This makes me think of something as I listened to one of Kerry’s speeches today. He claims that becuase the Bush administration hasn’t come out against the “Swiftboat Veterans” ad, that that means the group is doing the Republicans dirty work for them.
But wait….has Kerry come out and spoke out against Fahrenheit 9/11? Hmmm, I doubt it…
So, given the fact that we seem to be stretching ourselves thin in Iraq, do you feel that we should increase the size of the US military? More combat divisions maybe? Or perhaps you feel that we’d be better served by shifting our foreign policy so that we are not overextending ourselves in conflicts where we don’t belong. (The US military currently has forces deployed in 120 countries.)
Also, a second question. Do you think that the US military’s long-held strategy of being able to “wage two full-scale wars simultaneously” is still plausible at this time?
@Deviant:Scripter:
Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but the drug trade into this country takes a backseat to many other things. To prove this you need look no further than Afganhistan…where local warlords are being paid off, and the US military explicity allows the opium trade to flourish.
Is opium illegal in Afganistan? If it is not then the US should not try to stop it. US laws do not apply to non-US citizens living in a foreign country.
North Korea has deemed chemical/biological/nuclear weapons legitimate, and classified them as conventional tactics. Do we not try to stop this?
You’re wrong. It’s better to take the fight overseas rather than let it reach our homeland, regardless of the price we have to pay. This holds true for the war on terrorism as well. :-? Better to fight them over there, than over here…
I can understand what you’re trying to say, but unfortunately the world does not work in that pipedream. The reality exists that countries do what they have to do, in order to ensure the safety of their country. But I do agree with you on one important point…the fact that US laws do not apply to non-US citizens…
There’s no solid evidence to prove that oil will run out anytime soon. I just think it’s premature to expect that we can switch our entire infastructure over to technologies that have yet to be proven.
@cystic:
@221B:
IMHO, the big question is whether or not the gas prices are a real problem. I recently read an article in the paper which said that adjusted for inflation, gas prices in the early 80’s cost $2.50 to $3.00 a gallon which makes me question whether or not this is a really significant cost increase. Of course this was not too long after the OPEC embargos of the 70’s and the Iran hostage crisis.
I do think it would be great to wean ourselves off petroleum for many reasons (reliance on OPEC, greenhouse warming, etc.) however there is no easy way to do this. The current infrastructure of most western nations makes it impossible to go back to a pre-automotive transportation system and there really are big limitations that prevent widespread adoption of mass transportation from ever having a huge impact here. I think the solution will have to come from new technologies, but it won’t be the hydrogen car because there is no way to get the hydrogen without using large amounts of energy (which comes from ???).
What I think will have to happen is to go with alternative sources for electricity (wind power and nuclear are the only feasible possibilities today) and perhaps the use of biomass technologies (conversion of agricultural by-products) to create synthetic oil where it is needed.
a car with a diesel engine may be refitted to run on Canola oil . . . :D
Okay, but that doesn’t really help relieve ourselves of the real beneficial use for oil in this country, and that’s our economy. Without oil, how do you plan on transporting goods via truck, ship, or airplane? Can 747’s be refitted to run on Canola oil? How about a cargo ship?
I see the value in getting ourselves off of mideast oil dependence, but I don’t think it’s plausible to assume that we can do so and still maintain the status of economic powerhouse that we are. :-?
Here’s an idea…we drill our own oil. Alaska. 'Nuff said.
@F_alk:
… Also, why punish an addict? It is a waste of time. Just get rid of the dealers. Problem solved.
lol. Just two words why it won’t work:
supply - demand.
you keep the demand existing, and cut the supply, hoping that noone will ever come to the idea that drug pushing with higher risk is an incentive for higher prices. True, the demand for high priced drugs will drop, but not to zero.
Well, I hate to break it to everyone, but the drug trade into this country takes a backseat to many other things. To prove this you need look no further than Afganhistan…where local warlords are being paid off, and the US military explicity allows the opium trade to flourish.
@stuka:
I am not gay.
I have gay friends.
If they wish to marry eachother. Fine.
Would it worsen my life in any way? No
Would it lower gas prices? No
Would it stop the war? No
Will God punish this? Who knows? Maybe. Then again maybe he’ll punish people who are too fat. :-?
If you’re not gay. Don’t marry your same sex.
If you are gay. Marry your same sex.
IMO this has nothing to do with religion and everything to do with prejudice. As for the God factor, we will all answer for something :wink:
Will it take away from the seriousness and respect that comes with the historical tradition of marriage? Absolutely.
I’ll be voting. Proud of it too. :P
Dean might have the nomination, but I don’t think he’ll unseat dubya. If you’ve listened to what he says, not only recently, but go way back…sometimes it’s unsettling some of the views he’s expressed. That’s not to say that Bush hasn’t made similar remarks, but I don’t think that Dean will be able to carry enough votes to beat an incumbent President. However, that’s just my two-cents, and as usual I could be wrong. :wink:
ok, im pissed now. i finished typing my first post on “God?”, and it was REALLY long. apparently i took to long to finish typing, because when i submit it, it said Invalid Session, and erased everything i had typed. so i wont be retyping it for a little while while i calm down.
It’s okay Janus, I’d probably agree with your post anyways. :wink: