Do you feel pity and compassion for Saddam?

[MIMStigator]

Do you feel Christian compassion for Saddam like this vatican official......

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=574&u=/nm/20031216/wl_nm/iraq_saddam_vatican_dc_2&printer=1

I do.
Ok this one is harder, what about for Rush Limbaugh?

[joeybee12]

1. No, but I do think it was a big mistake to make him look so bad

This is being played out in the Arab world, and it certainly ain't gonna win any hearts and minds.

Oh that's right, accroding to the filth in the current administration, only Americans have hearts and minds, the rest of the world is sub-human garbage.

[jonoboy]

6. a little bit..and I agree with what you have said

as for the pill popper..jail his sorry arse

[hlthe2b]

28. Whether it is pity or self-preservation: What we did to humiliate him is

going to inflame the Arab world and backfire on us. It only shows that we do not really have respect for international law and the treaties we signed long ago. Thanks to the BFEE.

[louis-t]

54. International Law?

Didn't Coulter just say there is no such thing as international law? Good excuse to just do whatever you want.

[Nlighten1]

2. I feel pity and compassion for all the injustice in the world.

Where ever there is injustice there is the need for compassion.

[KittyWampus]

40. That Was Beautiful And Concise

Couldn't word it any better... thank you!

[Suspicious]

57. I have compassion for all human beings.

Without compassion for our fellow human beings (and non-human beings, for that matter) the world is lost.

On edit: Oops...I meant to reply to the original message. :)

[toddzilla]

3. No...

I'm an athiest, you are responsible for your actions. I know we are a product of our childhood to a very large degree, but there is a line that you don't cross and he crossed it many years ago. I don't believe in the death penalty as it's too easy a way out and gives no chance whatsoever for any type of change in a person. rotting in a cell for 30+ years might make him change his mind about the things he's done.

[Cooley Hurd]

4. No on Saddam, No on OxyLimbaugh too...

Both are vile...

[rjbcar27]

5. Nope

The butcher of Baghdad deserves what's coming to him AFAIC.

[BurtWorm]

7. Not Christian, so no "Christian" compassion.

There is something pathetic about what became of Saddam. But he's still alive, unlike so many thousands of his enemies. He's also an idiot, as well as a psychopath. It's hard to feel too much compassion for him.

[OneTwentyoNine]

8. None,he should get a trial and so should Limbaugh!!

..

[Loonman]

9. No, not at all

Couldn't care less.

[Jacobin]

10. No. Why do you ask? Do you?

[MIMStigator]

13. Yes

Every Sunday my preacher tells me Jesus had compassion for everybody and we should try to imitate Jesus.

[Jacobin]

23. WWJD?

I would think Jesus would smite him with his rod, or some such thing.

Anyway, goody for you.

[MIMStigator]

27. Forgive him

nt

[ACK]

11. Not a Christian and no not a bit of pity

He was a murdering bastard.

[DuctapeFatwa]

12. "Christian" compassion?

I feel compassion for all victims of evil regimes, as well as for all people with drug addiction, I'm not sure what Christian compassion is, I was under the impression that compassion was non-sectarian and exists independently of theology.

Man's inhumanity to man is neither vanquished nor decreased by individual efforts to outdo one another in brutality.

[HuckleB]

14. Pity? No. Compassion? On a very general, human level, sort of.

Saddam should be held responsible for his actions. He clearly had no pity or compassion for his victims, thus, I do not want to fall down the trap and join him in the proverbial hole. However, I do not feel sory for him in any way.

The same goes for Limbaugh.

[lewiston]

15. Not only no...

but hell no!

[salinen]

17. Is there a difference between

pimple tush and Saddam? They both;

- terrorize the nation
- act out of hate
- thought (think) there are no consequences
- abusive to women
- make millions from deceiving people
- instruct others to kill for them

[salin]

24. come on.

I don't like Rush - and hold him partially responsible for the erosion of political discourse in this country.

But to compare them ... one leads to a huge number of cases of torture and murder... the other doesn't. He might lead to stunting listeners intellectual and emotional growth... No comparison.

[Jen72]

16. No

nt

[proud patriot]

18. Nope

I still think he should be tried at the Hague .

[Bluzmann57]

19. No

He's nothing but a mass murderer who's only interest is saving his own skin. He cared about nobody but himself, like most criminals. As for limbaugh, I don't really feel sorry for him either, but no way is he as bad as Hussein. At least limbaugh hasn't murdered anyone. He's just a complete a**hole.

[salin]

20. Does really put certain belief systems on the lines, doesn't it?

Very hard to have compassion for folks like Saddam, or in our own back yards Kazcinski (sp?) or McVeigh.

I don't know if it counts, but I was glad to see that Saddam was captured - so that he may be brought to trial - rather than assassinated. Why? For two reasons:

First, a trial (if one has one that is not a show/railroad) demonstrates the concepts of justice - but from a democratic standpoint - and isn't that what we claim to be trying to 'spread' across this region of the world?

Second, to have gone the other route, while perhaps short-term cathartic to some in both the Iraqi population and our population, would have further inflamed many (even some of those who suffered from Saddam) - by giving fodder to those viewing our actions as occupation (which we even claim it to be)... and that any government would be 'puppets' of the US with the US pulling all of the strings - by giving the argument that ... "They could have made him stand trial and face us for what he did to us... but they killed him instead" (which to some would equal ... they killed him to prevent him from spilling secrets {re-his rise to power and arming him against Iran}). In the long run - fair or not - this perception would add fuel to insurgents which puts both US service folks in continued danger and as a result continues to put Iraqi civilians in danger.

I don't know that there is any compassion for Saddam in this belief (that arresting rather than assassinating was good). But at least it isn't a blood thirsty response.

As to compassion for Rush? I have some, but very little. I would have more if he were genuinely seeking ongoing help... which would force a slight tone in his demeanor (recovery often means taking responsibility for the consequences of ones actions.... including infliction of pain... and his continued ridiculing, maligning, etc. of whole swaths of the population of the United States doesn't indicate any genuine efforts on his part.)

If anything my compassion falls that he is between a rock and a hard place regarding recovery. To stay sober and in recovery he would probably have to change his schtick for the reasons stated above, but to do that would end his very lucrative career - and not only cost a boatload of future income but put him at risk for big financial penalties for breech of contract. So there he is... risk your mental health and sobriety daily by doing things that help keep you in denial about your own level of responsibility in your addiction (listen to his raves about how this is about political persecution and rationalizing addictive behavior gone extreme (willing to break the law to feed the addiction)... but to do the things needed for the mental health and sobriety would require a change in behavior (including on air) which would likely end his career. Believe it or not, I actually have some compassion for him on this level.

[readmylips]

33. Limballs would have to go broke and quit...

his program before he joins the human race. I've read articles on how Limballs doesn't have any close friends. He's married, yet his wife didn't know that he was taking/dealing in illegal drugs. That is a very lonely human being.

I think that when Limballs started his hate program, he did not think about how deep his hate for money would become. Now his middle name is Hate and he can't turn it back. How long can a human being live with 24/7 Hate in his/her heart?

When I think of that hateful Olsen blond, married to Ted Olsen. What was her name? She died for Hate. That's all she did, spread Hate. She loved the admiration and the fame from tv and the repigs. She was a lonely human being.

[readmylips]

21. God Have Mercy on America....

Saddam and Limballs were created by dirty American politics. I don't see it as Christian or non Christian. I feel sad that human beings like Saddam and Limballs allowed themselves to be used as agents of dirty politics. Limballs will go down, same as Saddam, same as that planted guy Chalibi, same as Norriega. When these people get too much power, the appointees will chop their heads off. Therefore, God have mercy on America.

[Ficus]

22. None

whatsoever. Hey though, it's not my forgiveness he needs, it his people's.

[knight_of_the_star]

25. None for either

Saddam Hussein was a butcher and a murderer. I do not believe that he should meet a barbaric end of any kind, but that he be tried fairly and openly in a court of law with access to counsel for his defence, even though we already know what the verdict will be. He may be a murderer, but he is still a human being andf deserves at least his day in court, but I wouldn't want him to have much else beyond that.

Now Rush is another story...

[TSElliott]

26. Not a Christian and I have compassion for Saddam...

but that does not excuse the debt he must pay to his victims or humanity. I feel that Saddam is about to reap what he sowed, by the very people who lived in fear under his rule.

[MIMStigator]

29. ding ding

Repukes have done a good job confusing compassion with whether someone should pay their debt ("if you have compassion for prisoners you must want them turned loose")

[Bandit]

30. I guess there is no such thing as innocent until proven guilty

:shrug: All I know about him is from right-wing Media. I don't believe much of what they say.

[Monte Carlo]

34. Uhh... don't you think you're being a little skeptical?

Perhaps a bit too much? He is going to get a trial, but that doesn't mean we were all born yesterday.

[Ficus]

38. no charges yet

so he's not guilty yet. But to think he didn't murder and kill his citizens is kinda silly.

Heres the wildly right wing source Amnesty International:

2002
Scores of people, including possible prisoners of conscience and armed forces officers suspected of planning to overthrow the government, were executed. Scores of suspected anti-government opponents, including people suspected of having contacts with opposition groups in exile, were arrested. The fate and whereabouts of most of those arrested, including those detained in previous years, remained unknown. Several people were given lengthy prison terms after grossly unfair trials before special courts. Torture and ill-treatment of political prisoners and detainees were systematic. The two Kurdish political parties controlling Iraqi Kurdistan detained prisoners of conscience, and armed political groups were reportedly responsible for abductions and killings.

2001

Hundreds of people, among them political prisoners including possible prisoners of conscience, were executed. Hundreds of suspected political opponents, including army officers suspected of planning to overthrow the government, were arrested and their fate and whereabouts remained unknown. Torture and ill-treatment were widespread and new punishments, including beheading and the amputation of the tongue, were reportedly introduced. Non-Arabs, mostly Kurds, continued to be forcibly expelled from their homes in the Kirkuk area to Iraqi Kurdistan.

2000
Dozens of people from both sides were killed. Hundreds of people, including political prisoners and possible prisoners of conscience, were executed and large-scale arbitrary arrests of suspected political opponents took place. Torture and ill-treatment of prisoners and detainees were widely reported. Hundreds of non-Arab families, mostly Kurds, were forcibly expelled from their homes in the Kirkuk area to Iraqi Kurdistan.

I can go on...

www.amnesty.org

[Cocoa]

31. Saddam is so surrounded in propaganda

he's not even a real person to me,`so I can't have compassion for him.

[adriennel]

32. No and No

I think Saddam was a truly evil man. He tortured and attempted to assasinate his own children! He is completely devoid of empathy towards others, and thinks only of himself and the profit he can make. Of course, his type of despotism was totally accepted by the United States until recent years.

I don't think Rush is an evil man, but he is a man of poor character who profits from the distribution of false and inflamatory information. He is more of a pathetic man than sociopathic. I wish he would do something beneficial to society given his large audience. He chooses posturing instead. I don't feel sorry for him (including his drug addiction, yes it is very difficult, but it's not an uncommon situation for Americans, and I don't believe he should receive special treatment...oops, I guess he already did receive preferential treatment considering he can pay for pricey rehab programs whereas many Americans in the same situation can not).

[Jack_Dawson]

35. No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No No

Remember this is the guy who fed live humans into wood chippers and meat grinders. Head first if he wanted to make it a quick death. Feet first if he wanted them to suffer. You feel an ounce of compassion for this guy? Don't be soft.

[dreissig]

47. So We've Been Told

Wood chippers and meat grinders? Sounds like propaganda.

[slackmaster]

36. Saddam - None, Rush - None

They are both personally accountable for their own fates.

[Monte Carlo]

37. Sorta in the same way I pity Macbeth...

... in the play. A man who once had potential, but took a tragic turn for the worse. I feel sorry for what could have been, but not for what he has become. Saddam made his own despicable decisions time and time again.

[Brian Sweat]

39. No,

I did not support the war, but Hussein is still an evil man. He made his bed through numerous acts of cruelty and inhumanity, now he must lie in it.

[RebelOne]

41. If I would feel any compassion for either, it would be Saddam over Rush

[ronnykmarshall]

42. I feel nothing for that creature.

[MIMStigator]

43. What about Saddam

nt

[ronnykmarshall]

44. Oh yeah, him too.

[CMT]

45. no

but he shouldn't be exploited on television just so Bush can inch up his approval ratings another point or two.

[JVS]

46. I can really relate. You start by electrifying villages...

you're working, trying to bring your country into the 20th century. Then some jerks decide they don't want to modernize and start putting up resistance. So you crush them with an iron fist and that shuts them up for a while, but you still have shit to do and now other people are looking at you strangely at the UN and you can't seem to get back on good terms. So you think you'll pull off something to improve your image, like beat up the guy in your neighborhood that everyone hates even more than you, but the fight doesn't go very well and rather than help you out at all the other people decide to sell you weapons at high prices, so you lose your savings. You are strapped for cash and one of your neighbors is bugging you and has lots of money, so you rob him, because hey, nobody said shit when you were in that big fight with that neighbor everyone else hated, but then everyone joins together and really clobbers you, but they don't finish you off. So you're sitting there, you can't quit because someone will sic a goddamned war crimes tribunal on your ass, but there is really no good side to your job. The UN is up in your face. Then finally some drunken fratboy brings the worlds strongest man to pummel you into submission. Life just kind of suck sometimes.

[lumpy]

53. You covered this farce

quite well.

[liberalcapitalist]

48. hell no!

n/t

[OhioStateProgressive]

49. yes on Rush, no on saddam

people with personal problems and drug addiction deserve our sympathy, that is why we are liberals

[JVS]

50. That isn't why

[OhioStateProgressive]

52. look up "liberal" in the encyclopedia(nt)

[truthspeaker]

51. No

[DoveTurnedHawk]

55. Fuck Saddam

I'm glad he got caught.

DTH

[louis-t]

56. Maybe I would if...

the guy would at least admit he was wrong. He hasn't so far and I don't think he will.

[Jack The Tab]

58. Fuck him - so now Chimpy should go after the House of Saud....

Since Chimpy says the U.S.A. is in the tyrant bashing business, time to get our boys into Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Malaysia, China, Pakistan, Indonesia, ...let's take out all the rulers who "hate us for our freedoms", as chimpy so eloquently put it.

[LeahMira]

59. Sort of...

Do you feel Christian compassion for Saddam like this vatican official......

I feel not one whit of sympathy for Saddam considering the suffering and torture he was responsible for. But I also don't think he should be shown getting his mouth inspected or whatever was going on. Why not just a clip of him sitting there by himself? Or being walked down a hall?

And I don't feel any compassion for Rush either after all the evil he has let come out of his mouth over the years. If I thought for even one minute that some of his words were the consequence of his drug use, I might be a little easier in judging him for his words, but he's been spouting hateful lies and slanders for a lot longer than he's been addicted to drugs. And he still hasn't apologized for any thing he's ever said. If and when he decides to apologize, then possibly. We'll see when it happens.

[loudnclear]

60. I feel pity and shame for my country (America) and compassion for

Iraqis