Lessons From the Front Line

From the magazine issue dated Feb 11, 2008

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More than half the presidents have served under a commander before taking office. That service, says historian Michael Beschloss, had a particular impact on these six:

George Washington
Top military rank: General
Presidential term: 1789–97

Lessons learned: After the Revolutionary War, Washington knew the British remained a serious threat. As president, he signed an unpopular treaty that kept the country safe from British invasion.

Andrew Jackson
Top military rank: Major general
Presidential term: 1829-37

Lessons learned: Jackson stood up against a strong British Army and won. That David-vs.-Goliath battle gave him the courage to take on foes like the Second U.S. Bank.

Theodore Roosevelt
Top military rank: Colonel
Presidential term: 1901-09

Addendum to John Galt's posting:
Should this entire this entire Executive Branch be hung? Are you insane Mr. Galt? Insanity is semantically referred to as an inability to discern right from wrong. I reason most of the public would agree with me that it is insane, and more so criminal, to advocate the execution of our elected officials. You are no more under the control of the current administration than I am possessed by the man in the Moon. Our tripartite system of Government has specific checks and balances in place to circumvent any attempt by one branch to seize power. Every Presidental edict or command is subject to strict scrutiny by the Congress and the Supreme Court. If you think another election will materially change the course of this nation's quest for sovereignty, you are mistaken. Perhaps if you listened less to Cindy Sheehan, and more to John Rawls, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and other philosophers in contemporay society you would be more hesitant to clutter the net with nonsense. JFR

In Re: JohnGaltlake tahoe
Mr. Galt. your comments were read and anaylized, and you are hereby found, per curiam, to be part of the problem. Your utter lack of critical thinking skills is superceded by your arrogance and ignorance.
In the first case, if you think that the utter annihilation of thousands of Kurds via the use of chemical weapons in no evidence of the possession of mass destructive devices, then sir, you may desire to seek professional intervention. There exists ample evidence that the regime in control of Iraq at the outset of hostilities was, and did so with malice aforethought, seek to disrupt the diplomatic process in the region by force of arms. The Nazis posessed no mass destructive devices, however, Allied forces perceived a threat to World peace on such a scale as to intervene with military force. These interventions cost the American people over 270, 000 dead times three wounded. We kill 4,000 people a month on our nations highways, and I have yet to hear you Mr. Galt, or your ilk, cry out for the poor folks dying on their way to work or school. Do us all a favor...get your emotional self under control, and try to read more than the bilious bile you have been accustomed to. It may help you to disregard the extremists and environmentalist activists so prevalent today, and stand up to misinformation and popular opinion. In short, think for yourself, sharpen your mind without the invective of these Earth protectors willing you on toward a crusade you can never win.

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Posted By: bushwhacker @ 05/13/2008 2:44:31 AM

Addendum to John Galt's posting:
Should this entire this entire Executive Branch be hung? Are you insane Mr. Galt? Insanity is semantically referred to as an inability to discern right from wrong. I reason most of the public would agree with me that it is insane, and more so criminal, to advocate the execution of our elected officials. You are no more under the control of the current administration than I am possessed by the man in the Moon. Our tripartite system of Government has specific checks and balances in place to circumvent any attempt by one branch to seize power. Every Presidental edict or command is subject to strict scrutiny by the Congress and the Supreme Court. If you think another election will materially change the course of this nation's quest for sovereignty, you are mistaken. Perhaps if you listened less to Cindy Sheehan, and more to John Rawls, Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and other philosophers in contemporay society you would be more hesitant to clutter the net with nonsense. JFR
- Reply
- Report Abuse
Posted By: bushwhacker @ 05/13/2008 2:22:41 AM

In Re: JohnGaltlake tahoe
Mr. Galt. your comments were read and anaylized, and you are hereby found, per curiam, to be part of the problem. Your utter lack of critical thinking skills is superceded by your arrogance and ignorance.
In the first case, if you think that the utter annihilation of thousands of Kurds via the use of chemical weapons in no evidence of the possession of mass destructive devices, then sir, you may desire to seek professional intervention. There exists ample evidence that the regime in control of Iraq at the outset of hostilities was, and did so with malice aforethought, seek to disrupt the diplomatic process in the region by force of arms. The Nazis posessed no mass destructive devices, however, Allied forces perceived a threat to World peace on such a scale as to intervene with military force. These interventions cost the American people over 270, 000 dead times three wounded. We kill 4,000 people a month on our nations highways, and I have yet to hear you Mr. Galt, or your ilk, cry out for the poor folks dying on their way to work or school. Do us all a favor...get your emotional self under control, and try to read more than the bilious bile you have been accustomed to. It may help you to disregard the extremists and environmentalist activists so prevalent today, and stand up to misinformation and popular opinion. In short, think for yourself, sharpen your mind without the invective of these Earth protectors willing you on toward a crusade you can never win.