Saturday, February 7, 2009

Obama Failed to Attend the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball

This is making the email circuit.

American Legion Acknowledges That Obama Failed to Attend the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Ball
Posted by Common Sense Joe at 4:15 PM

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

He was probably busy fixing Bush's screw-ups.

February 7, 2009 at 4:42 PM
Anonymous said...

Who cares!!! The Fact that he even had a Salute to Heroes ball was a lot more than Bush ever did to recognize heroes, anyway who cares, it is boring, what I'd like to see on this blog is more intellectually stimulating discussion on topics like for example Banking : Should we nationalize the failed banks and let government compete with private banking. Like oil: should we substantially raise taxes on the record breaking profits of the oil industry or nationalize the major oil companies and use the profits for rebuilding the economy instead allowing unmerited profits due to wall street speculation and financing dictators go to luxury private jets for top execs? Health care: should we eliminate the middle man, the insurance companies, from the health care system and use that saved capital to improve and put more people into the system? Foreign policy, should we cut the annual billions of dollars in military arms charity to Israel until they close down the giant concentration camp of Gaza and stop usurping Palestinian land and resources? Should we limit pay for top wage earners to be no more than say 20 or 30 times lowest wage earners in government and corporations, should that number be higher or lower, or no limit and why? What should be the US role in attacking major Global Problems like World Hunger, HIV, Malaria, Global Warming, Corporate corruption of Governments, etc.?

I would like to see your blog be more relevant and continue to contribute to it myself, but frankly if you don't stop with the boring unimportant stuff like Rangel watch and Obama's social life , I quit because I just find it too boring, because those a petty trivial issues compared to our major challenges... further I think you are doing your blog a disservice because I think it will not attract more contributors until you make it interesting by posing stimulating questions that stimulate real intellectual debate like: is the stimulus bill, despite the 1 or 2 percent pork still in it, worth passing and should it be followed up with more similar stimulus bills despite the affect on our deficit? Should the US lift the embargo on Cuba? Interesting relevant questions like that will attract more contributors and more debate in my opinion.

Further you did not respond to my last comment on executive pay, I wanted to see your thoughts on the matter, if you don't respond to my responses, then I will quit reading and contributing to your blog, the only reason I devote valuable time to it, is to see if you and others can show me errors in my way of thinking, so far I haven't seen much credible criticism, if I don't see some soon I quit this blog because no one, not you or anyone else, seems to want to take my thoughts and concepts on in a serious way, its like everyone is afraid to debate anything with me?

So in the future if you don't see any further contributions from me, the above are the reasons why.

February 8, 2009 at 6:48 AM
MsAnthrope said...

I can only answer for myself and not Joe but the last time I tried to "debate" with you about Hamas, you called me "stupid, ignorant and immoral". The information I used came from the Hamas offical website (visiting there gives you an ugly file with the CIA by the way). In my world name calling is not part of debating and is not the way to entice anyone into a discussion with you.

February 8, 2009 at 9:50 AM
Common Sense Joe said...

First, Bush, and every other President since it started, attended. Second, the American Legion put it on, not Obama.Third, Bush was well like by the military. Fourth, Obama has done things that are viewed well by the military, but things like this may hurt him. Does it matter, I don't know. Read the article if you like, or don't. You are not required to like or comment on anything.

February 8, 2009 at 12:40 PM
MsAnthrope said...

Craig Roberts, Media Relations Manager for the American Legion, issued the following statement:

The American Legion, as it has on every inauguration evening since 1953, hosted the Salute to Heroes Inaugural Banquet & Ball on January 20th. The quadrennial event is co-sponsored with fourteen veterans service and military service organizations and honors recipients of the Medal of Honor. Forty-seven of these heroes attended this year’s event which was held in the Renaissance Washington DC Hotel.

President Obama was invited but did not attend. Vice-President Joe Biden did appear, however, and was very warmly received. The new President’s absence was understandable considering the unprecedented logistical challenges presented by the vastly increased number of visitors to this inauguration and the necessary attendant security measures. The American Legion, as an organization, does not feel offended or “snubbed.”

From this it sounds like they took it in stride and the fact that Biden attended was a positive thing.

February 8, 2009 at 2:21 PM
Anonymous said...

Misunderstood Heroes ball, I thought it was a ball for real heroes, like fireman who risked their lives on 9/11, humanitarian workers who risk their lives every day in the Congo, Nigeria etc., journalists who work in war zones unembedded, etc ...not war veterans. Just because you are a soldier, in my book, doesn't automatically make you a hero... very few military men are heroes, though some are, like the two Americans who stopped the My Lai Massacre and had to point their guns at their own fellow soldiers to get them to stop shooting the Vietnamese village children. They risked getting shot at by their fellow soldiers for that action... and were at first punished by the pentagon though later regarded as heroes once the press got the story out, and the pentagon had to take back its punishment and give them medals instead because of public pressure.

As for MsAnthrope show me where I called you stupid concerning something you said on Hamas, I don't remember which argument it was, copy and paste it here if you can...I want to see if it was justified or not, if not, I submit my apologies and mea culpa..but perhaps it was justified.

February 9, 2009 at 4:23 AM
MsAnthrope said...

"Maybe Joe like yourself are just ignorant or stupid or have some other motivation for supporting Israeli American terrorism of Palestinian people and children"
Here it is Dan. This came from the "Proportional Response" discussion.

February 9, 2009 at 8:19 AM
Anonymous said...

Sorry Msanthrope, but if you or Joe can't give me a justifiable reason why you support Israel's terrorism of the Palestinian people and to justify their occupation of Palestinian land and homes...then what else can I conclude? Either you're ignorant of the facts or stupid or evil...I don't see any other possibility? why anyone would support killing innocent children for land and resources I just can't relate to. I can see it in the case of self defense or revenge like in the case of Hamas , though I hope they will stop and they said they would if Israel ends its violence...but I can't see any other justifiable motivation for killing children for land? if you have one share it.

Remember this all started with the WWII victors taking Palestinian land and giving it to the Jews after the war...the Palestinians were kind enough to accept and share but the Jews wanted to dominate them eventually , just like the European colonization of the Indians in our country, exactly the same thing!!! We may have done it but it was wrong nevertheless.

February 10, 2009 at 6:10 AM
Anonymous said...

If I supported genocide in the past it was out of ignorance, I was ignorant and stupid of American military aid to dictators in South America which committed attempts at Indian genocide for the last 40 years, but since I have learned better, now I inform myself with Democracy Now and other independent as well as corporation owned news sources and oppose aggression and violence against innocent and poor populations especially when it comes from my country which makes me partly responsible as a citizen if I don't oppose it.

Furthermore if you are referring to Hamas, I don't support Hamas, I am against their interpretation of Islam and against religion in general. Hamas uses religion to subjugate women which I am against. However I do support their right to self defense, they are not the agressors, they were born out of Israeli agression and occupation, if not for that Hamas would not even exist. Furthermore
Hamas does not want genocide of the Jews, like the German people did in 1940, that is propaganda they just want their land back , Hamas wanted to extend the cease fire and Israel refused, Hamas held on to the last cease fire, a Fatah related terrorist/resistance group fired the rockets that broke the cease fire... only after Israel attacked did Hamas begin to retaliate.

If we stop military aid to Israel, Israel will have to pay for its invasions, incursions and occupation, this is costly so they will find a way to peace to save money more likely than not. If Israel has to start spending its own money on the occupation just watch how quickly peace is achieved!

February 11, 2009 at 5:01 AM
MsAnthrope said...

The Hamas Charter says under it's Hamas Principles "Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it." and "There is no solution for the Palestinian question except through Jihad. Initiatives, proposals and international conferences are all a waste of time and vain endeavors." Those quotes come from the offical Hamas website. How can you say they don't want genocide of the Jews? How can you say they want peace? Their own words from their offical website condemn them.

February 11, 2009 at 7:10 AM

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