Comments on Pro Libertate: Flying Shoes, Bursting Bubbles

I just shipped a pair of extremely worn and smelly...

2008-12-18T14:40:00.000-07:00

I just shipped a pair of extremely worn and smelly shoes to the White House via UPS. I recommend you all do the same.
-Dr Scholl

In the aftermath of the shoe throwing incident I a...

2008-12-18T06:19:00.000-07:00

In the aftermath of the shoe throwing incident I am surprised that Bush did not mention the urgent need for Iraq to establish free speech zones - America's cherished method of shielding its precious tyrants and aspiring tyrants from any publicly displayed dissent, disagreement or intelligent questioning.

Now Will . . . Many of those of us who don't belie...

2008-12-17T20:56:00.000-07:00

Now Will . . .

Many of those of us who don't believe in a creator find it difficult to believe that matter could have possibly assembled itself into G. W. Shrub or B. J Clintoon for that matter.

I am impressed to hear that the the word 'Tyrant' was actually uttered from the lips of a bureau-rat though. Long overdue that words once again regain the power of their meaning . . .

Sic Semper Tyrannis

all,if this shoe thrower is smart, and needs a def...

2008-12-17T18:02:00.000-07:00

all,

if this shoe thrower is smart, and needs a defense fund, or any amount of money for that matter, he should put his "autographed" shoes up for auction on ebay. he'd make a killing with the right advertising!

rick

Hurling aside....After watching the fracas in the ...

2008-12-17T08:38:00.000-07:00

Hurling aside....

After watching the fracas in the crowd several times, my attention was drawn to the background and back to the prez. Some "protector?" rushed in from the left, some few rushed through the door to the right towards Zaidi, but did anyone notice there were no Secret Service agents to surround Bush, even throw him to the ground, shielding him from possible harm with their own bodies? Even he does not cower behind the podium, rather simply stands there with that all-too-familiar smirk to which we have become accustomed.

Let me postulate that a second attack on him would have been ridiculously easy if Zaidi had been the distraction.

"Tyrant! You are a tyrant!"Even Sanders will have ...

2008-12-17T06:21:00.000-07:00

"Tyrant! You are a tyrant!"

Even Sanders will have a problem with the rule of law, should it ever be allowed to filter up to his rare environment.

The reason is, he and the courts will lose all power and discretion, since mankind cannot and will not accept masters, but we have, can and will accept the "rule of law":

http://www.nazisociopaths.org/modules/article/view.article.php/c1/34

Bill Ross
(Electronics Design Engineer)

Too bad Zaidi missed.

2008-12-16T18:29:00.000-07:00

Too bad Zaidi missed.

...I know it is a wrong thing to aggress and strik...

2008-12-16T16:56:00.000-07:00

...I know it is a wrong thing to aggress and strike anyone who has not aggressed against me first.

But Mr. Zaidi was "aggressed upon" - by the American imperial forces that invaded and continue to occupy his country and that oppress, torture, murder, and dispossess his family and compatriots; imperial forces that are under the command of the very creature at whom he hurled his shoes. There was no wrongdoing here; Mr. Zaidi responded to the aggressor with the only weapon (other than his pen) at his disposal, a tiny and poignantly symbolic demonstration of "asymmetric warfare" in action.

There's one thing worse in Islamic culture than ap...

2008-12-16T14:24:00.000-07:00

There's one thing worse in Islamic culture than applying the soles of shoes to faces, and that is losing face. No doubt the Iraqi authorities felt they had lost face in front of the whole world, thus the overkill in dealing with the shoe thrower. I'm sorry that the reporter has been badly injured and I hope he'll be OK, but if the American authorities had been in charge, he might be looking at years of sensory deprivation and solitary confinement at best.

By the way, the shoe throwing was hilarious in my book.

If the shoe fits...

2008-12-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

If the shoe fits...

Will, you always have a great way of articulating ...

2008-12-16T12:26:00.000-07:00

Will, you always have a great way of articulating how I feel about these kinds of events while also adding new information and insights.

One thing that has disgusted (but not surprised) me is the reaction of some here in the U.S. to the incident. I've heard many on the warmongering right praise Bush for his composure "under fire" while applauding the broken bones that Zaidi has received in the aftermath as well deserved.

While one may disagree with the tactic, completely missed by these people are the reasons that motivated Zaidi to throw his shoes in the first place. In a way the entire incident encapsulates blowback and how the absurd and unjust "War on Terror" is tolerated by Americans.

For Zaidi's sake it is probably good that his shoes missed their target. If they hadn't he may have fared even worse than broken bones and prison time (but who knows, he may anyway). Sad.

He doesn't know what the man's beef is. Amazing.I ...

2008-12-16T10:48:00.000-07:00

He doesn't know what the man's beef is. Amazing.

I frequently ask supporters of Bush's war how they would feel if a foreign power marched into the United States — under the auspices of "liberating" us, of course — toppled our government, and left troops to occupy our country for years on end.

They always respond that it would mean war. They would repel such an attack. But they fail to make the connection that this is exactly what we have done in other countries.

Some of them respond by saying a comparison cannot be made because Saddam was a tyrant that "needed" to be overthrown. I always respond with two things.

1. Perhaps in the eyes of someone else our president is a "tyrant" — which, clearly he is — and...

2. Yes, Saddam was a tyrant. Perhaps the U.S. shouldn't have installed him into power in the first place.

I rarely find a supporter of Bush's war who recognizes how egregious has been our interference into the affairs of other nations. And until we learn from these mistakes I fear more and more Americans will continue to share Bush's lack of understanding of the world's "beef" with us.

To Anonymous @ 5:40am:I could not agree with you m...

2008-12-16T10:32:00.000-07:00

To Anonymous @ 5:40am:

I could not agree with you more - well said!

Their system is going down --- crumbling right bef...

2008-12-16T07:22:00.000-07:00

Their system is going down --- crumbling right before our eyes.

I guess I am going to express my true feelings her...

2008-12-16T06:40:00.000-07:00

I guess I am going to express my true feelings here. I may be wrong to have these feelings and I know it is a wrong thing to aggress and strike anyone who has not aggressed against me first.

I am cheering for shoe thrower Muntazer al-Zaidi, and I am very sorry that he sustained a broken arm and ribs by the Iraqi police as a result of his action.

I only wish this would have happened in the USA and the weapon would have been large rotten tomatoes and that they would have hit him in the face each time. Then I wish we could have rallied around the jail or prison where they would have put the thrower. Then I wish we could have documented how the U.S. mainstream media totally ignored reporting the story and the larger and larger numbers of people supporting the thrower.

George W. Bush, idiot puppet that he is HAS aggressed against the every citizen of the U.S.A. and has made a mokery of the freedom that our hundreds of our soldiers have fought and bled and suffered and died for, especially the soldiers of the Revolutionary War.

To quote Scott Horton regarding this pitiful little excuse for a human being and his cabal, "the Bush Administration’s conscious policy of obfuscation, misdirection and deceit—its mockery of Congressional oversight, and its corruption of our Constitution and system of government. "

George W. Bush has been throwing garbage at Americans and America for eight long years. Glad he experienced this deserved attack on his "dignity.

Speaking of tasers, I'm sure you've seen the stati...

2008-12-16T06:08:00.000-07:00

Speaking of tasers, I'm sure you've seen the statistic that over 400 people have died as a result of them over the past 6 years. And rest assured, 400 is extremely conservative. I've read the reports where they'll be tasered, the coroner or police report will say they excited themselves to death, and that's the end of it.

Masterfully put, Grigg. Your last paragraph brings...

2008-12-16T05:36:00.000-07:00

Masterfully put, Grigg. Your last paragraph brings to mind Rothbard's "War, Peace, and the State," more specifically thus from the penultimate:

"The gravest crimes in the State's lexicon are almost invariably not invasions of person and property, but dangers to its own contentment: for example, treason, desertion of a soldier to the enemy, failure to register for the draft, conspiracy to overthrow the government. Murder is pursued haphazardly unless the victim be a policeman, or Gott soll hüten, an assassinated Chief of State; failure to pay a private debt is, if anything, almost encouraged, but income tax evasion is punished with utmost severity; counterfeiting the State's money is pursued far more relentlessly than forging private checks, etc. All this evidence demonstrates that the State is far more interested in preserving its own power than in defending the rights of private citizens."

I just became a "fan" of Mr. Zaidi's on Facebook--...

2008-12-16T04:40:00.000-07:00

I just became a "fan" of Mr. Zaidi's on Facebook--and I'm a fan of yours. As ever, your analysis of the shoe incident and related happenings is thorough, thoughtful, and sound. Thank you.

"I don't know what his beef is" should go down in ...

2008-12-16T04:39:00.000-07:00

"I don't know what his beef is" should go down in history as another "Let them eat cake".

Will:As I repeatedly watched the shoe throwing inc...

2008-12-16T03:27:00.000-07:00

Will:

As I repeatedly watched the shoe throwing incident, it occured to me that Mr Bush's reactions were perfectly timed. I invite all your readers to review the video several times in succession and see if you notice this too. Bush hardly blinks an eye as 2 shoes are hurled at him...his evasive maneuvers were perfectly timed. Either Bush is much more "in tune" with reality than we give him credit for, or he was not surprised by this incident and indeed, appeared to be expecting it.