It’s already pretty obvious, but I’d like to announce a new addition to the Austin Metblog family. Charlie just added his inaugural post.
I’m glad he’s here and you will be too.
I ran across this yesterday on dKos and decided it needed replicating here. What follows are quotes from the time when Clinton committed troops to Bosnia.
“You can support the troops but not the president.”
–Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)“Well, I just think it’s a bad idea. What’s going to happen is they’re going to be over there for 10, 15, maybe 20 years.”
–Joe Scarborough (R-FL)“Explain to the mothers and fathers of American servicemen that may come home in body bags why their son or daughter have to give up their life?”
–Sean Hannity, Fox News, 4/6/99“[The] President . . . is once again releasing American military might on a foreign country with an ill-defined objective and no exit strategy. He has yet to tell the Congress how much this operation will cost. And he has not informed our nation’s armed forces about how long they will be away from home. These strikes do not make for a sound foreign policy.”
–Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA)“American foreign policy is now one huge big mystery. Simply put, the administration is trying to lead the world with a feel-good foreign policy.”
–Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)
“If we are going to commit American troops, we must be certain they have a clear mission, an achievable goal and an exit strategy.”
–Karen Hughes, speaking on behalf of George W Bush“I had doubts about the bombing campaign from the beginning . . I didn’t think we had done enough in the diplomatic area.”
–Senator Trent Lott (R-MS)“I cannot support a failed foreign policy. History teaches us that it is often easier to make war than peace. This administration is just learning that lesson right now. The President began this mission with very vague objectives and lots of unanswered questions. A month later, these questions are still unanswered. There are no clarified rules of engagement. There is no timetable. There is no legitimate definition of victory. There is no contingency plan for mission creep. There is no clear funding program. There is no agenda to bolster our over-extended military. There is no explanation defining what vital national interests are at stake. There was no strategic plan for war when the President started this thing, and there still is no plan today”
–Rep Tom Delay (R-TX)“Victory means exit strategy, and it’s important for the President to explain to us what the exit strategy is.”
–Governor George W. Bush (R-TX)
The Smoking Ban that was approved this past spring goes into effect two weeks from today, September 1. I did a little searching around to find out if there have been any updates. There’s talk of a lawsuit from the Keep Austin Free people with Terry Keel representing them, but I don’t see much on the website. I suppose it’s the usual practice to spring these things at the last minute to cut down on countersuits and delay the implementation of the law. I did see Randall at Beerland Tuesday night when we played there, but I didn’t get a chance to talk with him since he was playing sound man. I must say that it was relatively smoke free when we played, but I think that’s because it was early. It did get worse as the night went on.
KXAN/KNVA covered a community meeting quoting my former roommate, Eric, who manages Casino El Camino. There was another meeting last night and one more scheduled for Tuesday from 6:30-8pm at the South Austin Neigborhood Center. You can contact Karina Moore at (512) 972-5653 or e-mail karina.moore@ci.austin.tx.us for more information.
Finally, if Adam’s recent post is any indication, at least one bar is preparing for the inevitable and buying new furniture.