The more I learn about this issue with the ports, the more I learn I don’t know anything from which to form an opinion. Despite my capitalistic instincts, I would have assumed the U.S. government ran our ports. As for reality, I don’t know what “owning” a port entails. I could probably look that up, but it sounds boring. Thus, I don’t trust Congress on this issue, because people in Congress seem to be dumber and have shorter attention spans than me.
Anyway, the UAE seems like moderate Muslims in that, deep down, they want to kill us all and force Islam upon the world, but they have better things to do. They’re a modern economy, and I don’t really see them sacrificing that to blow a few things up…. even to kill Jews. Plus, they are an ally.
Still, they have radical Muslim beliefs. If selling the port were like contracting out our airline security, I’d be against it even if I found it highly unlikely for the UAE to sponsor attacks against us. But, if selling out ports to them is no more dangerous than selling them the Dairy Queen down the street, then I don’t see any problem (“Now that they control how many pieces of crushed Butterfinger go in our Blizzards™, they’ll be able to kill us all!”).
Since I don’t know, it would seem the safe thing to do would be against selling the ports since it’s like I’m going to make any money from it. Still, if selling the UAE the ports is inconsequential to security, to deny them would kinda be a slight when we need allies. It would be like, “I’m not selling my Hyundai Santa Fe because you’re a Muslim!” That could hurt feelings, and hurting people’s feeling is wrong when it isn’t especially humorous.
I really need someone smarter to steal an opinion from here, but anyone who understands this issue entirely must have spent lots of time reading really boring stuff, and people who spend lots of time reading really boring stuff are suspect to me.
I think I won’t have an opinion on this. I can do that, right?
UPDATE: If you come to IMAO to get your opinions and thus need my opinion, I currently lack a coin to flip. Any suggestions?
UPDATE 2: The Ubeliever had pointed out this page where I can flip virtual coins. Now, the question is what coin should I use and what should being for the port be heads or tails? Should I put up a poll? Should I put up a poll on having a poll?
Not having an opinon and trying to artificially manufacture one is hard…
No. If Frank J. has no opinion then Frank J. will have no humor. If Frank J. has no humor, IMAO has no visitors.
Third!
“If you come to IMAO to get your opinions and thus need my opinion, I currently lack a coin to flip. Any suggestions?”
Call it!
‘flip’
Tails.
There. That’s settled.
No, no, no,…
Frank has no opinion, therefore, WE have no opinion on the matter either.
Hmmph, it’s settled.
Besides, as usual, Frank and I were already on the same page before he wasted 45 minutes writing that piece of >
Huh?! WHAT!! No, no, I wasn’t going to say anything,… gotta go now. Bye.
If you don’t have a coin handy, take out a piece of paper and a pen or a pencil. Write “fer it” on the top of the paper, and “gainst it” at the bottom. Then play eenie meenie miney moe. Works like a charm!
Problem solved, Frank: just flip a virtual quarter, instead of those unnecessarily bulky “real” coins. You can even refresh the page if you don’t like the opinion it selected for you!
(Or if you don’t like quarters, pick one of the other coins available on the site to flip. I personally prefer to let old Roman Empire coins make decisions for me.)
You could do what a lot of people in this country do: get your opinions from the “unbiased” mainstream media. But I’m guessing your too smart for that.
“The more I learn about this issue with the ports, the more I learn I don’t know anything from which to form an opinion. Despite my capitalistic instincts, I would have assumed the U.S. government ran our ports.”
Well, that was the best opinion/non-opinion I’ve heard, yet. I agree!!
I was in the same position – having heard good arguements both for and against, but then I heard Jimmy Carter was for it and that makes side with being against it as Carter hasn’t been right on any issue since …….. well I guess he never was.
I think it seems presumptuous to think that anyone as in the know as the average american would actually have enough information to formulate an opinion. You are therefore inured from any liabilty that such an opinion or lack there of may attempt hoist upon your shoulders. Maybe you could flip a pancake instead of a coin, that way you’d come out with the same decisional results AND you’d have a pancake to eat.
“Not having an opinon and trying to artificially manufacture one is hard…”
Now you know how the Democratic leadership feels every day!
“I was against the sale of the ports BEFORE I was against it”
–John Heinz Kerry
Owning a port means they handle the loading and unloading of ships (and probably other administrative details. They don’t have anything to do with security (despite all the headlines generated by the (on) crack investigators in the press).
This is actually the most lucid and succinct commentary on the port situation that I’ve seen anywhere on the blogosphere.
i think you are right, and i find you to be a calming force. i may now cease hysterical blog entries on the subject. thanks for helping me help me.
I wish Schmo were here. HE’d know what we should do. He’s so smart… he put me in my place as “American garbage” & even said I was the exemplar of said garbage. Me! He’s SO smart.
When I don’t have enough info it is usually enough to look at who is on each side. But not this time. Everybody is all over the map.
My gut says to trust Shrubbie on this one but if the best supporters he can turn up are Jimmy Carter and John McCain it really starts looking like another Harriet Miers moment.
No Frank you do not have to have an opinion. Most Americans do not. My gut tells me turning over Port Authority to terrorists is a bad thing. My gut is usually right. Trust my gut.
Actually, this isn’t new. About 30% of our ports are already under foreign control. China has some, as does Japan and Korea. They don’t OWN the ports. They simply manage them. Coast Guard, local police, customs et al. still control all the policing and security. These forein nations are more just like building “supers” doing maintenance and doing basic management which saves us a bit of monehy.
From what I’ve been told, if you need an opinion, then you need to listen to Rush. He not only tells you what’s going on, but what to think about what’s going on.
I don’t know that firsthand, mind you. I’m just one of his mind-numbed robots.
Miss me already, Alan. Are there some facts waiting to be checked?
And why on Earth wud you expect me (or ani udder Arabs who send u hate males, Frank ) to pozes any gramatikul sKillz, when its not something you expect from the President of youare own Country.
And whats all this talk about me needing a hug or a kiss. In Republicanspeak, wouldn’t hugging me here be a public display of affection. Are you insane? THINK OF THE CHILDREN!
Right on! The troll du jour is gonna be schmo again. Get ready for some learnin’, everyone. He’s so smart…
I say give the port supervision responsibilities to the UAE. Denying a friendly Arab nation from providing service sounds like a European thing to do, and I’ll be cold and dead before someone calls me a European!
“and I’ll be cold and dead before someone calls me a European!”
oh, please, the dead thing!
Besides, this post is such rubbish. But I guess that’s to be expected Frank, because, as Bush would say, you put the F in Rubbish.
Stop thief…I have a gun…see this map of my home and valuables…now look right over here…yup, thats a gun safe…lots of big scary badness to plug your intruding butt with, yes sir…its got a great combination to it too…see look on the bottom of the page, its labeled ‘combination to gun safe with big scary bad things to shoot people here to harm me’…don’t keep the ammo there though, thats on page two…I know this is getting complicated so why don’t you just take this map with you, along with a key to the house, so that if you are thinking of coming here to do me harm you can come in, open the safe and check my ammo which will remind you not to mess with me ’cause I’m ready for you
Nope…no problem letting the fox in the hen house here that I see…why not just let them pick which 1 of 20 containers that we search too…wouldn’t want them feeling all inadequate or anything…think of the money and time saved in the blast zone when all the hungryman dinners are pre-nuked right on the shelf.
Oh wait…what if the poison gas they release kills the endangered spotted hippy frog, or worse yet, harms a furry rodent…boy will PETA be ticked…Nope, can’t do it. PETA can be a pain in the protected arse. I guess the american haters now will have a reason.
Aw, man! Where’d pole schmo-ker go? I was really hoping to get some more insight from his impeccable fact finding skills, as he demonstrated with leftard passion these last few days. Maybe he realized that we were probably going to pull a “Patriot Act smack-down” on him with help from our DHS buddies & now we might know where he is…
…maybe.
Mwa-ha-ha-ha!!
Sorry Alan, I had just gone to laugh at some widowed pole smokers wives. but it’s okay, I’m back now. Speaking of pole smokers, check out Sgt. Brad Kasal. This guy would rather be with his “men” or “boys” than with his wife. This is one pole smoker who simply doesn’t care about the military policy on homosexual games with your “boys”
HOOAH!
OK.