Wow, come on guys. We're better than this. I think the vast majority people both sides of the political divide had a lot of respect for Colin Powell. Those that don't, can't we be polite in an obituary thread? If you didn't like him, don't post. I'm not even sure how the ISS Forrestal fire is being blamed on him.
He was blaming McCain for the Forrestal fire (and painting him as a horrible person). About as accurate as blaming Powell though.
I agree though. Entirely disrespectful and inappropriate. Good luck finding that perfect person who has never made a mistake or done anything but perfect in their life...
RevRico said:
It was the same thing with John McCain. Never mind his showing off on the USS Forrestral that killed almost 140 service men
Ummmm, WHAT? McCain was in the aircraft that got HIT by the rocket, not the one that accidentally launched it:
The History Channel said:
On the morning of July 29, the ship was preparing to attack when a rocket from one of its own F-4 Phantom jet fighters was accidentally launched. The rocket streaked across the deck and hit a parked A-4 Skyhawk jet. The Skyhawk, which was waiting to take off, was piloted by John McCain, the future senator from Arizona.
Think what you will about the man, but I fail to see how McCain was "showing off", or had anything at all to do with causing the Forrestal fire.
I never mentioned the Forrestral fire nor was I thinking about it with McCain. That's for someone else to explain. I also wouldn't have mentioned his time as a POW as I don't think he conducted himself poorly there.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
It was RevRico who made those claims. The Quote function attributed the post to him, but noted it was in response to you. I edited that part out of my post for clarity.
Glad to see I wasn't the only one confused as E36 M3 about the Forrestal claim. Getting hit by a faulty rocket sure is a damn strange way to show off.
Steve_Jones said:ddavidv said:z31maniac said:We need more like him in government/military.
Unfortunately, I'm already seeing people using his death as vitriol against the vaccine, even though he was 84 with cancer.
And Parkinson's. There's your "underlying conditions" example.
Ok, I'll play devils advocate. If he had cancer, and Parkinson's, and those contributed, don't report it as a COVID death with a "see how bad it is" undertone. You're begging to stir up people.
The article I read said "Complications from COVID."
His cancer affected his bodies ability to transport oxygen using red blood cells, COVID is a cardiovascular disease that also impacts the bodies ability to transport oxygen using red blood cells.
So I don't think that's unfair. But I really don't want us all to get patio'd.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/colin-powell-dies/index.html
z31maniac said:The article I read said "Complications from COVID."
His cancer affected his bodies ability to transport oxygen using red blood cells, COVID is a cardiovascular disease that also impacts the bodies ability to transport oxygen using red blood cells.
So I don't think that's unfair. But I really don't want us all to get patio'd.
https://www.cnn.com/2021/10/18/politics/colin-powell-dies/index.html
Well, that and the chemotherapy he was taking knocked his immune system down quite a bit, too. Not to mention that hanging around hospitals that much is an excellent way to catch a bug, including Covid.
IMO, Covid may have been the final thing that did him in, but he was probably dying soon anyhow.
Powell, Rumsfield, Bush, Cheney were all complicit in the lies and misinformation leading up to the invasion of Iraq.
I think Powell was the only one who in retrospect openly regretted his support for the war. That doesn't do justice for those missteps, but it does speak to his candor and ethics. As others said, the unwilling politician is usually the one you want. I wish more people mirrored Powell in that regard.
I would've had a hard time voting for him for higher office, but it would depend largely on the other options.
I don't think he deserves any statues or memorials besides what he'll get as a General. Then again, I think it's the peacemakers who deserve statues and memorials, not the warriors. Instead, his enduring legacy is that of the Iraq War, him being the first black Sec of State, and the many books he wrote about what he learned throughout his life. I know several schools were named after him, but he didn't make much fanfare about them.
He was a good guy, and I'd have no problem shaking his hand (unlike some other politicians who I'd actively avoid.)
I think that is a good and reasonable assessment.
The one thing I am not sure of and I kind of assumed is the Powell was setup for his UN speech (sort of a patsy). He was told how it was and told to tell the story. I don't know at what level it was known things where almost certainly not true (harsh glance at Cheney....). I just sort of assumed that Powell had no idea of the misinformation, which I think showed a bit in his character in general.
As I said, I don't know this is true, but I also don't know it isn't. Maybe (?) his biggest sin is that he should have been more suspicious / questioning.
aircooled said:As I said, I don't know this is true, but I also don't know it isn't. Maybe (?) his biggest sin is that he should have been more suspicious / questioning.
I think that is a good moto for anyone working in the public sector with a proverbial license to kill.
You should always doubt those who wish you to point the gun moreso than those in front of it.
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