southern Baptists, while strongly supporting Bush's moral direction, are barely on-side with Bush's delusionary inclusivism. SB doctrine recognizes the self-appointed "prophet" - Muhammed - as a "demon possessed pedophile." (That position is tenable, on New Testament grounds, and Bukhari Hadith admissions). In deference to the President, they withhold comment. If Bush goes overboard with the redundant "common-children-of-Abraham" BS - and I think he has painted himself into a rhetorical corner - in context of a one-sided Syria-Hizbollah civil war against Lebanese nationalists, the religious right will leverage Bush to the point of puppetry. If Lebanese Christians start dying by the thousands - and I believe that is inevitable - while Wolfowitz's whimp-legions toss rhetoric-bombs, millions of Americans will give the appeasers a message from the streets.
Would someone who believes that inclusivism projects strength, please put your reasoning on the table? And put your reply in context of the million plus numbers that the Islamofascists put on the streets of Beirut.
http://www.albawaba.com/en/news/181097
The Hizbollah has made a wasteland of southern Lebanon due to their destructive military and social policies. The remants of the Christian population in that area live in poverty and despair. Old Christian ladies wear large crosses as a last show of defiance against their Hizbollah masters. Muslims who dare defy them are also treated harshly. These "holy men of God" are heavily involved in the drug trade to finance their reign of terror. Nasarallah and his followers are thugs and terrorists. Have I missed reporters and cameras traveling to southern Lebanon to see for themselves the awful truth about this "Army of God?" I guess it is easier for reporters to stay at a 5-Star hotel in Beirut and walk outside the lobby to interview members of the "peaceful" demonstation put on by Hizbollah.
What ever happened to Sandy Berger [BUGGLER who seals by stuffing papers in his pants]??
You mean to tell me that John Asscroft didn't even get this guy? He's "obviously" guilty. Did Asscroft put ANYONE way besides Tommy Chong and Martha Stewart? Goddam, I guess that "faith based" crap works about as good for the Justice Department as it did for our National Security on 9-11.
Don't worry Cath. I'm suuuure that some subpeonas will get issued ANY DAY now. Hold your breath and wait.
Nasrallah said no one in Lebanon feared the United States, whose troops left Beirut in 1984, a few months after a suicide bomber killed 241 Marines at their headquarters in the capital.
Cathagary, speaking of liking terrorists, maybe Ollie should've given Hezbollah/Syria/Iran more PLANELOADS of Stinger Missiles. Appeasement always works, doesn't it?
And just think, if Spain and France have their way, Hezbollah will be considered a political party, not a terrorist organization.
...And just think, if Reagan, Bush Sr., Ollie North, Caspar Weinberger, and John Poindexter had their way, Hezbollah will be considered a business partner, not a terrorist organization.
Cathagary: No big woop; they were "R"s.
I think that Catharine and Gary are actually the same person. One before the medicine, one after.
Cathagary, don't you EVER tire of feeling my boot connect with your derriere?
Can't you think of a Clinton connection to the '83 Lebanon nation-building disaster? After all, you blame him for the massacre of the "Somalia 19" even though he was only governor of Arkansas when the war was started, and Colon Powell failed to adequately arm and support them.
Ah, good old Reagan. The Pentagon begged him to let the Marines sleep offshore in ships, but as usual, Nancy's astrologer made up his mind for him. Hopefully she'll still be available to advise President Dumbbell if they change the US Constitution for him.
'Cathagary, don't you EVER tire of feeling my boot connect with your derriere?'~ kj
I've never been kicked by a Liliputian... Oh! That explains the tiny rub on the side of my boot.
Also explains why I never stop posting links in dissent of your desire to silence.
So Spain and France are NOT trying to have Hezbollah taken off the list, kj? The MSM is lying to us about that?
And it sounds like you don't expect a Democrat to be in the White House in '08, thanks, I appreciate the cheering up!
I think that Catharine and Gary are actually the same person. One before the medicine, one after.
Posted by: kj at March 8, 2005 04:39 PM
ROTFL!! ROTFL!!!
Poor man is locked in the past?? And shows us once again how lost he is??
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2005/03/20050308-3.html
March 8, 2005
President Discusses War on Terror
National Defense University
Fort Lesley J. McNair
10:17 A.M. EST
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you, all. Please be seated. It is great to be back to this fine university. Many great military leaders of the 20th century, from Dwight Eisenhower, to Colin Powell, studied on this campus. And today the National Defense University is training a new generation of leaders who will serve and defend this nation in a new century. Americans are grateful for your devotion to duty, and so is your Commander-in-Chief.
I am honored that two influential and important members of the United States Congress have joined us. First, Senator Joe Lieberman, strong defender of freedom. Thank you for coming, Senator. (Applause.) And the Chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Congressman Duncan Hunter. Proud you're here, Dunc. Thanks for coming. (Applause.) In the midst of what we hope will be the final snow blizzard of 2005 -- (laughter) -- I'm honored you two men slushed here to this event.
Twice in six decades, a sudden attack on the United States launched our country into a global conflict, and began a period of serious reflection on America's place in the world. The bombing of Pearl Harbor taught America that unopposed tyranny, even on far-away continents, could draw our country into a struggle for our own survival. And our reflection on that lesson led us to help build peaceful democracies in the ruins of tyranny, to unite free nations in the NATO Alliance, and to establish a firm commitment to peace in the Pacific that continues to this day.
The attacks of September the 11th, 2001 also revealed the outlines of a new world. In one way, that assault was the culmination of decades of escalating violence -- from the killing of U.S. Marines in Beirut, to the bombing at the World Trade Center, to the attacks on American embassies in Africa, to the attacks on the USS Cole. In another way, September the 11th provided a warning of future dangers -- of terror networks aided by outlaw regimes, and ideologies that incite the murder of the innocent, and biological and chemical and nuclear weapons that multiply destructive power.
Like an earlier generation, America is answering new dangers with firm resolve. No matter how long it takes, no matter how difficult the task, we will fight the enemy, and lift the shadow of fear, and lead free nations to victory. (Applause.)
Like an earlier generation, America is pursuing a clear strategy with our allies to achieve victory. Our immediate strategy is to eliminate terrorist threats abroad, so we do not have to face them here at home. The theory here is straightforward: terrorists are less likely to endanger our security if they are worried about their own security. When terrorists spend their days struggling to avoid death or capture, they are less capable of arming and training to commit new attacks. We will keep the terrorists on the run, until they have nowhere left to hide.
In three and a half years, the United States and our allies have waged a campaign of global scale -- from the mountains of Afghanistan, to the border regions of Pakistan, to the Horn of Africa, to the islands of the Philippines, to the plains of North Central Iraq. The al Qaeda terror network that attacked our country still has leaders, but many of its top commanders have been removed. There are still governments that sponsor and harbor terrorists, but their number has declined. There are still regimes seeking weapons of mass destruction -- but no longer without attention and without consequence. Our country is still the target of terrorists who want to kill many, and intimidate us all. We will stay on the offensive against them, until the fight is won. (Applause.)
Members of our military are undertaking difficult missions, in some of the most dangerous and desolate parts of the world. These volunteers know the risks they face, and they know the cause they serve. As one Marine sergeant put it, "I never want my children to experience what we saw in New York, at the Pentagon, and in Pennsylvania." He said, "If we can eliminate whatever threat we can on foreign soil, I would rather do it there than have it come [home] to us." In this vital cause, some of our men and women in uniform have fallen, some have returned home with terrible injuries, and all who sacrifice will have the permanent gratitude of the United States of America. (Applause.)
In this war on terror, America is not alone. Many governments have awakened to the dangers we share and have begun to take serious action. Global terror requires a global response, and America is more secure today because dozens of other countries have stepped up to the fight.
We're more secure because Pakistani forces captured more than one hundred extremists across the country last year, including operatives who were plotting attacks against the United States. We're more secure because Britain arrested an al Qaeda operative who had provided detailed casing reports on American targets to senior al Qaeda leaders. We're more secure because German authorities arrested extremists who were planning attacks against U.S. and coalition targets in Iraq. We're more secure because the Philippines' new Anti-Terrorism Task Force has helped capture more than a dozen terrorist suspects -- including seven members of al Qaeda and affiliated networks. We're more secure because Poland is leading a 15-nation multi-national division in Iraq, and forces from 23 countries have given their lives in the struggle against terrorists and insurgents in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Our allies in the war on terror are making tough decisions, and they're taking risks, and they're losing lives. These countries have proven themselves trusted friends and reliable allies. So I urge the Congress to pass the Solidarity Initiative I have proposed to stand by the countries that are standing by us in the war on terror. (Applause.)
Our strategy to keep the peace in the longer term is to help change the conditions that give rise to extremism and terror, especially in the broader Middle East. Parts of that region have been caught for generations in a cycle of tyranny and despair and radicalism. When a dictatorship controls the political life of a country, responsible opposition cannot develop, and dissent is driven underground and toward the extreme. And to draw attention away from their social and economic failures, dictators place blame on other countries and other races, and stir the hatred that leads to violence. This status quo of despotism and anger cannot be ignored or appeased, kept in a box or bought off, because we have witnessed how the violence in that region can reach easily across borders and oceans. The entire world has an urgent interest in the progress, and hope, and freedom in the broader Middle East.
The advance of hope in the Middle East requires new thinking in the region. By now it should be clear that authoritarian rule is not the wave of the future; it is the last gasp of a discredited past. It should be clear that free nations escape stagnation, and grow stronger with time, because they encourage the creativity and enterprise of their people. It should be clear that economic progress requires political modernization, including honest representative government and the rule of law. And it should be clear that no society can advance with only half of its talent and energy -- and that demands the full participation of women. (Applause.)
The advance of hope in the Middle East also requires new thinking in the capitals of great democracies -- including Washington, D.C. By now it should be clear that decades of excusing and accommodating tyranny, in the pursuit of stability, have only led to injustice and instability and tragedy. It should be clear that the advance of democracy leads to peace, because governments that respect the rights of their people also respect the rights of their neighbors. It should be clear that the best antidote to radicalism and terror is the tolerance and hope kindled in free societies. And our duty is now clear: For the sake of our long-term security, all free nations must stand with the forces of democracy and justice that have begun to transform the Middle East.
Encouraging democracy in that region is a generational commitment. It's also a difficult commitment, demanding patience and resolve -- when the headlines are good and when the headlines aren't so good. Freedom has determined enemies, who show no mercy for the innocent, and no respect for the rules of warfare. Many societies in the region struggle with poverty and illiteracy, many rulers in the region have longstanding habits of control; many people in the region have deeply ingrained habits of fear.
THERE IS MORE!!
read the rest!!
Just a wild ass of a man??
More and More I believe!!
Genesis Chapter 16
9] and the angle of the LORD said to her “ Go back to your mistress, and submit to her harsh treatment” 10] and the angle of the LORD said to her “I will greatly increase your offspring/ and they shall be too many to count” 11] the angle of the LORD said to her further,” behold you are with child/ and shall bear a son;/ you shall call him Ishmael./ For the LORD has paid head to your suffering./ 12] he shall be a wild ass of a man;/ his hand against everyone,/ and everyone’s hand against him;/ he shall dwell alongside of all his kinsmen” 13] and she called the LORD who spoke to her, “ you are EL-roi” by which she meant. “Have I not gone on seeing after he saw me!” 14] Therefore the well was called Beer-lahai-roi; it is between Kadesh and Bered.-
YES AN WILD ASS OF A MAN WHO IS AGAINST EVERYONE????
Part of the American Tribe
Squirrel Hunter
Spider Killer
GOD BLESS THE USA AND HER FIGHTING FORCES AND ALL WHO FIGHT WITH HER GIVE THEM STRENGTH, WISDOM, SIGHT AND COURAGE TO STAY THE COURSE TO DESTROY ALL ISLAMIC TERRORIST AND ALL WHO SUPPORT THEM AMEN
Hey,
all tyrants and bullies can count on a large part of the population to come out and support them: witness Hitler, Stalin, Franco, etc!
Hey, gang, remember when we were so confidently assured by the wise, wordly, and ejjikated innaleckshuls that radical Islamicists would NEVER join up with the secular dictators--hence the very idea of a Sodom Insane-al-Qaeda cooperation was risible?
Well, it turns out that not only were the al-Qaeda people in regular contact with Baghdad's embassy when Bin Laden was holed up in Khartoum; but now it is clear that the Syrian Ba'athis and the Hizbullah gang are the proverbial "lips and teeth"--even though Assad is no Ithna'ashariyya Shi'ite (time was when the Alawis were scarcely regarded as Muslims at all).
"the Feb. 14 assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik al-Hariri touched off daily anti-Syrian protests, mainly involving Maronite Christians."
I have noticed too how in all the newspaper photographs that though there are many women protesting against the Syrian occupation the vast majority seem to not be wearing any headcoverings or islamic dress and are wearing western style clothing. I am presuming therefor that many muslim women arn't going to these anti-syrian protests in general...or are many of them going to the pro-syrian demonstations?
It seems that it is only the christians who universally want democracy whereas the muslims are not unified on wishing for an trully independent democratic Lebanon. Gee....why the difference between the christians and the muslims...hmmmm...let me think...hmmmm...I just can't figurte it out...wow...what a mystery.
Hang on I think I have worked it out...oh...but sorry...I have consulted my Little book of Political Correctness and it says I am not allowed to think or speak such a thing. I am so sorry of committing a thought crime. 1 pus 1 doesn't equal 2 after all.
"Democracy on the march"? Infidels should be largely indifferent to "democracy on the march" unless it means less Islam, or a weaker Islam. Ataturk was no democrat, certainly not in the 1920s when he began clamping down on the practice of Islam, and diminishing its political and social influence. Others, including the late Shah of Iran, Mohammed V of Morocco, and Habib Bourguiba of Tunisia, quasi-enlightened despots who were variously despotic or enlightened, helped to keep Islam in check.
The Middle East requires us to make sense of a seemingly inexplicable crazy quilt. It is not that crazy.. In Lebanon the Christians, the allegiance-shifting Druse, and the chastened Sunnis, the latter now as chagrinned at their demographic defeat by Shi’a, just as once the Christians, in what had always been the main Christian redoubt in the Islamized East, had been previously distrubted to realize that the Muslims, both Sunni and Shi’a, had overtaken the Christians in population.
In Iraq the American government has tended to see the Shi'a as Good and Sunnis Bad; in Lebanon, on the other hand, the Shi'a are Badder and Sunnis apparently Good; in Egypt Mubarak the Crook is Bad but the Muslim Brotherhood is Even Badder and of course the Freedom and Tomorrow Parties Are Okay But Perhaps Too Ineffectual to Hold the Muslim Brotherhood at Bay;in Syria the Alawite Dictatorship is Bad but Since the Chief Enemy of the Alawites are the Real Muslims and the Alawites Have a Vested Self-Interest in Protecting the Christians within Syria Because The Alawites May Call Themselves Muslims But Non-Alawites Do Not Agree, and Then Perhaps… …..well, at this point we need to take a break. How about a 2-minute time out, and then come back and we will resume?
Okay, everyone here? We’ll wait just a minute, for the last straggler to take his seat.
Just keep in mind, to keep that same mind from reeling, that whatever helps constrain or weaken the hold of Islam is greatly to be desired. That’s it. That should be your anchor, your point of repair, your guiding light. Depending on the place, the means toward that end may vary. In Lebanon, among the various Muslim or quasi-Muslim (Druse)communities, the most fervent in their faith and in their malevolent intentions and acts are now the Shi'a. It is they who, while pretending to be Lebanese patriots, have turned themselves into the handmaidens of Syria and of Iran, treating Lebanon as a large army base and department store where being Syrian means you never have to pay for anything. Ergo, whatever the Shi’a want, they should not get, and that means embargoing weapons, and keeping them from getting money.
And what of Syria? There the Christians enjoyed a grim kind of protection from the Alawite military caste that owns, and runs, Syria. For the Alawites are keenly aware, even if some Infidels are not, that "real" Muslims dislike them, and suspect them, for the suspiciously syncretistic or at least protecting the Christians and supplying them with arms and all other kinds of support, but in Syria might mean tacitly agreeing to a continued, but much chastened Alawite rule, for reasons having to do with Syria's domestic situation. As part of the bargain, the Syrian government would have to quietly give up hope of retaining any presence in Lebanon or continued economic exploitation of that country (and would ahve to cut off all ties to Hezbollah); it would also have to quietly drop its absurd claims to recover the Golan, which should be as off the table as any of the territories that the victors took permanently from Germany in World War II).
In return, having apprised itself of the need for some kind of protection for the Christians of Syria, the American government -- not wanting to send even more troops to the Middle East (and finally figuring out how to do things without those troops, by exploiting, with just a teeny-weeny bit of diabolical cunning, all other instruments of warfare to protect us against the Jihad), as clever people would do)-- could strike a deal. It need not be spelled out but only understood by both sides.
And that deal would be this. The Alawites get to survive, and even to keep a much less ruthless hold on Syria. But being allowed to escape with their lives, they have to give up all further hope of controlling Lebanon, have to give up aiding Hezbollah or serving as a conduit for money and arms from Iran, have to stop meddling in Iraq, and have to give up the idiotic idea that they can take part in three wars on Israel, including the sneak attack of 1973, and still be allowed to demand back the Golan. The Golan is gone. That is how one stops aggression – by making sure that there is a permanent price to pay for that aggression. And one should not forget that until the French needed to be bribed by the British, the Golan was supposed to be included in the territory originally intended for Mandatory Palestine, i.e., for the Jewish National Home which is now Israel.
And if the Alawite military caste does not see the light, they should be reminded that their airplanes can be destroyed on the ground or on the air, their tanks destroyed, and they themselves thrown to the "real" (as opposed to Alawite) Muslims who have not forgotten Assad's massacres at Hama, just as the Alawite officer corps, one assumes, has not forgotten the proximate cause of those massacres, the attacks by the Muslim Brotherhood on Alawties, including the murder of 82 Alawite military cadets at a graduation ceremony in the early 1980s.
The Alawites make up no more than 12% of the Syrian population. They could lose everything – their lives, their stolen fortunes, and their sacred – well, not “honor” of course, that would not be the mot juste here. So why don’t we settle for “self-esteem”?
Hugh--So, does the USA really want to take charge of the tribal and sectarian cauldron that is Greater Syria--from the Turkish Hatay down to the Gulf of Eilat?
Here's a little link to anther Bush SOTUS, Cath.
http://www.c-span.org/executive/transcript.asp?cat=current_event&code=bush_admin&year=1992
PRESIDENT GEORGE H.W. BUSH'S ADDRESS BEFORE A JOINT SESSION OF THE CONGRESS ON THE STATE OF THE UNION
January 28, 1992
Mr. Speaker and Mr. President, distinguished Members of Congress, honored guests, and fellow citizens:
Thank you very much for that warm reception. You know, with the big buildup this address has had, I wanted to make sure it would be a big hit, but I couldn't convince Barbara to deliver it for me. [Laughter]
I see the Speaker and the Vice President are laughing. They saw what I did in Japan, and they're just happy they're sitting behind me. [Laughter]
...
And there's another to be singled out, though it may seem inelegant, and I mean a mass of people called the American taxpayer. No one ever thinks to thank the people who pay a country's bill or an alliance's bill. But for half a century now, the American people have shouldered the burden and paid taxes that were higher than they would have been to support a defense that was bigger than it would have been if imperial communism had never existed. But it did; doesn't anymore. And here's a fact I wouldn't mind the world acknowledging: The American taxpayer bore the brunt of the burden and deserves a hunk of the glory.
So now, for the first time in 35 years, our strategic bombers stand down. No longer are they on 'round-the-clock alert.
...
A year ago tonight, I spoke to you at a moment of high peril. American forces had just unleashed Operation Desert Storm. And after 40 days in the desert skies and 4 days on the ground, the men and women of America's Armed Forces and our allies accomplished the goals that I declared and that you endorsed: We liberated Kuwait. Soon after, the Arab world and Israel sat down to talk seriously and comprehensively about peace, ...
Two years ago, I began planning cuts in military spending that reflected the changes of the new era. But now, this year, with imperial communism gone, that process can be accelerated. Tonight I can tell you of dramatic changes in our strategic nuclear force. These are actions we are taking on our own because they are the right thing to do. After completing 20 planes for which we have begun procurement, we will shut down further production of the B - 2 bombers. We will cancel the small ICBM program. We will cease production of new warheads for our sea-based ballistic missiles. We will stop all new production of the Peacekeeper missile. And we will not purchase any more advanced cruise missiles.
This weekend I will meet at Camp David with Boris Yeltsin of the Russian Federation. I've informed President Yeltsin that if the Commonwealth, the former Soviet Union, will eliminate all land-based multiple-warhead ballistic missiles, I will do the following: We will eliminate all Peacekeeper missiles. We will reduce the number of warheads on Minuteman missiles to one and reduce the number of warheads on our sea-based missiles by about one-third. And we will convert a substantial portion of our strategic bombers to primarily conventional use....
The Secretary of Defense recommended these cuts [CHENEY!] after consultation with the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And I make them with confidence. But do not misunderstand me. The reductions I have approved will save us an additional $50 billion over the next 5 years. By 1997, we will have cut defense by 30 percent since I took office. These cuts are deep, and you must know my resolve: This deep, and no deeper. To do less would be insensible to progress, ...
Inflation, that thief, is down. And interest rates are down. But unemployment is too high, some industries are in trouble, and growth is not what it should be. Let me tell you right from the start and right from the heart, I know we're in hard times. But I know something else: This will not stand.
... And so, I'm asking you to cut the capital gains tax to a maximum of 15.4 percent.
I'll tell you, those of you who say, "Oh, no, someone who's comfortable may benefit from that," you kind of remind me of the old definition of the Puritan who couldn't sleep at night, worrying that somehow, someone somewhere was out having a good time. ...
... And I ask tonight for record expenditures for the program that helps children born into want move into excellence, Head Start.
Step six, we must reform our health care system. For this, too, bears on whether or not we can compete in the world. American health costs have been exploding. This year America will spend over $800 billion on health, and that is expected to grow to 1.6 trillion by the end of the decade. We simply cannot afford this. The cost of health care shows up not only in your family budget but in the price of everything we buy and everything we sell. When health coverage for a fellow on an assembly line costs thousands of dollars, the cost goes into the products he makes, and you pay the bill.
...
Well, let's build on our strengths. My plan provides insurance security for all Americans while preserving and increasing the idea of choice. We make basic health insurance affordable for all low-income people not now covered, and we do it by providing a health insurance tax credit of up to $3,750 for each low-income family. And the middle class gets help, too. And by reforming the health insurance market, my plan assures that Americans will have access to basic health insurance even if they change jobs or develop serious health problems. We must bring costs under control, preserve quality, preserve choice, and reduce the people's nagging daily worry about health insurance. My plan, the details of which I'll announce very shortly, does just that.
Seventh, we must get the Federal deficit under control. We now have, in law, enforceable spending caps and a requirement that we pay for the programs we create. There are those in Congress who would ease that discipline now. But I cannot let them do it, and I won't.
....
Note: The President spoke at 9:07 p.m. in the House Chamber of the Capitol. The address was broadcast live on nationwide radio and television. The Executive order of March 12 establishing the National Commission on America's Urban Families is listed in Appendix E at the end of this volume.
kj~ I can see how a speech over a decade old can have bearing on a false rally in support of Hezbollah (see latest thread).
Not.