Intermarkets' Privacy Policy Support
Donate to Ace of Spades HQ! Contact
Ace:aceofspadeshq at gee mail.com Buck: buck.throckmorton at protonmail.com CBD: cbd at cutjibnewsletter.com joe mannix: mannix2024 at proton.me MisHum: petmorons at gee mail.com J.J. Sefton: sefton at cutjibnewsletter.com Recent Entries
Kamala Harris: I'm Not Running for California Governor, I'll Be Keeping My Options Open for Any Other Ways I Can Serve the People In the Future (Like in 2028, Maybe)
GDP Grows Strong 3% in Second Quarter The Fiercely Heterosexual Cory "Ssspartacuss" Booker Yells Like a Mental Patient In His Latest TikTok Stunt While Democrats Pump Iron for Communism GAINZZZ Terrorist Training Camp UCLA Pays Out Big Settlement to Jewish Students for Permitting a "Jew Exclusion Zone" on Campus Reports: King Charles Is "Appalled" By Trump's Comments That "Bad People" Are Coming to Europe on Boats and This Will "Ruin" Europe Wednesday Morning Rant Mid-Morning Art Thread The Morning Report — 7/30/25 Daily Tech News 30 July 2025 Tuesday Overnight Open Thread (7/29/25) Absent Friends
Jay Guevara 2025
Jim Sunk New Dawn 2025 Jewells45 2025 Bandersnatch 2024 GnuBreed 2024 Captain Hate 2023 moon_over_vermont 2023 westminsterdogshow 2023 Ann Wilson(Empire1) 2022 Dave In Texas 2022 Jesse in D.C. 2022 OregonMuse 2022 redc1c4 2021 Tami 2021 Chavez the Hugo 2020 Ibguy 2020 Rickl 2019 Joffen 2014 AoSHQ Writers Group
A site for members of the Horde to post their stories seeking beta readers, editing help, brainstorming, and story ideas. Also to share links to potential publishing outlets, writing help sites, and videos posting tips to get published.
Contact OrangeEnt for info:
maildrop62 at proton dot me Cutting The Cord And Email Security
Moron Meet-Ups
|
« Report: Hussein Used Same Money-Launderers as Osama Bin Ladin |
Main
| On "Chickenhawks" »
June 03, 2004
On Mike WallaceMike Wallace phoned O'Reilly last night to defend his partisan, anti-American remarks at the highly-inappropriate venue of a Memorial Day speech. His main point was that WWII was a "good war," because it "united" us, whereas Iraq is a "bad war," because it divides us. Put aside the point that liberals claim to have an absolute veto over American war-making. Apparently they don't think that we need a mere majority of Congressmen or voters in favor of war in order to go to war, but that we need a majority of the subset of liberals in favor of war in order to go to war. What struck me was how important he thought it was that America had resisted entry into WWII until the Japanese sneak-attack on Pearl Harbor. Pearl Harbor united the country, he reasoned. Well, yes. Yes it did. Pearl Harbor united the country. And all it took to unite the country was the deaths of thousands of US servicemen and civilians and the sinking of half the Pacific fleet. And that's all it took to get the everyone on board. That, and, of course, the fact that Uncle Joe wanted us to join the war in order to save the Soviet Union. This is, right here, the crux of the disagreement. Implied in Mike Wallace's remarks is the idea that in WWII, we were wise and peaceful enough not to go to war until we had been grievously wounded by a sneak attack. Also implied is the idea that we would not have been justified in pre-emptively hitting Japan before they hit us; that would have been barbaric and warlike. Even if we knew, as of course we know now, that Japan was planning its own pre-emptive attack. Liberals have the idea that we should only be forced into war by direct attack. Even when we have strong suspicions or actual proof that another country is conspiring against us, or actively funding terrorists who attack us, we must never attack first. We must absorb the first blow in order to be peaceful and righteous and have the moral approbation of the world, by which they mean the French. Even when such moral approbation of the French comes at the cost of thousands of American lives. With all due respect: the moral and rhetorical value of allowing ourselves to be attacked first is simply not worth letting thousands of our fellow Americans die. Liberals are forever claiming that conservatives are selfish, heartless, and cowardly for sending American boys off to die in foreign wars. The argument goes that anyone not serving in the military must never agitate for war, because doing so means you're sending someone to die for your beliefs. Liberals never seem to grasp the implications of their own position, however. Liberals would gladly sacrifice thousands of American lives simply so that we can have the moral high ground of saying "We were attacked first." It seems to me that they're willing to sacrifice a lot of lives in order to achieve a policy goal as well. I'm not so willing, and I never will be. Sure, I'd like to have an inarguable moral high-ground for any war. But when that moral high-ground comes at the expense of a thousand people immolated in a holocaust of burning jet-fuel, I say it's too high a price. Besides, there is actually no "inarguable" moral high ground. The Nazis and Japanese certainly didn't seem to think they were the bad guys in WWII. And the Islamofascists sure don't seem to have any pangs of conscience about 9-11. The philosophical divide is clear. Conservatives say "Better them than us." Liberals actually believe the opposite: "Better us than them." Better that we die, even if in large numbers, than we ever act pre-emptively to protect ourselves and kill would-be enemies. I've always felt that liberals were viciously abstract in their thinking. One death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a statistic and all that. There sometimes seems no limit to the amount of real, concrete, tangible human suffering and misery they will countenance in order to achieve an abstract, philosophical, and utterly unreal goal. Liberals love "the masses." They just don't seem to particularly like actual people. The abstract rhetoric of "We were hit first" is all well and dandy, Mr. Wallace. Care to explain to the families of the 9-11 victims why letting Al Qaeda hit us first was preferable to pre-emptively attacking Afghanistan? How many dead Americans, precisely, is "We were attacked first?" worth? I want an actual number. I want to know exactly how many Americans we have to allow to be murdered in order to put liberals into the strange position of supporting their own country. Tell me the exact number, and then we can all decide whether or not having the liberals for once "united" with us against an enemy is actually worth the bargain. posted by Ace at 04:56 PM
Comments"Liberals love "the masses." They just don't seem to particularly like actual people." True. One of my ex-friend's favorite statements was, "All life is sacred, so why is that $#@*&^ George Bush invading Iraq?" When what she really meant was, "All bead-rattling savage and brutal dictator life is sacred, whereas those of innocent American (and other) civilians and American soldiers are not." Posted by: Sailor Kenshin on June 3, 2004 05:06 PM
Corrolaries: 1) The vast majority of those who choose to serve in the all volunteer forces are conservatives. The Conservatives are the ones who send their sons, daughters, and other loved ones out to interpose their bodies between the United States and the enemies thereof. So the Liberals stake in this is what, besides their delicate sensibilites, exactly? 2) All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for men of good conscience to do nothing. Da_Wiz Posted by: Outlaw_Wizard on June 3, 2004 05:23 PM
Wallace's equivocating is even more repugnant in the context of his admission that, given the choice between saving soldiers' lives and getting the story of them being killed by the enemy, he'd roll tape and not feel the least but sorry for refusing to lift a finger. This from a man who had no problem lifting several fingers to shame dishonest auto mechanincs on '60 Minutes.' What an asshole. Here's the link - I'd love to find the transcript in its entirety: http://www.mediaresearch.org/cyberalerts/2001/cyb20011010.asp#4 I really, really dislike Wallace. Posted by: ccwbass on June 3, 2004 05:43 PM
It seems to me that self-righteousness and moral superiority is the holy grail of the left. Thinking well of yourself and being well thought of by others is more important than being right. It gives them that warm fuzzy feeling that they enjoy so much. Posted by: Smack on June 3, 2004 11:33 PM
To paraphrase Fernando-- It's better to feel good than to do good. Posted by: Raoul Ortega on June 3, 2004 11:49 PM
Another direct hit. keep it coming.... Posted by: The Right Wing Conspirator on June 4, 2004 04:46 AM
"How many dead Americans, precisely, is 'We were attacked first?' worth? I want an actual number. I want to know exactly how many Americans we have to allow to be murdered in order to put liberals into the strange position of supporting their own country." This is excellent. I find myself asking the same type of question in debates about WMD. It goes something like this? How much WMD would satisfy you that Bush didn't LIE to you and that the threat is real? I want exact figures. Did you know that a soda can of weaponized anthrax released properly in, say, a shopping mall could kill thousands? Is one soda can enough for you? Is one sarin shell? If not, how much? Posted by: Longshanks on June 4, 2004 08:18 AM
If written words could wound, they'd be scraping Mike Wallace up with a putty knife right now. Excellent work. Posted by: physics geek on June 4, 2004 02:40 PM
Dammit - Sailor Kenshin beat me to it by a long shot, but since it's already copied to my clipboard, ready to paste here: "Liberals love "the masses." They just don't seem to particularly like actual people." Friggin' priceless, along with all the rest of it. But I need to stay current on my reading, the better to say "Amen, brutha!" before beaten to the punch. However belatedly, Amen, brutha! Posted by: Patton on June 4, 2004 07:29 PM
If not O'Rourke, then somebody else. I didn't make it up. Pretty sure it was O'Rourke, though. Posted by: ace on June 4, 2004 07:54 PM
I have lifted so much from PJ O'Rourke its ridiculous. He is just so darn good. One of my favorites; "Everybody wants to save the world but nobody wants to help Mom with the dishes." Or something close to that. Posted by: lauraw on June 6, 2004 10:19 PM
Post a comment
| The Deplorable Gourmet A Horde-sourced Cookbook [All profits go to charity] Top Headlines
Earthquake off Russian coast sends tsunami waves towards Hawaii:
Nick Sortor Coastal evacuation ordered in Honolulu Warnings for the California coast as well. Impact expected at 12:15
Former CIA operative John Kiriakou talks with Matt Taibbi about the Brennan/Comey Coup
Both guys are old liberals, maybe even of the far-left variety, and both are appalled by the Democrat/Deep State coup against the US. Kiriakou says that CIA officers were legally obligated to report to the Inspector General John Brennan's repeated overruling of actual intelligence to encode his partisan conspiracy theories into US intel product, but of course they didn't.
Jonathan Turley nails it: The rise and fall of John Brennan [Hat Tip: dhmosquito] [CBD]
American Eagle Outfitters has a new ad with Sidney Sweeney, and you are going to like it. [CBD]
Seattle woman takes Navy's Blue Angels to court over social media censorship and 'acoustic torture' of cat
A literal cat lady! [CBD]
OG Blogger Jeff Dunetz passes at age 67
I thought I told everyone to stop dying.
Legendary wrestler and great American Hulk Hogan passes away. Love ya brother. [Weirddave]
![]()
Are your Hot Balls ruining your health? Maybe you need to put those sad droopers on ice.
Most studies about overheated testicles look at semen production and fertility, but it also seems likely that too-hot crotch-knockers result in lowered tesosterone, too.
Ryan Long makes fun of NYC lefties for bragging that they can "handle" living amidst garbage, rats, hobos and murder while p*ssies like you just take the easy way out and move to orderly, pleasant places
At Budokan Mystery Click
Now I had heard the WACs recruited old maids for the war But mommy's neither one of those I've known her all these years Maybe I'll stop linking obscurities and start linking more crowd pleasers. If you can stand the sight of Dan Rather, three members of the band talk about how they got famous in Japan before they ever even played in Japan. Hint: Manga.
Malcolm Jamal-Warner, the son on The Cosby Show, dies of drowning at age 54: reports
Warner was in Costa Rica on a family vacation and drowned while swimming near Cocles after allegedly being caught by a high current on Sunday afternoon. The incident occurred between 2 and 2:30 p.m. local time.
Forgotten 80s Mystery Click
Hint: Chopper noises on an oscillator/synthesizer City nights, summer breeze makes you feel all right Neon lights, shining brightly, make your brain ignite See the girls with the dresses so tight Give you love Give you love if the price is right Black or white, in the streets, there's no wrong and no right, no!
Jay Guevara Obituary [PDF]
Russia: Commercial satellite constellations providing help to the Ukraine are now targets Well, this might get sporty! [CBD]
Recent Comments
IllTemperedCur:
"more fisking
"improve the system from with"
..."
dantesed: "How many bottles of wine will she need for 2028? ..." Comrade Flounder, Disinformation Demon: "Anyway, they raised all that money to rebuild the ..." illiniwek: "Harris must consider the passage of time, and that ..." garrett: ">>Somebody said that former Pallisades homeowners ..." Sharon(willow's apprentice): "Onlyfans? That's the only thing I can think of ..." ...: "She can suck dick on her own dime. Posted by: Com ..." ace: ">>>Well, he covered healthy, healthy crack. Cr ..." Smell the Glove: "Some 26 year old is going to primary Nadler saying ..." Oldcat: "You know, one part of me, a very evil part, thinks ..." Martini Farmer: "Her Prezzy run netted over a billion dollars in do ..." JackWayne : "Your problem is that you believe that (for example ..." Bloggers in Arms
RI Red's Blog! Behind The Black CutJibNewsletter The Pipeline Second City Cop Talk Of The Town with Steve Noxon Belmont Club Chicago Boyz Cold Fury Da Goddess Daily Pundit Dawn Eden Day by Day (Cartoon) EduWonk Enter Stage Right The Epoch Times Grim's Hall Victor Davis Hanson Hugh Hewitt IMAO Instapundit JihadWatch Kausfiles Lileks/The Bleat Memeorandum (Metablog) Outside the Beltway Patterico's Pontifications The People's Cube Powerline RedState Reliapundit Viking Pundit WizBang Some Humorous Asides
Kaboom!
Thanksgivingmanship: How to Deal With Your Spoiled Stupid Leftist Adultbrat Relatives Who Have Spent Three Months Reading Slate and Vox Learning How to Deal With You You're Fired! Donald Trump Grills the 2004 Democrat Candidates and Operatives on Their Election Loss Bizarrely I had a perfect Donald Trump voice going in 2004 and then literally never used it again, even when he was running for president. A Eulogy In Advance for Former Lincoln Project Associate and Noted Twitter Pestilence Tom Nichols Special Guest Blogger Rich "Psycho" Giamboni: If You Touch My Sandwich One More Time, I Will Fvcking Kill You Special Guest Blogger Rich "Psycho" Giamboni: I Must Eat Jim Acosta Special Guest Blogger Tom Friedman: We Need to Talk About What My Egyptian Cab Driver Told Me About Globalization Shortly Before He Began to Murder Me Special Guest Blogger Bernard Henri-Levy: I rise in defense of my very good friend Dominique Strauss-Kahn Note: Later events actually proved Dominique Strauss-Kahn completely innocent. The piece is still funny though -- if you pretend, for five minutes, that he was guilty. The Ace of Spades HQ Sex-for-Money Skankathon A D&D Guide to the Democratic Candidates Michael Moore Goes on Lunchtime Manhattan Death-Spree Artificial Insouciance: Maureen Dowd's Word Processor Revolts Against Her Numbing Imbecility The Dowd-O-Matic! The Donkey ("The Raven" parody) Archives
|