Posts
The more I read Bob Woodward’s book, Obama’s Wars, the more and more it concerns me.
I get the image of a ship that has a car sized hole in its hull and a fist sized
patch is being used to try and stem the flow. A patch that is not only undersized but one that has also been grossly neglected for 8 years. As a result the ship is near, or past, the point of sinking regardless of how much you try and stop it.
This raises the question: What do you do about it? Do you keep trying to plug that massive leak as new, smaller ones, from around it? Do you try and get as many hands on deck as you can and try to bail as much water out as is coming in? Do you cut your losses and abandon ship? Or do you simply, regardless of the costs, go down with the ship?
I also wonder what role Afghanistan is playing, or will play, in the course of the broader war on extremists/terrorist groups. Does anyone truly think that if we manage to win in Afghanistan, or kill/capture Bin Laden, that all of these terrorist and extremist groups will simply give up and go away? If not, then doesn’t that make Afghanistan more of a battle, or one of many fronts, in this larger war? With Yemen, Pakistan, Somali, etc. being the other battles/fronts. If that is the case, then is winning one battle worth jeopardizing the chances you have of winning the war?
I understand how badly it would look to pull out of Afghanistan, but at the same time how does it look now? Our massive and powerful military machine has been effectively stalled by a much smaller force. Isn’t that image just as powerful, just as potentially damaging for us? Especially when you add in the corrupt Afghan, and lukewarm/contradictory, Pakistani governments who are slowing (and in some cases opposing) everything we are attempting to do.
No one likes to lose, but in the course of life and world events it is bound to happen to everyone. Afghanistan was ignored for far too long, and even with Obama’s determination to turn it around, it may already be too late. Wars and battles aren’t always won during the waning days, many are given their fate in the opening days of conflict.
I honestly don’t have the answers, all I know is that something has got to give, one way or the other. This thinking is far from popular but simply ignoring, or attacking, it doesn’t diminish the importance of it. Every great leader in history has proven that they understand this fact. Washington, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, etc. all had to think about what to do if the battle or war could not be won. Only fools obsess over one outcome or the other. How we handle defeat often tells as much about us as how we handle a victory.
Monday, November 29, 2010
Thursday, November 25, 2010
I am thankful for....
Since it is Thanksgiving and all, I thought I would share one thing that I am thankful for. Especially given the…how shall I say…bull shit of the last week or so.
I am thankful for the fact that we have not had another terrorist attack in this country since September 11, 2001. Sorry Republicans, but it’s true. A Democratic president is just as effective at protecting this country as a Republican president is. Mostly though, I am thankful because it means that lives have been saved thanks to the efforts of our military and our government. But I am also thankful because it has prevented, especially after this last week, all these people who are now against increased airline security from looking like totally and complete asses. If we had been attacked recently then suddenly all of those people would be going from “security is too invasive and unconstitutional” to “this is all Obama’s fault for not being tougher and not being able to make the hard decisions.”
This is the world that everyone wanted. When we whole-heartedly accepted the Patriot Act being shoved down our throats because it was in the name of “national security.” When we were all engaged in a pissing contest of who is the most patriotic we had no qualms about giving up our rights left and right. This is the world that was created, and now it seems that since there is a Democratic president in the White House calling the shots, everyone starts bitching and moaning when we are asked to sacrifice something more. People suddenly start clamoring that these new TSA procedures are unconstitutional. Well guess what my friends, you wanted more security, you wanted to feel safer, that is EXACTLY what you got.
One of the most favored suggestions is to use profiling instead of all this other stuff. That is all well and good but there is a slight problem. In this country, we have gotten it slammed into our heads of what the typical terrorist looks like, worships, acts like, etc. The problem is that once you start to think that way, and your opponent KNOWS how you think, that is when they slip through the cracks. That is when Middle Eastern person is basically strip searched and yet the real threat walks freely by in the form of an average white person who was raised in a totally Christian household. Americans are honestly too in love with stereotypes and biases for profiling to be a totally effective tool.
But even as we speak, soldiers from multiple countries are living in the line of fire, some giving up their lives, all because we told them to go forth and protect us. Are we all seriously going to sit here and bitch about having to MAYBE be given a pat-down at the airport, to have a digital image of our body taken to see if we are hiding anything before we board a plane, while men and women are giving their LIVES for the same reason? To try and make this world a better and safer place? If you can’t give up that small of a thing (pat-down, body scan, etc) then what would you give up? Would you give up food, gas, metals, money, loved ones, etc? Because guess what, that was just PART of the price that had to be paid to ensure victory during World War II.
I am the first to admit I HATE the Patriot Act, but am I fighting to get it repealed? Am I bitching about it being unconstitutional? No. I may hate it, but I accept that I may need to sacrifice my own personal privacy on some things in order to help the greater good of the country. I know I have nothing to hide, that if people want to read my blogs, texts, or emails, etc. then fine enjoy your government empowered voyeurism because I am going to go on living my life how I want and I hope they enjoy the ride along with me. I can honestly say I would give up tv, internet, my car, a fourth to half my income if I had to in order to ensure this country withstands the test of time and all the threats that go along with it. Would you? Could you?
So in this world of ongoing wars and financial woes I ask we all do one thing. Be thankful for what you have and mindful of what you have lost. If you have to endure a few inconveniences, a few rare invasions of your space and privacy, just remember and be glad that it isn’t worse. Be thankful that the little things you are willing to give up may in the end save all of our lives. Live each day as if it is your last and be thankful each morning you are able to wake up and start it all over again because there are many whose last day will be today, or was yesterday. Who would gladly deal with the inconvenience of a body scanner or a pat-down if it ensured them one more day of life!
I am thankful for the fact that we have not had another terrorist attack in this country since September 11, 2001. Sorry Republicans, but it’s true. A Democratic president is just as effective at protecting this country as a Republican president is. Mostly though, I am thankful because it means that lives have been saved thanks to the efforts of our military and our government. But I am also thankful because it has prevented, especially after this last week, all these people who are now against increased airline security from looking like totally and complete asses. If we had been attacked recently then suddenly all of those people would be going from “security is too invasive and unconstitutional” to “this is all Obama’s fault for not being tougher and not being able to make the hard decisions.”
This is the world that everyone wanted. When we whole-heartedly accepted the Patriot Act being shoved down our throats because it was in the name of “national security.” When we were all engaged in a pissing contest of who is the most patriotic we had no qualms about giving up our rights left and right. This is the world that was created, and now it seems that since there is a Democratic president in the White House calling the shots, everyone starts bitching and moaning when we are asked to sacrifice something more. People suddenly start clamoring that these new TSA procedures are unconstitutional. Well guess what my friends, you wanted more security, you wanted to feel safer, that is EXACTLY what you got.
One of the most favored suggestions is to use profiling instead of all this other stuff. That is all well and good but there is a slight problem. In this country, we have gotten it slammed into our heads of what the typical terrorist looks like, worships, acts like, etc. The problem is that once you start to think that way, and your opponent KNOWS how you think, that is when they slip through the cracks. That is when Middle Eastern person is basically strip searched and yet the real threat walks freely by in the form of an average white person who was raised in a totally Christian household. Americans are honestly too in love with stereotypes and biases for profiling to be a totally effective tool.
But even as we speak, soldiers from multiple countries are living in the line of fire, some giving up their lives, all because we told them to go forth and protect us. Are we all seriously going to sit here and bitch about having to MAYBE be given a pat-down at the airport, to have a digital image of our body taken to see if we are hiding anything before we board a plane, while men and women are giving their LIVES for the same reason? To try and make this world a better and safer place? If you can’t give up that small of a thing (pat-down, body scan, etc) then what would you give up? Would you give up food, gas, metals, money, loved ones, etc? Because guess what, that was just PART of the price that had to be paid to ensure victory during World War II.
I am the first to admit I HATE the Patriot Act, but am I fighting to get it repealed? Am I bitching about it being unconstitutional? No. I may hate it, but I accept that I may need to sacrifice my own personal privacy on some things in order to help the greater good of the country. I know I have nothing to hide, that if people want to read my blogs, texts, or emails, etc. then fine enjoy your government empowered voyeurism because I am going to go on living my life how I want and I hope they enjoy the ride along with me. I can honestly say I would give up tv, internet, my car, a fourth to half my income if I had to in order to ensure this country withstands the test of time and all the threats that go along with it. Would you? Could you?
So in this world of ongoing wars and financial woes I ask we all do one thing. Be thankful for what you have and mindful of what you have lost. If you have to endure a few inconveniences, a few rare invasions of your space and privacy, just remember and be glad that it isn’t worse. Be thankful that the little things you are willing to give up may in the end save all of our lives. Live each day as if it is your last and be thankful each morning you are able to wake up and start it all over again because there are many whose last day will be today, or was yesterday. Who would gladly deal with the inconvenience of a body scanner or a pat-down if it ensured them one more day of life!
Tuesday, August 17, 2010
The Land of the Free
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100808/ap_on_re_us/us_mosque_opposition
As a nation grows and progresses through history, it will undoubtedly face numerous challenges. Challenges from outside its borders, as well as from within. Today, we find our United States of America in the jaws of both. In New York City, two blocks from the World Trade Center, a proposed mosque has come under heavy and intolerant attacks. Attacks that should be making all Americans feel utterly disgusted, but sadly this is not the case. The very people who are attacking this mosque’s construction are, in fact, as American as you and I.
These Americans have become consumed by the perverted notion that this mosque is an insult to the memories of those who died on September 11, 2001. In reality, however, it is the opposite that rings true. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Agnostics, Atheists, etc. ALL died on that day. They died believing that they were living in a country that was founded on freedoms. One such freedom being the freedom to believe in whatever religion, or lack thereof, that you wanted to. A country where you could have a mosque, church, synagogue, and temple built alongside each other with an Atheist as a neighbor. I feel that those men, women, and children who were lost that day would be insulted NOT by the mosque, but by those who oppose its very existence.
Now some will say that this issue is one that should only concern the city and state of New York. I, however, strongly disagree. This is an issue that should concern ALL Americans because how the issue is resolved will reflect on not only those in NYC, but on ALL of us. Those who have attacked us want to see the U.S. fall. Why do we insist on helping them succeed? Why are we continuing their work by dividing and turning on one another? This country was founded on the idea of freedom. If we abandon even one of those basic freedoms and replace it with intolerance then we will have forever changed ourselves. We will have sold out or ideals, ideals that we have bled for, and replace them with fear and paranoia. This type of intolerance is a deadly poison and one that can rapidly consume its victim if it isn’t delt with quickly. All we have to do is take a short look back 70 years to see the truth in this statement. A look back to how one man’s hatred of Jews spread throughout a country and cost the lives of millions of innocent people. I do not make this comparison lightly but it is a perfect example of what can happen.
Do we as a country truly want to start down such a slippery and blood soaked path? If you deny the freedoms and the rights of ONE person, then you are opening the door to the denial of other freedoms and other people. This poison has already spread. In Tennessee there is another mosque that is being attacked and opposed. Quite simply, we MUST stop this insanity before it destroys us! Before it destroys our country! I personally, as an Agnostic, would not build the mosque in NYC two blocks from Ground Zero. I would build it AT Ground Zero! Along with a synagogue and a church! To spit in the face of those who would try to tear our country down.
I am an American! I am an Agnostic! I stand on the side of Freedom! I stand with the President of the United States! I stand with all of those who support the building of this mosque and of any other religious building in these United States of America! I will not waiver in this belief! I therefore ask all of you: Where will you stand?
As a nation grows and progresses through history, it will undoubtedly face numerous challenges. Challenges from outside its borders, as well as from within. Today, we find our United States of America in the jaws of both. In New York City, two blocks from the World Trade Center, a proposed mosque has come under heavy and intolerant attacks. Attacks that should be making all Americans feel utterly disgusted, but sadly this is not the case. The very people who are attacking this mosque’s construction are, in fact, as American as you and I.
These Americans have become consumed by the perverted notion that this mosque is an insult to the memories of those who died on September 11, 2001. In reality, however, it is the opposite that rings true. Muslims, Christians, Jews, Agnostics, Atheists, etc. ALL died on that day. They died believing that they were living in a country that was founded on freedoms. One such freedom being the freedom to believe in whatever religion, or lack thereof, that you wanted to. A country where you could have a mosque, church, synagogue, and temple built alongside each other with an Atheist as a neighbor. I feel that those men, women, and children who were lost that day would be insulted NOT by the mosque, but by those who oppose its very existence.
Now some will say that this issue is one that should only concern the city and state of New York. I, however, strongly disagree. This is an issue that should concern ALL Americans because how the issue is resolved will reflect on not only those in NYC, but on ALL of us. Those who have attacked us want to see the U.S. fall. Why do we insist on helping them succeed? Why are we continuing their work by dividing and turning on one another? This country was founded on the idea of freedom. If we abandon even one of those basic freedoms and replace it with intolerance then we will have forever changed ourselves. We will have sold out or ideals, ideals that we have bled for, and replace them with fear and paranoia. This type of intolerance is a deadly poison and one that can rapidly consume its victim if it isn’t delt with quickly. All we have to do is take a short look back 70 years to see the truth in this statement. A look back to how one man’s hatred of Jews spread throughout a country and cost the lives of millions of innocent people. I do not make this comparison lightly but it is a perfect example of what can happen.
Do we as a country truly want to start down such a slippery and blood soaked path? If you deny the freedoms and the rights of ONE person, then you are opening the door to the denial of other freedoms and other people. This poison has already spread. In Tennessee there is another mosque that is being attacked and opposed. Quite simply, we MUST stop this insanity before it destroys us! Before it destroys our country! I personally, as an Agnostic, would not build the mosque in NYC two blocks from Ground Zero. I would build it AT Ground Zero! Along with a synagogue and a church! To spit in the face of those who would try to tear our country down.
I am an American! I am an Agnostic! I stand on the side of Freedom! I stand with the President of the United States! I stand with all of those who support the building of this mosque and of any other religious building in these United States of America! I will not waiver in this belief! I therefore ask all of you: Where will you stand?
Monday, May 3, 2010
Oil in the Gulf and Idiocy in AZ
This oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico I think has far more repercussions than people realize. If it continues to grow in size it will do damage to things that we haven’t even begun to consider. Sure the obvious environmental impacts have been widely discussed, as well as the economic ones, but there are others. For example, what is going to happen to all the barrier islands in the path of the slick once that oil comes in contact with the vegetation that holds them together? How is this going to affect drinking and irrigation water in the area? What about all the towns and cities on the coast that rely on tourism and fishing? I believe that even if the spill is stopped an hour from now, the impact will be far worse than the Exxon Valdese spill in Alaska. Sure the Gulf spill is smaller, for now, but it is going to affect a far larger amount of people than the E.V. spill. This is also a security issue because all that oil that is being dumped into the ocean is oil that is not going to be refined and processed, which in turn means that more will have to be IMPORTED to make up for it. Still think off-shore drilling is a great thing? I admit this doesn’t happen everyday but when it does, especially when it affects civilization, it can get very bad very fast. Imagine for a minute if there was a similar, or worse, incident off the coast of California, or anywhere on the East Coast. You think this is bad, imagine it affecting millions of people directly. We should all take this as a wake up call that we need to get off oil, and we have to get off of it YESTERDAY! The longer we wait to change to a new source of energy and raw materials for hundreds of products, the worse it will be when we are FORCED off of it.
I would also like to add to my points about the Arizona immigration law. I have heard that AZ passed it because they are tired of waiting on Washington and felt they had to act. Well, if you feel Washington forced your hand then look in a mirror because the reason immigration reform can’t get passed is YOU. People want all this improved board security and blah blah blah but they don’t want to accept the LOGICAL parts of it. Any immigration reform MUST have a form of amnesty for the people in this country already. That is the only way you are going to get an ACURATE count of how is “legal” and who is not. Unless of course you support turning this country into a police state, combing the country for them, and in essence burning half of the Constitution in the process. Also I love how if people are found to be in AZ illegally, they aren’t deported. This law would force them into an already under-funded, and over-crowded prison system. Oh, AND by doing so you are giving them food, shelter, funded by the American taxpayer. You don’t want terrorist suspects given the right to a fair trial (which I might add even Nazi war criminals got) but you are demanding they be thrown into American prisons? Explain that to me. Finally what do you propose to ensure we “seal” the borders? If you build a 15’ fence, people will get a 15’ ladder to go over it. They will dig under it, or cut through it. What do you want? A 10’ wide, hundreds of feet high (that includes the distance of digging the foundation to bedrock) reinforced concrete wall with border agents on top spaced every 20’ along the whole length of the US-Mexico border? You refuse to raise taxes to cover budget deficits, how the hell are you going to pay for that?
I would also like to add to my points about the Arizona immigration law. I have heard that AZ passed it because they are tired of waiting on Washington and felt they had to act. Well, if you feel Washington forced your hand then look in a mirror because the reason immigration reform can’t get passed is YOU. People want all this improved board security and blah blah blah but they don’t want to accept the LOGICAL parts of it. Any immigration reform MUST have a form of amnesty for the people in this country already. That is the only way you are going to get an ACURATE count of how is “legal” and who is not. Unless of course you support turning this country into a police state, combing the country for them, and in essence burning half of the Constitution in the process. Also I love how if people are found to be in AZ illegally, they aren’t deported. This law would force them into an already under-funded, and over-crowded prison system. Oh, AND by doing so you are giving them food, shelter, funded by the American taxpayer. You don’t want terrorist suspects given the right to a fair trial (which I might add even Nazi war criminals got) but you are demanding they be thrown into American prisons? Explain that to me. Finally what do you propose to ensure we “seal” the borders? If you build a 15’ fence, people will get a 15’ ladder to go over it. They will dig under it, or cut through it. What do you want? A 10’ wide, hundreds of feet high (that includes the distance of digging the foundation to bedrock) reinforced concrete wall with border agents on top spaced every 20’ along the whole length of the US-Mexico border? You refuse to raise taxes to cover budget deficits, how the hell are you going to pay for that?
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Retards and Racists
***First off let me be clear. I am not a person who cries racism every time something involves people of different nationalities but in this case I believe the charge is warranted.
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20100420/NEWS01/4200313/Arizona-immigration-law-may-impact-Utah
This first bill is asinine because everyone I think can see that this will turn into a legalization of racial profiling. The example given in the story is about routine traffic stops turning into racial profiling situations but to me there is a better example. In a traffic stop, you HAVE to give them your ID, but what happens when it involves infractions that DON’T involve a car. What if a person is jaywalking? If this law passes then a person who jaywalks may be forced to show his or her ID in a situation where ID isn’t really required because the last I checked you don’t need a license to walk. Now tell me, if there is a person of Hispanic descent and a white person who jaywalk at the same time within view of a police officer, which one will the cop cite? He is going to go after the person who looks different, and fit’s the stereotype. Now this may not seem like an issue but guess what people, “illegal aliens” don’t all look alike.
This also raises the issue about using racial profiling at airport security. Not every terrorist, criminal, etc is going to look Middle Eastern. In fact racial profiling makes it EASIER to trick people because you can simply recruit people who DON’T fit the profile.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/national/house-oks-birther-bill-4-19-20101271793528356
This second bill is just as asinine as the first and just as racially charged. To begin with anyone who thinks that a candidate’s citizenship status has not been verified by the time they make it to the General Election is a flat out dumb ass. A candidate’s eligibility is verified WHEN THEY FIRST DECLARE THEY ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE! Not after the primary, not after they take the oath, but BEFORE they even begin his or her campaign. Where was all this concern over this anyway BEFORE Barack Obama declared he was running for president? Was there great concern when Bush or Clinton ran? Of course not because a white person couldn’t POSSIBLY be born in another country.
http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20100420/NEWS01/4200313/Arizona-immigration-law-may-impact-Utah
This first bill is asinine because everyone I think can see that this will turn into a legalization of racial profiling. The example given in the story is about routine traffic stops turning into racial profiling situations but to me there is a better example. In a traffic stop, you HAVE to give them your ID, but what happens when it involves infractions that DON’T involve a car. What if a person is jaywalking? If this law passes then a person who jaywalks may be forced to show his or her ID in a situation where ID isn’t really required because the last I checked you don’t need a license to walk. Now tell me, if there is a person of Hispanic descent and a white person who jaywalk at the same time within view of a police officer, which one will the cop cite? He is going to go after the person who looks different, and fit’s the stereotype. Now this may not seem like an issue but guess what people, “illegal aliens” don’t all look alike.
This also raises the issue about using racial profiling at airport security. Not every terrorist, criminal, etc is going to look Middle Eastern. In fact racial profiling makes it EASIER to trick people because you can simply recruit people who DON’T fit the profile.
http://www.myfoxhouston.com/dpp/news/national/house-oks-birther-bill-4-19-20101271793528356
This second bill is just as asinine as the first and just as racially charged. To begin with anyone who thinks that a candidate’s citizenship status has not been verified by the time they make it to the General Election is a flat out dumb ass. A candidate’s eligibility is verified WHEN THEY FIRST DECLARE THEY ARE RUNNING FOR OFFICE! Not after the primary, not after they take the oath, but BEFORE they even begin his or her campaign. Where was all this concern over this anyway BEFORE Barack Obama declared he was running for president? Was there great concern when Bush or Clinton ran? Of course not because a white person couldn’t POSSIBLY be born in another country.
Friday, April 16, 2010
Really Sen McCain?
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2010/04/14/2269430.aspx
Senator McCain has seriously gone off the deep end. The idea that the US and the US alone can force Iran to do what we want is asinine. Where does he plan to get fresh troops and equipment for such a task? What about the money? Is he going to finally agree taxes need to be increased in order to pay for a war? Does he think we should have made a preemptive attack on Russia during the Cold War? The USSR was far more dangerous and powerful than Iran is today. We are bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting MILITIAS, imagine what we would have to deal with when fighting well supplied and well trained soldiers. The US can’t be the police of the entire world. We can’t afford it both in terms of equipment and personnel, and monetarily.
Iran poses the biggest threat immediately to Israel because of their geographic locations. If anyone should strike first against Iran, it is the Israelis. Why isn’t McCain demanding that THEY be tougher against Iran?
This idea of striking someone before they strike us has got to stop. Isn’t Congress required by the Constitution to declare war on another country before we attack it? Exploring EVERY diplomatic course is not a weak position to take. Besides nothing says you can’t negotiate on one hand while arming up on the other (see Japan and US during WWII).
Lastly, as a former member of the military, McCain should know better. He should know that one of the best ways to show you care about the men and women in uniform is to NEVER demand them to give their lives for their country unless it is the VERY last option.
Senator McCain has seriously gone off the deep end. The idea that the US and the US alone can force Iran to do what we want is asinine. Where does he plan to get fresh troops and equipment for such a task? What about the money? Is he going to finally agree taxes need to be increased in order to pay for a war? Does he think we should have made a preemptive attack on Russia during the Cold War? The USSR was far more dangerous and powerful than Iran is today. We are bogged down in Afghanistan and Iraq fighting MILITIAS, imagine what we would have to deal with when fighting well supplied and well trained soldiers. The US can’t be the police of the entire world. We can’t afford it both in terms of equipment and personnel, and monetarily.
Iran poses the biggest threat immediately to Israel because of their geographic locations. If anyone should strike first against Iran, it is the Israelis. Why isn’t McCain demanding that THEY be tougher against Iran?
This idea of striking someone before they strike us has got to stop. Isn’t Congress required by the Constitution to declare war on another country before we attack it? Exploring EVERY diplomatic course is not a weak position to take. Besides nothing says you can’t negotiate on one hand while arming up on the other (see Japan and US during WWII).
Lastly, as a former member of the military, McCain should know better. He should know that one of the best ways to show you care about the men and women in uniform is to NEVER demand them to give their lives for their country unless it is the VERY last option.
Tuesday, April 6, 2010
Banks, Bombs, and a Bimbo
http://abcnews.go.com/Business/wirestory?id=10288583&page=1
The fact that we are again talking about reforming our financial regulation system shows that we have not learned from our past. Before the Great Depression, we had basically unregulated markets. Speculation ran rampant, regardless of whether people had the money to cover themselves if their speculations turned sour. The resulting crash in 1929 lead to the greatest economic depression this country has ever seen. A little known fact, however, is that there were many other crashes BEFORE 1929, that were caused by similar problems but the drought and resulting farming problems made 1929 worse. On to the late 1990s, when a corporate Democrat named Bill Clinton is residing in the White House. During his last year in office, Clinton oversaw (and signed) a bill (Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999) that in effect pulled the rest of the teeth (some provisions were pulled during the 1980s, thanks to Reagan) out of the Glass-Steagall Act. The GSA was created in 1933 to PREVENT another Great Depression by clamping down on what financial institutions could and could not do, and yet 66 years later people seemed to think it was no longer needed. Well apparently it was needed because less than 10 years after FSMA was passed, we found ourselves in another deep depression, close to that of the 1930s.
So let us do the math. When we had little to no regulations on financial institutions, we had crash after crash, culminating in 1929. After sweeping regulations were passed the nation prospered without fear of another meltdown. That is until we started to deregulate these very same institutions again. Hmm….seems to me regulations are the only way to ensure financial and economic security to me. Dodd’s bill will help the safety and health of the nation’s economy and if the Republicans can’t realize that regulation is needed then I dare them to oppose it. Try running your reelection campaign by touting the fact you voted against re-regulating Wall Street. If regulations “stifle” innovation, then explain how we had a healthy and strong economy for nearly all of the 66 years between 1933 and 1999.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/world/06arms.html?hp
I am very pleased to see the President moving in this direction with respect to nuclear weapons. In this day and age, they are more of a threat to ourselves than they are to our enemies. The time to use nuclear weapons ended with WWII. I have no problem that the US used them on Japan to end the war because EVERYONE knows that the alternative would have been far bloodier and extended the war for many more years. Our enemies today are not countries and stationary armies. They are small, mobile bands who hide in plain sight. Anyone who has seen the power of the bombs in WWII should realize that they should never be used again, especially considering the bombs of today make Hiroshima look like a firecracker. It takes guts and some risk to change the world, and this stance contains both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/05/AR2010040503228.html
Is Karzai an idiot or is he simply playing a joke? Either way he obviously doesn’t full understand his position. If he is going to continue this bull shit, I think that we should call his bluff. If he doesn’t like us saying “hey clean up your act because we are bleeding and dying for your country” then fine. If he thinks he and his country would be better without us then lets leave him and his country. Recall all our troops and stop all of our foreign aid. See how long he can go without crawling back to us, pleading for our money and our weapons. Why the hell should we keep fighting when their government continues to complain? Is Karzai an idiot or is he simply playing a joke? Either way he obviously doesn’t full understand his position. If he is going to continue this bull shit, I think that we should call his bluff. If he doesn’t like us saying “hey clean up your act because we are bleeding and dying for your country” then fine. If he thinks he and his country would be better without us then lets leave him and his country. Recall all our troops and stop all of our foreign aid. See how long he can go without crawling back to us, pleading for our money and our weapons. Why the hell should we keep fighting when their government continues to complain?
The fact that we are again talking about reforming our financial regulation system shows that we have not learned from our past. Before the Great Depression, we had basically unregulated markets. Speculation ran rampant, regardless of whether people had the money to cover themselves if their speculations turned sour. The resulting crash in 1929 lead to the greatest economic depression this country has ever seen. A little known fact, however, is that there were many other crashes BEFORE 1929, that were caused by similar problems but the drought and resulting farming problems made 1929 worse. On to the late 1990s, when a corporate Democrat named Bill Clinton is residing in the White House. During his last year in office, Clinton oversaw (and signed) a bill (Financial Services Modernization Act of 1999) that in effect pulled the rest of the teeth (some provisions were pulled during the 1980s, thanks to Reagan) out of the Glass-Steagall Act. The GSA was created in 1933 to PREVENT another Great Depression by clamping down on what financial institutions could and could not do, and yet 66 years later people seemed to think it was no longer needed. Well apparently it was needed because less than 10 years after FSMA was passed, we found ourselves in another deep depression, close to that of the 1930s.
So let us do the math. When we had little to no regulations on financial institutions, we had crash after crash, culminating in 1929. After sweeping regulations were passed the nation prospered without fear of another meltdown. That is until we started to deregulate these very same institutions again. Hmm….seems to me regulations are the only way to ensure financial and economic security to me. Dodd’s bill will help the safety and health of the nation’s economy and if the Republicans can’t realize that regulation is needed then I dare them to oppose it. Try running your reelection campaign by touting the fact you voted against re-regulating Wall Street. If regulations “stifle” innovation, then explain how we had a healthy and strong economy for nearly all of the 66 years between 1933 and 1999.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/06/world/06arms.html?hp
I am very pleased to see the President moving in this direction with respect to nuclear weapons. In this day and age, they are more of a threat to ourselves than they are to our enemies. The time to use nuclear weapons ended with WWII. I have no problem that the US used them on Japan to end the war because EVERYONE knows that the alternative would have been far bloodier and extended the war for many more years. Our enemies today are not countries and stationary armies. They are small, mobile bands who hide in plain sight. Anyone who has seen the power of the bombs in WWII should realize that they should never be used again, especially considering the bombs of today make Hiroshima look like a firecracker. It takes guts and some risk to change the world, and this stance contains both.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/04/05/AR2010040503228.html
Is Karzai an idiot or is he simply playing a joke? Either way he obviously doesn’t full understand his position. If he is going to continue this bull shit, I think that we should call his bluff. If he doesn’t like us saying “hey clean up your act because we are bleeding and dying for your country” then fine. If he thinks he and his country would be better without us then lets leave him and his country. Recall all our troops and stop all of our foreign aid. See how long he can go without crawling back to us, pleading for our money and our weapons. Why the hell should we keep fighting when their government continues to complain? Is Karzai an idiot or is he simply playing a joke? Either way he obviously doesn’t full understand his position. If he is going to continue this bull shit, I think that we should call his bluff. If he doesn’t like us saying “hey clean up your act because we are bleeding and dying for your country” then fine. If he thinks he and his country would be better without us then lets leave him and his country. Recall all our troops and stop all of our foreign aid. See how long he can go without crawling back to us, pleading for our money and our weapons. Why the hell should we keep fighting when their government continues to complain?
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