Does anybody have more than this?

Page 14 - Seeking answers? Join the AnandTech community: where nearly half-a-million members share solutions and discuss the latest tech.

1EZduzit

Lifer
Feb 4, 2002
11,833
1
0
Originally posted by: spidey07
This is fabulous!

It's going to carry over all this week and into the weekend swithing the minds of a huge number of voters. It's still the dominant news story.

Prediction? John Kerry doesn't say one single thing. The democratic party would do best to lock him in a closet until after the election. His comments have NOT shifted the topic to Iraq. They have focused attention on the major democratic party flaw at the most opportune time. They don't like the military and are weak on national security. If anything this is going to give the republicans a major boost.

Don't "measure the drapes" yet.
 

Strk

Lifer
Nov 23, 2003
10,197
4
76
Originally posted by: miketheidiot
Originally posted by: Genx87
Originally posted by: steppinthrax
You don't have to be in the military to know what the military is. It's pretty simple. They have no admission requirements and pretty much accept anybody under the sun. There are certain physical and medical requirements but they are real lax on the education part. I'm not surprised though at the amount of anger coming from individuals here regarding the comment Kerry made. This is the United States. Education here isn't valued that highly as XBOX 360 or a new car. People here are up for the quick fixes and short term highs.

I will need to look this up but apparently the heritage foundation did a study and found the avg income and educational level in our armed forces is higher than the general population.

/shrug

the educated ones tend to stay in for their 20-25 years a bit more than the enlisted man, who is probably there between 5-10 years. I'm sure that if you took all people that had served, that gap would be reduced, if not reversed entirely.

I wonder what the difference is for retention rate as far as active duty vs reserves when comparing officers and enlisted. It would be interesting, as officers do eventually do quite well, while enlisted not so much. Then again, there's the difference in what it takes to become an officer rather than an enlisted (the qualifications are actually kind of high).
 

spidey07

No Lifer
Aug 4, 2000
65,469
5
76
Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Don't "measure the drapes" yet.

Do you deny that this is the dominant news story at the perfect time and will cripple the democrats?

John Kerry...the gift the keeps on giving.

 

CellarDoor

Golden Member
Aug 31, 2004
1,574
0
0
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Don't "measure the drapes" yet.

Do you deny that this is the dominant news story at the perfect time and will cripple the democrats?

John Kerry...the gift the keeps on giving.

Go ahead and believe what you want to believe, if it makes you feel nice and good inside.
 

Aegeon

Golden Member
Nov 2, 2004
1,809
125
106
Originally posted by: spidey07
Do you deny that this is the dominant news story at the perfect time and will cripple the democrats?
I don't think its going to help at all, especially once it becomes fully apparent how farfetched the accusation by Bush is once the full video becomes more distributed. IT IS going to shift the focus back to Iraq, and its not like Kerry is running this year anyways.

The Republicans are still going to get crushed in epic fashion in the House and almost certainly lose the Senate.
 

1EZduzit

Lifer
Feb 4, 2002
11,833
1
0
Originally posted by: spidey07
Originally posted by: 1EZduzit
Don't "measure the drapes" yet.

Do you deny that this is the dominant news story at the perfect time and will cripple the democrats?

John Kerry...the gift the keeps on giving.

If you think this story is going to change the election, then get on it and ride it hard!! That's your perogative.

I think anybody with any sense knows what Kerry meant and knows it was directly meant as critizism of the NeoCons currently in power and particuarly Bush/Cheney.
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,060
1
0
Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Yes John Kerry is so pro military, just look at his past statements about the military
JOHN KERRY'S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE, APRIL 22, 1971 -- "They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.

John Kerry on CBS Face the Nation, December 4, 2005 -- "There is no reason... that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children..."

John Kerry in a speech to students at Pasadena City College in California, October 30, 2006 -- "You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

And John Kerry again when asked to apologize to the troops buy the Bush Administration for the above "joke", October 31, 2006 -- "I will apologize to no one."

How are any of those statements antimilitary?
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
The full video is enough for me to give credence to the possibility that he meant to insult Bush rather than the troops. But it's certainly not obvious enough to be conclusive. So there you go. I'll say it: I think that he might have been talking about Bush, or the Troops, or who knows.

Nobody can watch that video and decipher the context difinitively. It was an awkward part of the speech. It could have been the second "one-liner" in his intro, aimed at Bush; or, it could have been the beginning of his serious discussion regarding education wherein he wanted to show the audience the consequences of doing badly in school; thus insulting te troops...

it's just not clear enough to tell.

Bottom line: I'm still glad that he stepped on his own junk. I don't care what he meant anymore. It's just exciting to watch the media go nuts and make fools of everyone! isn't politics fun!? It will be interesting to see what effect, if any, this whole thing has on next week's voting. After all, it didnt change my votes...
 

miketheidiot

Lifer
Sep 3, 2004
11,060
1
0
Originally posted by: daniel49
I use to just think he was a brain dead moron, now I think he is an arrogant a$$.
And I don't care how he tries to spin it what he meant was obvious.

And if you were to see the whole speach, I bet you would be in a perfect position to interpret it.
 

Eos

Diamond Member
Jun 14, 2000
3,463
17
81
I was thinking about what Kerry could have said in place of what he actually said. I hope I am the first to say it! :D

"Education if you make the most of it, if you study hard, you do your homework, you make an effort to get smart you can do well, if you don't you get stuck in Iraq"

or:

"Education if you make the most of it, if you study hard, you do your homework, you make an effort to get smart you can do well, if you don't you get sent to Iraq"

Now, is there any difference between the two statements?
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: eos
I was thinking about what Kerry could have said in place of what he actually said. I hope I am the first to say it! :D

"Education if you make the most of it, if you study hard, you do your homework, you make an effort to get smart you can do well, if you don't you get stuck in Iraq"

or:

"Education if you make the most of it, if you study hard, you do your homework, you make an effort to get smart you can do well, if you don't you get sent to Iraq"

Now, is there any difference between the two statements?
ya, the second would have definately been aimed at the troops while the real statement is much more ambiguous. I really can't tell what the heck that moron was trying to say, or who he was trying to insult.

One of the other problems with Kerry's attack which equates poor performance in school to Bush is that Bush actually got better grades than Kerry himself; so it doesnt make much sense given the fact that alot of people know that. After all, Kerry's performance in school was worse than Bush's performance, so how is that joke funny or accurate? Does it mean that Kerry's poor performance could have gotten "us stuck" in worse places?!

that is why I tend to lean toward the comment meaning exactly what it says, but I'm willing to state that it's possible that Kerry did botch a joke aimed at Bush instead...

who knows... who cares?! it's still funt to watch unfold!
 

Darkhawk28

Diamond Member
Dec 22, 2000
6,759
0
0
Tell me Palehorse, were you equally as "outraged" when Bush joked "No WMD under here. Nope, not here either."

Just curious.

Now that you've seen the full statement, in context, you're STILL wondering whether or not Kerry meant that as a joke toward the troops?

You still don't believe that it was simply a botched joke.

Granted, I will say this.... Senator Kerry, don't joke. You're not good at it. Your message is right on without the jokes.
 

Pens1566

Lifer
Oct 11, 2005
13,756
11,376
136
And I'll ask for a third time. What insults the troops more, sending them to fight for nothing in Iraq, or possibly questioning their intelligence???? Not rhetorical, I'll wait.
 

hellokeith

Golden Member
Nov 12, 2004
1,664
0
0
Originally posted by: spidey07
This is fabulous!

It's going to carry over all this week and into the weekend swithing the minds of a huge number of voters. It's still the dominant news story.

Prediction? John Kerry doesn't say one single thing. The democratic party would do best to lock him in a closet until after the election. His comments have NOT shifted the topic to Iraq. They have focused attention on the major democratic party flaw at the most opportune time. They don't like the military and are weak on national security. If anything this is going to give the republicans a major boost.

I'm doubting it will change any democrat voters, but it can swing some of those who were undecided or abstaining from voting to go vote republican. Alot of people may not like the war, but they love the troops and will take Kerry's words at face value regardless of what he says he meant.

George Stephanopoulos said this morning that Kerry "benched himself", which basically is in line with what you said about the dems locking him in a closet. Because of this snafu, he already got uninvited from one campaign speaking engagement and canceled another.

The tipping point was his ludicrous "I won't apologize" rant. The media was all over that and will be asking every republican running for a seat in the universe what they think of Kerry's comments.

All Kerry had to do was sincerely apologize for the misunderstanding, and the liberal media would've covered it up instantly. It was his own fault this thing got out of hand, and the democrats will pay a price - perhaps small, but still noticeable - for his string of mistakes on this matter.
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: Darkhawk28
Originally posted by: palehorse74
Originally posted by: senseamp
Kerry apologizes.
he didnt even mention the troops in his apology?

"I said it was a botched joke. Of course, I'm sorry about a botched joke."

I've watched the entire video with Imus. He DID mention the troops, explicitly and repeatedly.
that's good to know. i'll check out the entire video. thanks for the tip.
 

palehorse

Lifer
Dec 21, 2005
11,521
0
76
Originally posted by: senseamp
Originally posted by: TravisT
I think Kerry showed his true colors. :)

So did McCain. He aint going to win moderates in 2008.
lol, isnt it funny how quickly people change their minds? Just a few months ago, while McCain was loudly opposing the Detainee Act, most moderates put him on a pedastool.. and now this simple condemnation of Kerry is enough for them to write him off?

lol.. ya gotta love the finicky populace!
 

Craig234

Lifer
May 1, 2006
38,548
350
126
Originally posted by: miketheidiot
Originally posted by: ProfJohn
Yes John Kerry is so pro military, just look at his past statements about the military
JOHN KERRY'S TESTIMONY BEFORE THE SENATE FOREIGN RELATIONS COMMITTEE, APRIL 22, 1971 -- "They told the stories at times they had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads, taped wires from portable telephones to human genitals and turned up the power, cut off limbs, blown up bodies, randomly shot at civilians, razed villages in fashion reminiscent of Genghis Khan, shot cattle and dogs for fun, poisoned food stocks, and generally ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam in addition to the normal ravage of war, and the normal and very particular ravaging which is done by the applied bombing power of this country.

John Kerry on CBS Face the Nation, December 4, 2005 -- "There is no reason... that young American soldiers need to be going into the homes of Iraqis in the dead of night, terrorizing kids and children..."

John Kerry in a speech to students at Pasadena City College in California, October 30, 2006 -- "You know, education -- if you make the most of it, you study hard and you do your homework and you make an effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

And John Kerry again when asked to apologize to the troops buy the Bush Administration for the above "joke", October 31, 2006 -- "I will apologize to no one."

How are any of those statements antimilitary?

1. Kerry was helping vets and the nation: helping to spread the truth against the lies being pushed by the right, helping to give vets a voice. "They told the stories..."

2. He criticized a *tactic* that was sometimes used. Identifying one tactic as a mistake makes you anti-military? No.

Funny, his comment showed concern about our alienating the Iraqi people - something that could harm our security, creating enemies.

Something that it seems is a bit of a problem for us now, eh? His leadership would address the problem; the current leadership gives us empty platitudes.

3. You are *dishonest* if you continue to repeat the false attack at this point that Kerry's comments were directed at the troops, and not the president.

There is overwhelming evidence, regardless of Palehorse's predictable obtuseness, that Kerry was directing his comments at the president and not the troops.

Although if he *did* make a comment against volunteering now with the current leadership, I think that'd be more pro-troop than anti-military.

My own Congressman, for example, a veteran, told a high school student he hoped he was not thinking of joining the military now. That's anti-Bush, not anti-military.

But, that's an opinion - and irrelevant to the fact that Kerry was insulting the president in a joke.

So, you have 0 for 3 in proving your claim that Kerry is 'anti-military'.

Was Eisenhower, Supreme Allied Commander in WWII, "anti-military" for saying that military spending robbed the nation and was no way to live on a 'cross of Iron'?

No, you are being an ideologue - determined to 'win' a point by attacking Kerry, you are saying anything, however false and absurd such as that he's 'anti-military'.
 

NeoV

Diamond Member
Apr 18, 2000
9,504
2
81
The saddest thing in this thread is the completely predictable reaction.

Folks, if you are too far to the right or the left that you've lost the ability to look at something objectively, then you may as well stop talking, posting, and reading about politics, because your mind is made up for you.

Two things here - if you watch the entire speech, Kerry was CLEARLY referring to this administration. Could it have been worded better? Certainly. Was he trying to insult the troops? Certainly not.

Since many of you jumped right on board with the 'he was talking about the education levels of our military personel' tangent, please save your "I'm in the military and I have 11 degrees, so Kerry is full of crap" comments.

Are there people in the military with college and more advanced degrees? Yes, of course their are. Are there outstanding students at our military academies? Yes, very much so, similar in acceptance policies to many of our finer universities. That said, anyone who can't see the recruiting centers, and where they are located, and draw any conclusions from that needs to open their eyes. Military recruiting targets poorer areas, period. It's not a question of intelligence, it's a question of class, and by class I mean upper/middle/lower income levels. This is fact, it can't be disputed. As such, people recruited from these areas, statistically speaking, end up as less-educated people than those that come out of higher income classes.

Do yourself a favor and watch Kerry's entire discussion, reading that one quote doesn't put the statement in it's proper context.

Also, hat's off to Kerry's new writers, his response has more teeth than just about anything they produced during the Swift boat flotilla of garbage.