One more reason to despise Ford

[proud2BlibKansan]

Why was he too cowardly to speak out against the war on Iraq until after his death? Cheney and Rumsfeld served under him and looked up to him, yet he didn't even say ANYTHING to them?? Damn coward.

So my Ford was not a good man list is now edited:

1. He was on the Warren commission that covered up the real facts surrounding JFK's assassination.

2. He pardoned Nixon.

3. He said Kissinger was the best secretary of state in history.

4. He was too cowardly to speak out against the war in Iraq.

[EFerrari]

1. He protected Pinochet. n/t

[proud2BlibKansan]

6. #5

Thanks for reminding me.

[eyesroll]

2. He spoke out after his death?

Wow.

[nickinSTL]

4. well, sort of...

he had written a letter stating he was against the war, which he asked not be made public until after his death.

[proud2BlibKansan]

7. He made comments against the war

and asked that they not be released until after he died.

[WhiteTara]

3. He started the Slaughter in Timor n/t

[USA_1]

11. Suharto: Indonesian Hitler

[Rosemary2205]

5. My take on it is

that I lack the knowledge and ability to judge the sum total value of anyone's life but my own.

[proud2BlibKansan]

8. Then why comment??

[Rosemary2205]

13. LOL

I get that all the time. "Either agree with me or go away". Of course I rarely honor a request like that.

:hi:

[acmavm]

9. That's nice. But then I doubt that you'll ever be in a position to

cause so much harm to so many people.

Ford's pardon and silence allowed for the neocons to go underground until they could make a big comeback (although they weren't known as neocons then). East Timor is a valid black mark against the man. And it was an act of cowardice not to speak up against the evil of Shock and Awe.

Some of us think that evil acts and the harm that arises from them, even if they are at times acts of omission so to speak, deserve, no demand comment.

[johnnie]

10. If that is a reason to despise him

Then 95% of the politicians in this country should be despised. Not the "after death" thing, just the speaking out part.

[tbyg52]

12. Good point,

and for the most part I *do* despise them, or at least their failure to speak out.

I still haven't figured out why the "after death" thing. If he wanted to speak out at that point but not earlier, what bad thing was it he thought would happen if it came out while he was alive? I realize I'm almost certainly exposing my naivete here.....

[Gormy Cuss]

17. He may have been holding to the presidential protocol.

It's long been considered inappropriate for former presidents to criticize the policy decisions of the current president. By releasing it after his death it is a statement for the historical record.

[tbyg52]

21. Does the protocol include

not speaking to people in private, either? (Which he apparently didn't do.)

I sure think there should be some exceptions to this protocol, like when the current president is going to get a bunch of people killed for no good reason! (Oh, and when the current president is obviously an idiot advised by psychopaths....)

[Gormy Cuss]

23. My understanding is that it extends only to public criticism

or by extension, publishable criticism of private comments. Carter broke this protocol to speak out because he felt that it was necessary with DimSon's actions. Clinton has straddled the line on it and even Bush's father has come close.

[tabasco]

14. 81 Dem Reps voted against IWR and have spoken against the war ever since.

22 Dem Senators have done the same.

I think your 95% figure is a bit off. Why do you post misleading figures? What is your purpose?

[johnnie]

16. That's funny

:tinfoilhat:

[tabasco]

28. Is the truth now "tinfoil" territory?

Why do you perpetuate lies and call the truth "tinfoil?"

A majority of Dems in Congress voted against the IWR, but you claim almost all politicians voted for it.

Do you have to lie to defend your pet candidate who voted for the war? If so, it is wrong,it is obvious, and it is more akin to RW tactics.

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml

http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/

[Gormy Cuss]

19. 126 Dem Reps (60%) voted for it, as did 28 Dem Sens (57%)

So johnnie used hyperbole, but the fact of the matter is that a majority of Congressional Democrats voted for IWR, including the likes of Harry Reid, Max Cleland, and John Kerry.

[johnnie]

20. To be fair..

I said "95% of the politicians in this country". Maybe a bit of exaggeration, but considering thousands upon thousands of politicians in this country, I am probably a lot closer than one might think.

[tabasco]

24. No you're not. You 're just pulling numbers out of your ass.

You attempted, with your hyperbole, to state that almost all politicians voted for or supported the IWR. That is a falsehood.

Why are you a liar?

[ConsAreLiars]

27. Actually, 60+% of House Dems voted AGAINST the IWR

http://clerk.house.gov/evs/2002/roll455.xml

In the Senate only 21 of 50 voted against it, but even so, combining the numbers, most elected Dems voted against the war. Why any voted for it -- ignorance, complicity, cowardice -- is a mystery to me, but people should get the facts right, at least.

Edit to add link to Senate numbers: http://archives.cnn.com/2002/ALLPOLITICS/10/11/iraq.us/

[PCIntern]

15. He led the impeachment against Justice Douglas. n/t

[cali]

18. This post is one more reason

to bite my tongue so my post doesn't get deleted, but beyond that, I save my animus for people like bushco, nixon and others, and although I have no problem criticizing any politician or public figure, I see no need to start a post, on the day of a man's funeral, about reasons to despise him. That I find truly crass and despicable.

[Raine]

25. Agreed

that's all I'll say too for the same reason.

[jcv1]

22. Cambodian genocide

I was watching "The Killing Fields" again the other night and it included a clip on a TV in the background that "Pres. Ford has already decided that Cambodia is lost". Does anyone remember whether we tried to do anything to prevent the Cambodian slaughter? The Vietnamese were invading at the same time the Khmer Rouge (sp?) were overthrowing the existing government. It's all a blur to me now 30 years later....

[sakabatou]

26. ::headdesk::