George H.W. Bush, dead at 94

[Huntingwhale]

Originally Posted by Matata

Sure he has left a massive trail of destruction and despair on such a scale that its reverberation will be felt for a century, but he died, so we should be nice about it. Please ignore the mountain of innocent dead bodies and shattered states all over the globe while we bow our heads in silent lament.

It never ceases to amaze me the forgiveness people readily dole for the heinous acts of US presidents.

I think part of it is that he's a Western leader. On ''our side'' so to speak. I've always found it strange that people are willing to wipe the slate clean just because that person died. Like it or not, Bush instilled policies that might have advanced American interests, yet wreaked havoc on people in other places. At the same time, he would be damned if he does and damned if he doesn't.

Being an American President is often a thankless job. I'm not going to crap all over the guy because I have no doubt he tried his best to do what he thought was right at the time. At the same time, I accept that those decisions often had a domino effect in other places that might not have had such a positive effect.

[iggy_oi]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you think that is a valid comparison? In both intents and outcomes.

If you asked the 4 what their intentions were you probably would have gotten eerily similar answers.

[Minnie]

Originally Posted by CaptainCrunch

Chances are that there will be a joint statement of mourning by the NRA, Aryan Nation and Alex Jones

Maybe not from the NRA. He wrote them a letter, withdrawing his membership in '95 & more or less told them to pound sand, specifically calling out LaPierre in his letter. I don't imagine there's a lot of love lost there.

I am...I dunno...mostly indifferent on what is said about him. He did some good stuff, and some heinous stuff. I follow the story more from a "watching history play out" perspective. I find it interesting to see the various responses to his death, some classier than others, some pretty foul. Also to see how the whole Trump thing will play out in terms of the funeral.

[Joborule]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you think that is a valid comparison? In both intents and outcomes.

It's a tongue-in-cheek/green text comment, but it's my commentary that just because an important person has died, doesn't mean people can't have negative opinions about them that they want to share on a thread about the person.

[Erick Estrada]

Originally Posted by Matata

Sure he has left a massive trail of destruction and despair on such a scale that its reverberation will be felt for a century, but he died, so we should be nice about it. Please ignore the mountain of innocent dead bodies and shattered states all over the globe while we bow our heads in silent lament.

It never ceases to amaze me the forgiveness people readily dole for the heinous acts of US presidents.

Originally Posted by Joborule

We should express the same amount of respect for Saddam Hussein, Bin Laden, and for Putin when he passes.

Kind of like our current PM praising Castro?

[The Yen Man]

Honestly, I can't really say the death affects me much. It would be the same reaction I had when Saddam Hussein died, or if Putin dies. All three have a lot of blood on their hands, so it's a big meh for me. I agree with a poster above. He's only being thought of favourably because he was a Western leader. Ask people in the middle east what they think of the guy. I'm sure it's how we think of Bin Laden.

I'm sure he did what he thought was best for the States. But what's best for the States is usually worse for other people. But we don't tend to care because that's far away, and we have no relation to the people who died or were negatively impacted.

[flamesforcup]

Originally Posted by GGG

Do you think that is a valid comparison? In both intents and outcomes.

I would say he is worse than those 3

He imported crack into the country to fund a covert & illegal war against Nicaragua.

The crack was distributed in poor black neighbourhoods kickstarting the crack cocaine epidemic and generating the War On Drugs that resulted in mass incarceration of blacks for petty possession offenses thanks to the 100-to-1 ratio in sentencing. Importing drugs and then targeting the victims?!

Tied to S&L scandal and BCCI collapse.

Used racist dog whistles in the 1988 election, as well as denouncing membership of the ACLU.

Invaded Panama to keep Noriega quiet about what he knew about money laundering.

Shrugged off the US Navy shooting down an Iranian passenger jet killing 300 people. If you think Trump is belligerent you should look up what Bush said about that.

Finagled the Gulf War to forestall post-Cold War military budget cuts and create a justification for continuing a grossly high military budget.

Pardoned everyone involved Iran Contra, even issuing a pardon to one before there had been an indictment or charge.

[GirlySports]

Originally Posted by Joborule

It's a tongue-in-cheek/green text comment, but it's my commentary that just because an important person has died, doesn't mean people can't have negative opinions about them that they want to share on a thread about the person.

MIck McGeough was the worst referee ever.

[blankall]

People realize that Bush senior made the decision not to overthrow Saddam right? The USA invaded Iraq as part of an international coalition and only after Iraq invaded Kuwait

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by SportsJunky

Aren’t you a teacher? ...

If he's a teacher, I feel really sorry for the kids. He's one of the worst posters on CP.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by CaptainYooh

If he's a teacher, I feel really sorry for the kids. He's one of the worst posters on CP.

Aren't you the same guy who claimed CliffFletcher is one of the best posters around? Coming from you and thanked by Weitz. I'll take that as massive compliment.

[icecube]

[corporatejay]

Originally Posted by icecube

Aren't you the same guy who claimed CliffFletcher is one of the best posters around? Coming from you and thanked by Weitz. I'll take that as massive compliment.

Nope. You’re a zealot. You’re the left wing equivalent of a MAGA poster. Always claiming the moral high ground so it's impossible to debate you. You're a terrible poster and I hope you don't come within 1000 feet of young impressionable minds. Life is complicated. Stop living in a fantasy.

[icecube]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Nope. You’re a zealot. You’re the left wing equivalent of a MAGA poster. Always claiming the moral high ground so it's impossible to debate you. You're a terrible poster and I hope you don't come within 1000 feet of young impressionable minds. Life is complicated. Stop living in a fantasy.

And a lot of you guys are a little redneck hivemind masquerading as centrists.

[icecube]

https://twitter.com/ModerateRadio/st...107277824?s=19

Great man that Bush senior.

[CaptainYooh]

Originally Posted by corporatejay

Nope. You’re a zealot. You’re the left wing equivalent of a MAGA poster. ...

He's not a zealot. Just rude, obnoxious and shallow; passing shallow judgements about things he doesn't understand. This type is equally repulsive on either left or right side of the spectrum.

[White Out 403]

[CroFlames]

Is Obama’s body count significantly less? All American presidents in recent times are directly responsible for destruction around the world.

I have no love for any of them, but their historical significance is undeniable.

[CroFlames]

Is Obama’s body count significantly less? All American presidents in recent times are directly responsible for destruction around the world.

I have no love for any of them, but their historical significance is undeniable.

[FlamesAddiction]

On George H.W. Bush, I think some criticisms on his policies are warranted. He did some things that were wrong IMO, but he also did some good things, especially after being president. There is a time and place to judge his body of work. I do think the war in Iraq was a set-up. There is evidence that they knew Hussein was going to invade Kuwait and the U.S. ambassador led him to believe the U.S. would not interfere, which enabled the invasion. There were also many false reports regarding the invasion.

Having said that, Saddam Hussein did deserve to have his ass kicked.

Obama inherited 2 wars and ran on a platform for getting out of them. When that wasn't feasible, he used weapons at his disposal that reduced harm to Americans. We can argue about the results of course, but he inherited a bad situation.

I think there is one truth that probably applies to all presidents. The job is extremely hard and involves decisions that are horrible to have to make. I tend to see Bush's decisions based enforcing foreign policy and Obama's as trying to correct a foreign policy path that was already strayed. Maybe he failed, but things weren't going well before he took over either.

The whole Iraq thing has been pretty much ongoing since Kennedy and every president since has been reacting to the blow black ever since. The CIA under Kennedy helped put the Ba'ath party in power to begin with to avoid communists from taking over.