More excellent points, and some I can't deny. It still seems to me like you are indicating that you believe that we should have put many more troops on the ground, which is surprising but refreshing to hear. I think GWB did he best he could, based on the advice he was given by the Generals and other "experts". Also I am sure he tried to do this in a "balanced" way, in other words if he even thought about deploying twice or three times the amount of troops initially he would have had his head handed to him by the Senate (as they are trying to do now as he pushes for a troop surge).
Regardless, it will be interesting to see where this takes us. I honestly am not an expert on the war (or wars in general) but pray we did the right thing. I do believe that something positive has come out of this as we have not had any more terrorist attacks on America.
I am curious (kind of off topic) to hear your opinion about the situation brewing in Iran. Should be get involved? Ahmadinejad scares the xxxx out of me whenever I read his comments.
Thanks for your great reply! I respectfully disagree with your point in paragraph one (not counting the first line you posted as a paragraph). Whether you are for the war or against the war, everyone is entitled to state their opinion. I may not agree with you on a point, but I cannot say that you do not have the right to your opinion. I am an American, and I am assuming you are too. As Americans, we have the right to free speech. Someone's opinion can seem ridiculous, stupid, outright wrong, but that someone has the right to say it whether I agree or not. To say that someone does not have the right to express their opinion ("we have to fight it there, or else we will have to fight it here") just because they are not now or haven't previously been in the Armed Forces is wrong. Sorry. As an American citizen, I've paid my taxes every year. I am educated. I have consistently voted. If I was drafted I would have fought. I seriously considered joining the military as a career but decided that I would prefer a different career. I believe as an American citizen, I can state my opinion on the war, agree or disagree, even though I was never a soldier. Are you not allowed to have an opinion on abortion rights because you are not (assumed) a woman? Can you see my point?
I see your points in paragraph 2. I think many of the points you post show the sadder part of big business and possible government corruption. But I'd like to see statistics to backup the belief that the military are "poor and uneducated". I've read that there is a huge percentage of people that enlist because of the career options it can open up to them. Many are even college educated nowadays. I think it is wrong to stereotype or label a group of people like that and it offends the dignity of so many that are doing so much to protect our country, so much more than you or I are doing! (Not to say that we don't have a right to express our opinion, back to paragraph one).
Paragraph 3: I did not mean to attack your invective or anything else. I was just trying to get you to stay on point, with intelligence and respect. You are much more convincing when you refrain from the typical expletive laden blogger rant. That is, if you are trying to make a sincere point, and I believe you were. I know this is a subject that can be very emotionally charged, but we "are all adults here" (I think). Otherwise I agree with your points in the paragraph. Well put, and sad facts to admit. Do we fault GWB for putting the soldiers on the ground in Iraq or the Senators that intentionally try to de-fund the war effort? It sounds to be like you blame the latter (which I agree with, but I am sure most fault GWB for everything from Global Warming to the Iraq war, to the stubbed toe they get when they wake up in the morning).
Paragraph 4: I actually work for a non-profit agency and I see the uneducated poor every day. I bet you can't even say that. (I don't believe you can't have an opinion on the subject though just because you don't {back to paragraph one}). I again respectfully disagree with you on this point. The Army is not the only entity that goes to war, a country goes to war. America as a whole is at war. We (all America) make sacrifices along with our soldiers and need to be more supportive. Sacrifices we make during wartime are more along the lines of financial sacrifice (I am sure you are not thrilled about our nations increasing debt, but that is part of the price we pay). Sorry, but calling our soldiers "poor and uneducated" does not come off as being supportive. And I did not say it is disgraceful to be poor and uneducated, that is your attempt at twisting my words around. Not nice!
In closing, some very good points and I respect you for not attacking me. Keep up the good work! God bless America!
Okay. Thanks. That clears it up, but still sounds quite a bid paranoid for me. I appreciate that you intelligently handled my (bad) attempt and sarcasm and humor without rudeness or hate. This is rare in the blog-o-sphere. I attempt to do the same (this is not a personal attack, I promise).
Honestly I am on the other side of the fence and believe that Islamo-fascist terrorism isn't concocted by the Bush family, and is a real and present danger. I believe that 9/11 really happened (as it appeared to happen, no secret conspiracy by President Bush). I believe that Iraq and Saddam appeared as a threat at the time, and that the Senate voted approving war powers to Bush. I doubt President Bush and Vice President Cheney were that eloquent (reality here) that they convinced a majority of (hopefully intelligent) US Senators to do something if they were not equally truly convinced. Stolen elections? Come on! How many recounts did we have? Can it be that hard to believe that a slight margin of Americans thought that John Kerry was a bigger bobblehead than Bush? And for the media, how do you see them as lapdogs of the administration? I am shocked about this. All the "objective" reports I've read show the media in general has a very biased liberal or left leaning view. I see it every day. Just look at what gets covered. If it has any possibility of making GWB look bad or incompetent, it's headline number one. If it's any news showing we're making progress in the war on terror, it does not get any mention.
Our current reality here does not have to be a smokescreen for a bigger takeover of Democracy. Why can't it just be as it appears? I admit President Bush has made some mistakes, as does every president (remember Clinton!). I certainly believe he is doing a better job than the media gives him credit, in a very turbulent, changed world. If Al Gore was president on 9/11 we'd all be speaking Arabic by now. Everyone keeps claiming that we're losing our freedoms, and all I've seen is a longer line at the airport check-in, and I can't bring my nail clippers when I travel. If that is what I have to put up with to prevent me from having a very short flight into a building, then so be it.
Maybe your conclusions are based on flawed data, and the paranoia is real, unjustified paranoia? What if I am right that the "facts" you state are not facts, but editorialisms and opinion of the media and biased mis-interpretations of facts by many liberal writers? Wouldn't it be scarier to admit that you could have been duped?
... our new illegal alien overlords.
Actually, (and I am sure I will be in the minority here), I believe that if you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to fear. Bring on the cameras, blimps, UAV's, wiretapping, I'll take it all on. If someone wants to spy or eavesdrop on my otherwise boring, mundane, and uneventful life, their welcome to it!:)
You make some good points (kudos!) and actually sound pretty intelligent... until you have to resort to foul language and name calling. It's really not appreciated here. Then you sound like any of the thousands of young arrogant liberal bloggers out there that think they have the total right to spew their libby rhetoric about like a popping, infected boil. I think it is tremendously funny how when a liberal-minded (oxymoron?) person rants and raves their opinion it is unanimously accepted, but the first time someone opposes their point of view they always try to invalidate that person's RIGHT to state their opinion. Even if the previous commenter has not served in the military, they can still be educated and have an opinion on the subject.
And calling our military stupid like that ("uneducated poor"), well, that is totally not cool. Is this John Kerry? Didn't you learn your lesson yet?
Slashdot Mirror
That's okay, I am sure God is laughing at your post. Or at least you should hope so. :)
More excellent points, and some I can't deny. It still seems to me like you are indicating that you believe that we should have put many more troops on the ground, which is surprising but refreshing to hear. I think GWB did he best he could, based on the advice he was given by the Generals and other "experts". Also I am sure he tried to do this in a "balanced" way, in other words if he even thought about deploying twice or three times the amount of troops initially he would have had his head handed to him by the Senate (as they are trying to do now as he pushes for a troop surge).
Regardless, it will be interesting to see where this takes us. I honestly am not an expert on the war (or wars in general) but pray we did the right thing. I do believe that something positive has come out of this as we have not had any more terrorist attacks on America.
I am curious (kind of off topic) to hear your opinion about the situation brewing in Iran. Should be get involved? Ahmadinejad scares the xxxx out of me whenever I read his comments.
I don't get the "Wolverines!" comment. And no, I will not kill myself.
Thanks for your great reply! I respectfully disagree with your point in paragraph one (not counting the first line you posted as a paragraph). Whether you are for the war or against the war, everyone is entitled to state their opinion. I may not agree with you on a point, but I cannot say that you do not have the right to your opinion. I am an American, and I am assuming you are too. As Americans, we have the right to free speech. Someone's opinion can seem ridiculous, stupid, outright wrong, but that someone has the right to say it whether I agree or not. To say that someone does not have the right to express their opinion ("we have to fight it there, or else we will have to fight it here") just because they are not now or haven't previously been in the Armed Forces is wrong. Sorry. As an American citizen, I've paid my taxes every year. I am educated. I have consistently voted. If I was drafted I would have fought. I seriously considered joining the military as a career but decided that I would prefer a different career. I believe as an American citizen, I can state my opinion on the war, agree or disagree, even though I was never a soldier. Are you not allowed to have an opinion on abortion rights because you are not (assumed) a woman? Can you see my point? I see your points in paragraph 2. I think many of the points you post show the sadder part of big business and possible government corruption. But I'd like to see statistics to backup the belief that the military are "poor and uneducated". I've read that there is a huge percentage of people that enlist because of the career options it can open up to them. Many are even college educated nowadays. I think it is wrong to stereotype or label a group of people like that and it offends the dignity of so many that are doing so much to protect our country, so much more than you or I are doing! (Not to say that we don't have a right to express our opinion, back to paragraph one). Paragraph 3: I did not mean to attack your invective or anything else. I was just trying to get you to stay on point, with intelligence and respect. You are much more convincing when you refrain from the typical expletive laden blogger rant. That is, if you are trying to make a sincere point, and I believe you were. I know this is a subject that can be very emotionally charged, but we "are all adults here" (I think). Otherwise I agree with your points in the paragraph. Well put, and sad facts to admit. Do we fault GWB for putting the soldiers on the ground in Iraq or the Senators that intentionally try to de-fund the war effort? It sounds to be like you blame the latter (which I agree with, but I am sure most fault GWB for everything from Global Warming to the Iraq war, to the stubbed toe they get when they wake up in the morning). Paragraph 4: I actually work for a non-profit agency and I see the uneducated poor every day. I bet you can't even say that. (I don't believe you can't have an opinion on the subject though just because you don't {back to paragraph one}). I again respectfully disagree with you on this point. The Army is not the only entity that goes to war, a country goes to war. America as a whole is at war. We (all America) make sacrifices along with our soldiers and need to be more supportive. Sacrifices we make during wartime are more along the lines of financial sacrifice (I am sure you are not thrilled about our nations increasing debt, but that is part of the price we pay). Sorry, but calling our soldiers "poor and uneducated" does not come off as being supportive. And I did not say it is disgraceful to be poor and uneducated, that is your attempt at twisting my words around. Not nice! In closing, some very good points and I respect you for not attacking me. Keep up the good work! God bless America!
Okay. Thanks. That clears it up, but still sounds quite a bid paranoid for me. I appreciate that you intelligently handled my (bad) attempt and sarcasm and humor without rudeness or hate. This is rare in the blog-o-sphere. I attempt to do the same (this is not a personal attack, I promise). Honestly I am on the other side of the fence and believe that Islamo-fascist terrorism isn't concocted by the Bush family, and is a real and present danger. I believe that 9/11 really happened (as it appeared to happen, no secret conspiracy by President Bush). I believe that Iraq and Saddam appeared as a threat at the time, and that the Senate voted approving war powers to Bush. I doubt President Bush and Vice President Cheney were that eloquent (reality here) that they convinced a majority of (hopefully intelligent) US Senators to do something if they were not equally truly convinced. Stolen elections? Come on! How many recounts did we have? Can it be that hard to believe that a slight margin of Americans thought that John Kerry was a bigger bobblehead than Bush? And for the media, how do you see them as lapdogs of the administration? I am shocked about this. All the "objective" reports I've read show the media in general has a very biased liberal or left leaning view. I see it every day. Just look at what gets covered. If it has any possibility of making GWB look bad or incompetent, it's headline number one. If it's any news showing we're making progress in the war on terror, it does not get any mention. Our current reality here does not have to be a smokescreen for a bigger takeover of Democracy. Why can't it just be as it appears? I admit President Bush has made some mistakes, as does every president (remember Clinton!). I certainly believe he is doing a better job than the media gives him credit, in a very turbulent, changed world. If Al Gore was president on 9/11 we'd all be speaking Arabic by now. Everyone keeps claiming that we're losing our freedoms, and all I've seen is a longer line at the airport check-in, and I can't bring my nail clippers when I travel. If that is what I have to put up with to prevent me from having a very short flight into a building, then so be it. Maybe your conclusions are based on flawed data, and the paranoia is real, unjustified paranoia? What if I am right that the "facts" you state are not facts, but editorialisms and opinion of the media and biased mis-interpretations of facts by many liberal writers? Wouldn't it be scarier to admit that you could have been duped?
... our new illegal alien overlords. Actually, (and I am sure I will be in the minority here), I believe that if you're not doing anything wrong, you've got nothing to fear. Bring on the cameras, blimps, UAV's, wiretapping, I'll take it all on. If someone wants to spy or eavesdrop on my otherwise boring, mundane, and uneventful life, their welcome to it! :)
You make some good points (kudos!) and actually sound pretty intelligent... until you have to resort to foul language and name calling. It's really not appreciated here. Then you sound like any of the thousands of young arrogant liberal bloggers out there that think they have the total right to spew their libby rhetoric about like a popping, infected boil. I think it is tremendously funny how when a liberal-minded (oxymoron?) person rants and raves their opinion it is unanimously accepted, but the first time someone opposes their point of view they always try to invalidate that person's RIGHT to state their opinion. Even if the previous commenter has not served in the military, they can still be educated and have an opinion on the subject. And calling our military stupid like that ("uneducated poor"), well, that is totally not cool. Is this John Kerry? Didn't you learn your lesson yet?
uhm. What the fudge are you talking about? Dude, time to give up the pot, the paranoia is a little over the top.