02-10-2008, 07:59 PM | #21 | |
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So the war in terror costs just a shade over 9% of what entitlements costs are. In a budget of roughly 2.9 trillion, the war on terror accounts of half a percent overall, entitlements 52 percent. What other more pressing military threats are you alluding to? What had we ought to be doing to address them that we are unable to now?
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The Bible tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens go. -Galileo Last edited by UtahDan; 02-10-2008 at 08:02 PM. |
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02-10-2008, 08:06 PM | #22 | |
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On the world stage, which other country will fight oppressions? China? India? Not the Euros. So approaching the world through a practice of appeasement as the naive, ignorant Obama preaches will some how temper oppression. How then? I see Obama's "just make nice to them" approach as woefully naive and stupid.
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02-10-2008, 08:08 PM | #23 |
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LOL. No matter. Unless he makes significant improvement, poor McCain will be lucky just to tread water in the debates. His performance the last year has been quite underwhelming. His only hope is for a third party candidate to enter and make it more of a roundtable than a head-to-head against Hillary/Obama, both of whom are much better speakers.
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02-10-2008, 08:10 PM | #24 | |
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Because they never have to deal with baddies at the end of a bayonette as we do, they don't think it is ever necessary. Now some folks in the USA are beginning to overlook the central facet of the European approach: that it is predicated on American military might.
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02-10-2008, 08:28 PM | #25 | |
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Europe sits on her arse, Japan the same and everybody complains, perhaps correctly so, how we do it. We shoulder the burden and now are not allowed to reap any benefits.
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02-10-2008, 08:37 PM | #26 |
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Am I to understand that the longer we stayed in Vietnam, the greater the prestige for the USA, and those that advocated leaving Vietnam were wrong?
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02-10-2008, 08:40 PM | #27 | |
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So... what is the response? In both cases the American public is stuck with the bill... why doesn't somebody show some leadership and start the ball rolling toward cost equity? Why is it only the US who can provide any kind of military muscle? Why do the Canucks (and everyone else) exploit Big Pharma to get their Rx on the cheap (while we pay through the nose & too frequently have to choose between medicine & food)? It is time somebody starts to push some of this onto the rest of the world. We can't maintain our economic & military empire indefinitely. At least with Obama the threat of pullout will cause others to step up (in this case within Iraq, maybe other Arab nations) With healthcare the threat of moving toward a single-payer system will force Big Pharma to start dealing with other nations in a way that is more equitable for the American consumer. Status quo has to change... At this point Obama is nothing if not a change agent - it's his entire campaign (so far) and it is catching fire. Last edited by Ma'ake; 02-10-2008 at 08:47 PM. |
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02-10-2008, 08:51 PM | #28 |
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Vietnam to some extent provides a useful precedent but let's not get carried away. Vietnam had a couple of very different dynamics. First, you had the Chinese backing North Vietnam financially, with armament and personnel, and the nuclear threat. The Soviet Union was waiting in the wings as a potential ally of North Vietnam, which was a given everywhere (just as we were pleased to help the roots of Al Qaeda in the Soviet-Afgham war (they hated us then as much as now)). In short, the war was demonstrably unwinnable. In contrast, as you have noted, we're fighting a bunch of goat herders in Iraq. Second, our military then drafted soldiers, now it's all voluntary. Most Americans consciously or subsonsciously see a a moral distinction there. I think that's not irrational.
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Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster Last edited by SeattleUte; 02-10-2008 at 08:58 PM. |
02-10-2008, 08:57 PM | #29 | |
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Interrupt all you like. We're involved in a complicated story here, and not everything is quite what it seems to be. —Paul Auster |
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02-10-2008, 09:03 PM | #30 | |
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I guess in many ways, it is the human experience... paradigms are erected & dismantled, perspectives shift. Ron Paul sounds like Michael Moore, at least on foreign policy. |
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