Michael Ramirez for February 06, 2013

A bad guy with a bomb vs a good guy with a drone?

I think droning people is every bit as damaging to our long-term interests as waterboarding.

Add US citizens in the US to the list now.

Right Michael, like a Republican president would not do the same. GW Bush and Obama have not daylight between them on this topic.

Drone strikes by President Romney would have been courageous acts in defense of our country. This is hard for Ramierez, because Obama does not fit the narrative here.

We can start to call ourselves civilized when there is a stop to illegal wars, shock and awe, torture, and drone strikes. And while we’re at it, eliminate the term “war on terror” which is a contrived term to sanction escalating the retaliation on criminal acts.

But it’s okay if a Republican does it.

^ Of course; how quickly we forget.

More conservative hypocrisy. None of you made a peep when Gonzalez was scratching out parts of the Constitution that didn’t agree with Bush policies & you’d be cheering Romney on for expanding drone strikes to America’s poverty stricken neighborhoods.

Amazing how they forget Aschroft, Yoo, and Gonzales saying “kill anyone, anywhere, any time”, the “Patriot Act” (stage one that yes, passed a panicked Congress where opposition was deemed “treason” in the media and White House announcements).

While concerned indeed about this whole discussion on the Constitutionality of Obama doing exactly what “W” and Cheney did, it IS the mood of the country since 9/11/01. Which, a naturalized American citizen (he’s now labeled as born here, not) who renounced his citizenship, and has openly, on tape, declared war on the U.S., and called specifically for killing Americans, and American troops, and taken foreign citizenship, does NOT have protections under the Constitution, after committing treason, and calling for war against the U.S..

The ACLU often takes a stance I disagree with, but, their view is toward the widest possible PROTECTION of citizens rights. I also don’t care for their internal organizational operations sometimes, but again, they get a lot of folks asking for help, and must “pick and choose” issues and cases.

A more “moderate” view and interpretation is often taken by Ron Wyden, who, after years on the Intelligence Committee was, rightly, against invading Iraq, and has also expressed concerns over “evidence” presented, where he often cannot, due to “classified” information, tell all he knows, which may indeed be counter to administration “lines”,whether “W’s”, or Obama’s. Which, btw, “moderate” means taking both or multiple sides, information sources, etc, into account, and standing for intelligent decisions. Which is why neither right nor left in today’s America, accepts “moderate”, when snap judgements rule tiny minds, and emotions.

Will the Drones be used by Progressives to ‘take out’ Conservatives speaking from a podium? It would be more efficient than ‘shouting down’ Free Speech or Demonizing with Toons.

Killing is something we’ve always done. Torture, not so much.

So, we should hold ourselves to the standars of Iran & North Korea?I’ll grant that North Korea is a mess, but Iran does care what other countries think of them in the Arab world & among places where they sell oil. Iran has very cleverly played to the anti-American attitudes in Russia & other former SSRs.

Wow. I’m ever so glad there now appears to be consensus amongst left & right that drones are damaging America’s reputation. Like I said on Lisa Benson’s cartoon today, I sense political expediency in right-wing ’toonists suddenly coming against drone attacks but what the hey, I care only a little that it is political hypocrisy; hopefully it spells the end to these extra-judicial killings.