The Bill Clinton legacy

[rambone]

I've been inspired to compile a list of Bill Clinton's greatest hits. This will be a work in progress and expanded as time goes on.

Feel free to add items, provide links, discuss.


Some highlights of the Clinton legacy
- NAFTA
- Assault Weapons Ban
- Brady Bill
- Undeclared war in Kosovo
- Undeclared war in Somalia
- Bombed the Al-Shifa pharmaceutical plant in Sudan; Operation Infinite Reach
- Iraq sanctions; killed 500,000 Iraqi children.
- FMLA; more federal intervention in the workplace.
- Balanced budget was a myth; Debt went up every year.
- Waco massacre
- Death penalty reform; Increased the likelihood that innocent people will be killed on death row by limiting appeals
- Community Reinvestment Act; mandated loans to low income individuals; led to a certain housing bubble.
- Repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act
- Supported tons of corporate welfare
- Expanded, militarized, and federalized law enforcement across the country
- Ballooned prison population to record levels; ramped up the Drug War.
- Communication Decency Act; censorship of the internet
- Expanded executive powers in the name of fighting terrorism
- Ramped up the use of Extraordinary Rendition; transferred suspects to countries where they could be legally tortured.
- Violence Against Women Act; federalizes crime, enlarges DOJ, mandatory sentencing, infringes on state powers.
- Operation_Merlin; CIA asset provided nuclear plans to Iran.



Then there were the murder coverups, drug running, false flag terrorism, and more.
- Whitewater scandal
- Vince Foster
- OKC
- Shady deals with the Chinese; illegal campaign donations, missile deal

 

[rambone]

From another thread....

That was a comparison between Clinton vs either Bush or Obama. And while I can certainly debate many of the issues ou mentioned, this isn't made out to be a defense of Clinton. I still strongly standby the 25% of Bill Clinton, is better than 100% of Bush or Obama.

...But, since I'm a sucker for intellectual engagements.
-Explain why NAFTA is a bad thing (assuming you are a Capitalist)

NAFTA is not about "Free Trade" like the phoney name suggests; it is about heavily regulated deals overseen by a transnational regulatory bureaucracy. It is not capitalist, and it is not even constitutional.

Article 1, Section 8 of the U.S. Constitution reserves to Congress the power "To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes."

NAFTA took power away from Congress -- and therefore the American people -- and gave it away to Binational Panels and International Courts made up of foreigners. NAFTA supersedes American courts and infringes and overrides their jurisdiction. It leaves the states without a standing to redress grievances. A constitutional amendment should have been passed if the American people were going to have their rightful authority stripped of them and given to a form of world government.

And a look at America's fleeing manufacturing base in the last 20 years should indicate that something is horribly wrong.

Here's a good article about the effects of NAFTA: The high price of 'free' trade

Describing the bureaucracy of NAFTA:

America First, NAFTA Never

Why does the Populist Right abhor NAFTA? Because NAFTA epitomizes all that repels us in the modern state. Though advertised as “free trade,” it is anti-freedom, 1,200 pages of rules, regulations, laws, fines, commissions–plus side agreements–setting up no fewer than 49 new bureaucracies. Henry Kissinger is right: NAFTA is not really a trade treaty at all, but the architecture of the New World Order. Like Maastricht, it is part of a skeletal structure for world government. At its root is an abiding faith in the superior wisdom of a global managerial class–our would–be Lords of the Universe.

NAFTA tribunals supersede the U.S. Supreme Court.

Tribunals trump U.S. courts: NAFTA's unconstitutional courts are beginning to override our freedom and independence

Most Americans are completely unaware that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) established courts called tribunals to adjudicate conflicts between commercial enterprises and the national, state, and local governments of Canada, the United States, and Mexico. These NAFTA tribunals operate under the aegis of the United Nations Commission on International Trade Law and the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes. And they already are having a profound and subversive impact on our legal system and are set to completely erode our national sovereignty.

"Their meetings are secret," DePalma wrote. "Their members are generally unknown. The decisions they reach need not be fully disclosed. Yet the way a small group of international tribunals handles NAFTA's secret tribunals operate under the aegis of the World Bank (above) and the UN. Former Congressman Abner Mikva (inset) now serves as a NAFTA judge, along with lawyers from many other countries. disputes between investors and foreign governments has led to national laws being revoked, justice systems questioned and environmental regulations challenged. And it is all in the name of protecting the rights of foreign investors under the North American Free Trade Agreement."

​

-Why were the Iraqi Sanctions a bad idea?

Forgetting for a moment the admitted 500,000 dead Iraqi children, it was just another act of foreign meddling that the United States shouldn't have been involved in.

-Why is everyone confusing the "Public" debt with the "National" debt (which I have repeatedly made clear)?

I'm not clear what you're getting at. Maybe I missed the previous discussions?

Here's a better link with sources about the Clinton surplus myth. The outstanding national debt rose every year, meaning every year of his presidency, the United States ran a deficit. There was never a balanced budget. The country was not breaking even, let alone enjoying a surplus.

The Myth of the Clinton Surplus |

-Why is the increase in prison populations, under Clinton, a bad thing? The President's job, being the Chief Exc, is to enforce federal laws on the books. If he was enforcing laws that have been well established prior to his entry into office, it's fairly difficult to say he wasn't doing his job well, per the description of the office.

I think this is wrong thinking on its face. I don't think it is the job of the executive branch to imprison as many people as possible. Whether we're talking about a street cop or the President, the job is to keep the peace, using only the constitutional laws on the books. I would be disturbed to hear a cop say that he believed his duty was to fill as many jail cells as he could.

Besides the warped vision of executive branch, there's plenty of things wrong with overflowing prisons. Its expensive as hell for the taxpayers. A huge amount of those prisoners are locked up for non-violent, victimless offenses. Courts are jammed. It makes the Land of the Free look oppressive and hypocritical. Criminal records are a convenient way to strip rights from tons of people.

-FMLA, may certainly be a valid gripe, but it's foolish to believe that even conservatives dislike this program. In fact, I think most would categorize this as being a "good" thing.

I guess that would depend on what sort of principles we all hold when judging the merit of a given law. It was passed handily with bipartisan support.

I'll tell you why I oppose it. It expands centralized control over private business, making business owners subject to the U.S. Department of Labor. It delves into issues which the federal government lacks any constitutional authority. It is one of the many issues that should be left to states to decide.

 

[No2rdame]

I don't see his most famous legacy on the list. Where's Monica Lewinsky?

 

[mrjarrell]

To be fair the Waco debacle started under Bush Sr. Clinton and his murderess in the DoJ just delivered the coup de grace.

 

[rambone]

I don't see his most famous legacy on the list. Where's Monica Lewinsky?

You mean the most famous distraction of the 90's. While all kinds of substantive scandals, murders, rights infringements, and foreign attacks were going on... everyone was hypnotized by a sex scandal.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

 

[SSGSAD]

To be fair the Waco debacle started under Bush Sr. Clinton and his murderess in the DoJ just delivered the coup de grace.

What about Ruby Ridge ????? Can't remember, if it was B4, or after Waco....

 

[Mgderf]

It didn't wait until he became President to start. Check out a book called The Clinton Chronicles.

 

[SSGSAD]

I have "heard", that there are still people, "dying", for what they "might" know ..... DON'T know if there is ANY truth to it or not .....

 

[MisterChester]

At least they had a budget that was agreed on, I'll give him that much.

 

[halfmileharry]

You mean the most famous distraction of the 90's. While all kinds of substantive scandals, murders, rights infringements, and foreign attacks were going on... everyone was hypnotized by a sex scandal.

Nailed it

 

[rambone]

What about Ruby Ridge ????? Can't remember, if it was B4, or after Waco....

Ruby Ridge was August 21-31, 1992. Clinton took office in January 1993.

That was one of George Bush's assaults on gun owners.

 

[jblomenberg16]

Say what you will, but I would love to see an administration try to even come close to the marginal deficits run in his administration. While Billions are still big numbers, as a % of the federal budget they were much smaller than the Trillions in deficit spending we have now-a-days.

 

[Bennettjh]

 

[Pooty22]

I know this is a little off topic, but could someone please explain to me how this qualifies as a "quality post?" I see people post nothing but this is as a response all over this forum. Here is the quote from the Introductions section:

You must have a quality post count of 50 or more. This policy is in place to help weed out scammers/spammers and gives our members a chance to get a feel for you as a board member. Do not attempt to gain access to the classifieds by posting a bunch of "one liners". That will not work.

Maybe it doesn't matter because the 2 or 3 people that do it the most are over their prerequisite 50 posts. It's just something that's always bothered me about this place. /rant

 

[Mgderf]

I know this is a little off topic, but could someone please explain to me how this qualifies as a "quality post?" I see people post nothing but this is as a response all over this forum. Here is the quote from the Introductions section:



Maybe it doesn't matter because the 2 or 3 people that do it the most are over their prerequisite 50 posts. It's just something that's always bothered me about this place. /rant

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

I know this is a little off topic, but could someone please explain to me how this qualifies as a "quality post?" I see people post nothing but this is as a response all over this forum. Here is the quote from the Introductions section:



Maybe it doesn't matter because the 2 or 3 people that do it the most are over their prerequisite 50 posts. It's just something that's always bothered me about this place. /rant

 

[Pooty22]

Should have seen that coming.

 

[GodFearinGunTotin]

Jesus christ you people are childish sometimes.

5) Religious and racially based threads of any nature are not allowed on INGunOwners.com.
All Indiana Gun Owners should feel comfortable on this forum no matter their race, religion or color. Everyone is welcome here on INGO and should feel comfortable being associated with this site.

You might want to refrain from posting comments of a religious nature. I've seen folks get infractions and the ban hammer for repeated and willful disregard to this rule.

 

[Pooty22]

You might want to refrain from posting comments of a religious nature. I've seen folks get infractions and the ban hammer for repeated and willful disregard to this rule.

You're right. That's why I edited the post.