The Film Archives: John Kerry- ‘How do You Ask The Last Man to Die For a Mistake’

Source:The Film Archives- U.S. Naval Lieutenant John F. Kerry, testifying in front of Congress about the Vietnam War, in 1971.

Source:FRS FreeState

“John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American politician who is the 68th and current United States Secretary of State. More on this topic.

He served as a United States Senator from Massachusetts from 1985 to 2013, and was chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Kerry was the presidential nominee of the Democratic Party in the 2004 Presidential Election but lost to incumbent George W. Bush.

The son of an Army Air Corps veteran, Kerry was born in Aurora, Colorado. He attended boarding school in Massachusetts and New Hampshire and went on to graduate from Yale University class of 1966, where he majored in political science and became a member of the influential Skull and Bones secret society. He enlisted in the Naval Reserve in 1966, and during 1968–1969 served an abbreviated four-month tour of duty in South Vietnam as officer-in-charge (OIC) of a Swift Boat. For that service, he was awarded combat medals that include the Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. Securing an early return to the United States, Kerry joined the Vietnam Veterans Against the War in which he served as a nationally recognized spokesman and as an outspoken opponent of the Vietnam War. He appeared before the Senate Committee on Foreign Affairs where he deemed United States war policy in Vietnam to be the cause of “war crimes.” 

From The Film Archives 

It’s been said that presidents who have military or foreign policy experience, are less likely to commit American troops to combat in foreign nations, then presidents without that previous experience, because they know exactly what they are putting those troops through and what they have to go through. And the sacrifices they and their families will make as a result and perhaps even the ultimate sacrifice they may make.

I’ll give you a perfect example of that: when Dwight Eisenhower became President in 1953, one of the first things he looked to was to get American troops out of the Korean War. Because he saw it as a civil war.

Ronald Reagan a World War II veteran, never committed American troops into combat. We never went to war in his eight years as President. Jimmy Carter, another World War II veteran, never committed American troops to combat in his four years either. President George H.W. Bush did commit troops to the Gulf War in 1991. But for a very limited mission: get Iraq out of Kuwait, not to invade and occupy Iraq. A big country of twenty-five million people, a mistake that his son wasn’t able to avoid twelve years later.

President George W. Bush, who never had combat experience, or foreign policy experience, other than signing up for the reserves to avoid Vietnam service, commits American troops to two wars within seventeen months as President: Afghanistan and Iraq. Two wars we are now trying to get out of ten years later.

We’ll never know what type of president John Kerry would’ve made on foreign policy, or anything else. And I believe that’s unfortunate, because we are talking about a Vietnam veteran from the Baby Boom Generation, who volunteered to serve his country in Vietnam, unlike George W. Bush who did everything he can to avoid service there.

But when you hear Senator Kerry talk about foreign policy as Chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee and as a senior Senator, you know that he doesn’t take these things lightly. And committing American troops to any war is a huge deal and shouldn’t be taken lightly.

ESPN: Larry Bird: SportsCentury

Source:Celebrities 4 U- Boston Celtics Larry Legend.

"Larry Bird, known as "a hick from French Lick," is anything but. He proved it as an overachieving basketball player, and he's proving it still as a successful, unassuming NBA coach.

Bird was one of those rare athletes who made everybody around him better. His uncanny passing, deadly shooting and anticipation defensively transformed losers into winners. The 6-foot-9 forward overcame a severe case of what is referred to in the NBA as "white man's disease," an inability to jump high, to leap into the echelon of basketball greats.

Bird was one of those rare athletes who made everybody around him better. His uncanny passing, deadly shooting and anticipation defensively transformed losers into winners. The 6-foot-9 forward overcame a severe case of what is referred to in the NBA as "white man's disease," an inability to jump high, to leap into the echelon of basketball greats." 

From ESPN 

"For more celebrity videos from the world of music, movie, sports, comedy and politics, please subscribe to my channel:Celebrities 4 U." 

From Celebrities 4 U

Imagine an NBA basketball player from the 1980s who wasn't fast or couldn't jump very high, who wasn't a very good individual defender and he's a good ole boy from rural Indiana. Just based on those factors alone, how well do you think a player like that would do? How long would he even play or better yet be in the league, would he play at all, would he even get drafted? But thats only part of Larry Bird's characteristics.

Larry Legend Bird's career wasn't about athletic ability. The closest thing to athletic ability that Legend had, was his hand-eye coordination, the best we've ever seen in pro basketball. And Larry's 6'9 230 pound frame, he could play both forward positions, because of his ability to rebound, shoot, pass, and handle ball. All relating to his hand eye coordination not his ability to run or jump. Larry was too big for almost any small forward that tried to cover him, other then James Worthy or Dominque Wilkins in his era. And Dominique despite his athletic ability, quickness, size, and strength, was never a great individual defender.

Because Larry Legend could shoot right over you and back most small forwards down in the post and Larry was too quick for most power forwards to cover him, Larry wasn't fast obviously, but quick, with excellent footwork and always knew where he was going. Larry Bird was one of if not the smartest basketball players the game has ever seen. Not a genius off the court, but brilliant on the court and that was the secret to Larry Bird. To go with his hand-eye coordination.

Larry Bird with his brilliance and hand-eye coordination could see things happen before they did. And thats what made him better than everyone else, because he always knew where to be and where to go. Because he always knew where they play was going to be, where he had to be to make the play. He saw things that his coaches or even point guard couldn't see and being the leader of the Boston Celtics. Bird was a great, world class chess player, who used those skills to play basketball. On the floor, he took it upon himself to always make sure he was in the right place to make the play.

Thats why Legend was such a great rebounder, because he always knew where the ball was going to bounce. Based on the guy shooting the ball and based on his own shots, he knew when he missed the shot. And where to go based on how he missed it and when he made the shot.. This is also why he was such a great passer, because he saw openings for his teammates in where to go to receive the ball and would pass the ball there. Even if his teammate isn't there yet and his teammate would go to that spot. And generally be wide-open for a layup or a jump shot.

The Celtics always knew they had to get the ball to Larry. At least once on every possession, because he would either get his own shot or set up one of his teammates. The reason why Larry Bird was such a great leader, because he was team first and team last and everything else in-between. How many games would it take to win, in order to have the best playoff position possible, to get to and win the NBA Finals. Which is how he and the Celtics judged their success in the 1980s and the Celtics knew to get on Legend's back and he would show them the way. And take them to the promise land.

I got Larry Bird down as the great forward in the history of basketball, not just in America, but in the world. The only player I would definitely take over Legend, would be Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, who I believe is the best two-way player ever. And you could argue that Earvin Johnson and Michael Jordan were better players than Legend. But I got Kareem as the best and you could argue for 2nd place, including Larry Legend Bird. That's how great of a basketball player that Larry Bird was. 

Real Time With Bill Maher: 'Bill Maher On Occupy Wall Street'

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher- talking about Occupy Wall Street.

"One would think that the anti-corporatist ideals of the Occupy Wall Street movement would receive some safe harbor on Real Time with Bill Maher, and one would be correct that their ideology gelled entirely with the audience. But before Alan Grayson passionately stood up as a spokesman for their cause, the panel spent a fair amount of time mocking the group ruthlessly, for their “bongo drums,” disorganization, and incoherence.

“The don’t really have a coherent message,” Maher noted, with P.J. O’Rourke laughing beside him through an Occupy Wall Street bashing session about how useless their bongo drums are and how they don’t have bathrooms (that latter complaint from panelist Nicolle Wallace, who noted that it was “the logistics of the protest that bother me”). Maher, on his end, was just dismayed at the lack of marketing ability– “the Teabaggers named themselves after a gay sex act,” he joked, “but at least that was catchy.”

"New Rules - on Occupy Wall Street. Bill shows the world the variety of people in the global occupation movement."  

From Mediate

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher- talking about Occupy Wall Street.

From Master The Illusion

If Bill Maher is arguing that today's Occupy Wall Street is not the political Hippie movement from the 1960s and 70s, he has a point. Silent and Baby Boom Generation Hippies didn't have smartphones, laptops, Starbucks, social media, so-called reality TV, MSNBC talk, or perhaps even cool politicians. So maybe today's Occupy Wall Street which is the Millennial Generation version of the New-Left, but perhaps less violent, are the sons and daughters, as well as grandchildren of the the 1960s and 70s political Hippies. 

Real Time With Bill Maher: 'The Hypocrisy of Evangelical Christians'

Source:Real Time With Bill Maher- on the Christian-Right in America.

"When evangelical Christians rejoice at Bin Ladens death, what does that say about their belief system?" 

From Matthew Ives

I'm starting to hate the terms Christian-Conservative and Christian-Right, because what the hell do these folks actually believe in conserving? It's sure as hell not the bible, a book they probably never have bothered to read, let alone actually able to understand. 

In the mid and late 1960s, even into the 1970s, religious cults became fashionable on the Left for young people who wanted a life outside of the so-called American establishment, groups like Jim Jone's People's Temple and others. I'm starting to think that what's called the Christian-Right in America, is the just Far-Right's version of a political, religious cult, that has almost nothing, if any, relationship with Jesus Christ, Christianity, and God in general.

The Young Turks: Cenk Uygur- 'Andrew Sullivan Is Wrong About Obama's Leftist Critics'

Source:The Young Turks- Conservative blogger Andrew Sullivan.

"Andrew Sullivan wrote a Newsweek piece titled 'How Obama's Long Game Will Outsmart His Critics' that takes aim at conservative and liberal critics of president Obama. The Young Turks host Cenk Uygur breaks it down and explains what he got right and what he got wrong." 

From The Young Turks  

"Tina Brown and Andrew Sullivan discuss the reaction and impact of the Newsweek cover story, "Why Are Obama's Critics So Dumb?" 

Source:The Daily Beast- Andrew Sullivan and Tina Brown talking about President Obama's critics.

From The Daily Beast

"You hear it everywhere. Democrats are disappointed in the president. Independents have soured even more. Republicans have worked themselves up into an apocalyptic fervor. And, yes, this is not exactly unusual.

A president in the last year of his first term will always get attacked mercilessly by his partisan opponents, and also, often, by the feistier members of his base. And when unemployment is at remarkably high levels, and with the national debt setting records, the criticism will—and should be—even fiercer. But this time, with this president, something different has happened. It's not that I don't understand the critiques of Barack Obama from the enraged right and the demoralized left. It's that I don't even recognize their description of Obama's first term in any way. The attacks from both the right and the left on the man and his policies aren't out of bounds. They're simply—empirically—wrong." 

Source:Newsweek- President Barack H. Obama (Democrat, Illinois) 44th President of the United States

From Newsweek

As I've said before: the Far-Right doesn't like President Barack Obama because they believe he's an illegal immigrant from Kenya, as well as a Muslim-Socialist-Atheist-Islamist-Communist. As ridiculous as those attacks might sound (to anyone who has a brain and his sane and sober) he's been accused of being all of those things (even at the same time) by the so-called Tea Party in and outside of the Republican Party. 

And the Far-Left of the Democratic Party (The Young Turks included) doesn't like Barack Obama because he's not a Socialist. If they wanted a Socialist President back in 2008, they should've backed and supported one. Dennis Kucinich was one of the Democratic candidates and Jill Stein did run for the Green Party. 

And then you have conservative columnist Andrew Sullivan come along whose obviously not a Democrat, because he believes there are too many Socialists in it and maybe the Far-Left in the Democratic Party, is not the Far-Left anymore, but instead now controls the Democratic Party, perhaps the hippie baby boomers of the 1960s and 1970s never grew up and still see a Socialist Utopia happening in America when they're on one of their marijuana highs, but Sullivan sees President Obama as that solid if not happy medium in-between the Nationalist-Right of the Republican Party and the Socialist-Left of the Democratic Party and decides to support President Obama and a lot of what the President is currently doing and is has been doing. 

Real Time With Bill Maher: 'If Jesus Ran The Republican Nomination'

Source:Mediate- Real Time With Bill Maher.

"After suggesting Republican voters were being “promiscuous” for cycling through their favorite candidates (or “flavors of the week,” as Sarah Palin might say) in the presidential race, Bill Maher wondered how a hypothetical candidacy by none other than Jesus Christ would play out in modern times.

Maher’s impetus to question the varying tastes of the GOP crowd was the latest speculation over Chris Christie and whether the New Jersey governor would enter the Republican race. Maher compared the calls for Christie to run to previous “hot” candidates like Michele Bachmann and Rick Perry, until voters discovered their character flaws and moved on." 

From Mediate 

"Real Time with Bill Maher 30-09-2011

Originally from AtheistBlog.org. The Atheist Blog." 

Source:The Atheist Blog- Real Time With Bill Maher.

From The Atheist Blog

I sort of look at Jesus Christ and the Far-Right of the Republican Party, they way I look at Ronald Reagan and the Far-Right's relationship with him in the Republican Party: the Populist-Right of the Republican Party wants people to think that they love this men, because they want to be associated with them. Not because they actually like what these men believed in and preached or even understand them, or are even intelligent enough to understand them, because they bothered to read anything that these men ever bother wrote or said. Which I think is sort of Bill Maher's point here. 

At risk of being very insulting and politically incorrect: the so-called Christian-Right in America is not much more than a political/religious cult. There are few exceptions to this rule as far as people who actually say and live what they believe. But the political base in this movement make up their own rules and make exceptions for people who are part of their movement all the time. And don't go by the Bible or any other book, like I don't know, the U.S. Constitution. But instead have very warped interpretations of what these books say and mean. 

The Daily Caller: Real Time With Bill Maher- 'Why Can't America be More Like Canada?'

Source:The DC Shorts- comedian Martin Short, on Real Time With Bill Maher, in 2011.

"Canada is a country that has health care and not a lot of gun violence. And we've become just a more war-like mean, cramped conservative country"  

From The DC Shorts 

Why can't Canada be more like Canada? Well, because America is America and Canada. (To be as overly simplistic as possible) Canadians are a very collectivist and a very welfare-centric country. America likes their individual freedom and individualism, their personal freedom, the ability to make their own decisions without Big Government trying to tax them to death because Uncle Sam believes it's more qualified to spend Americans money better than them. 

With Canadians, I think they don't mind Big Government spending a lot of their money for them, just as long as the services that they get are good and their money is spent well. The political cultures in both countries are just very different.   

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