I Shall Live Blog

[scram 1]

It would have been better for the world to say - "We'll give you a mulligan on Kuwait, Mr. Hussein. Just don't do it again."

I guess Neville Chamberlain left some offspring in Canada.

[blueodum 0]

Ha ha,No, but a few cruise missiles from time to time should have served as enough of a reminder for Saddam.

[scram 1]

As long as they were cruise missiles through the bedroom window of his sleeping quarters- yeh. That might've done the trick.

[El Guapo 8]

First off wow did this thread get hijacked.Second I just read throught a couple pages of posts and man are All In and Bluedom crossing some lines that would not have been crossed if they had been standing in front of the people they were talking to or especially about.I am going to come out and say I agree with the war in Iraq. Husseinhad violated UN sanctions since 1993,and had been worse in recent years and needed to be dealt with. As far as the oil goes, if we need to go to war so I do not have to pay $7 a gallon, then great becasue as Baloon Guy previously stated, not only will increase in oil cost us more at the pump but in pretty much everything we buy because it has to be shipped and transported.I have never been in the military but my Dad was (vietnam), both of my Grandfathers were in WWII and numerous freinds have and still are in. I respect them all and hold them in the highest regard for what they do. I was working out at the gym with a friend of mine who is very conservative saw a 101st airborne and shook his hand and thanked him for all he has done for us. After that he told me that he almost enlisted after 9/11 as an officer. He is in his 30's, independently wealthy and said if there is another major US attack he is enlisting.On a final note: Baloon Guy who do you think Fred Thompson or Rudy?

[DoinSublime 0]

All in, just stfu already.Zeatrix... (shakes head)Bless our troops BG. As far as America as a whole goes, basically, when something goes wrong, America is the first on the scene to try and help. But if something goes wrong and there is blame to be thrown around, America is the first to receive it. And Night was required reading when I was in 9th grade.

[Janfor99 0]

And Night was required reading when I was in 9th grade.

When I was in 9th grade we were 'required' to watch a documentary film on the Holocaust, but alot of kids got out of watching it. We were not required to read Night. This was some 24 years ago...yikes.... maybe times have changed.

[Muck, You Suckers! 0]

The point that troops have contempt for the civillian population is no surprise. Insurgents operate through the support of the civillian population. IEDs are built and placed and detonated by civillians. Civillian homes are where all the weapons caches are found. The civillians of Iraq could stop the insurgency tomorrow if they chose to. You always have some idiot pointing their finger at the U.S. and telling us how violent we are and how our soldiers don't respect the civillian population. If we were truly violent and disrespectful we'd be the ones planting IEDs along the roads, and we'd be the ones setting off bombs in crowded markets. U.S. troops have been trying to help those 3rd world, nasty, inbred, uneducated, hypocritical, cowardly, woman beating, warmongering, scumbags since the day they went in. The troops spend most of their time trying to protect the food and supply convoys and warehouses. You know, it's all that food and medical stuff that our evil country has been sending over there to help those idiots. Then we have troops on patrol trying to keep the Sunni and Shiite from killing each other. They drive past a Mosque (a supposedly religious structure that is used primarily as a safe haven for war mongering clerics and terrorists) and the loud speaker at the Mosque crackles and squeals a bit and through it comes the words "Jihad Jihad Jihad". All of a sudden our troops are under attack by those same civillians they are trying to protect and help. The fact that every Mosque in Iraq hasn't been leveled and every war mongering cleric hasn't been dragged out in the street and shot, shows that our troops have been doing the job they are being ordered to do with remarkable restraint and respect. Am sure they would tell you that you can take your "Where's The Love Man?" speech and stick it up your @$$.

[Balloon guy 158]

On a final note: Baloon Guy who do you think Fred Thompson or Rudy?

Fred Thompson has a really good spot to be in. He's well known, and not hated.That's about 2 times better than any other Republican candidate.But hold out, Jeb may throw his hat in the ring Rudy...he did do a good job in cleaning up NY, cut taxes etc. but his liberal stances that allowed him to get elected in a liberal state like NY, almost exclude him from any chance to get elected to president. Truth..Rudy, Romney, Thompson, all could be good presidents. And don't tell anyone, but Richardson and Obama would be a decent alternative ( with republican senate/congress.But I'm still holding out hope for a Bush 3fer...Go Jeb Go

[akoff 0]

That's about 2 times better than any other Republican candidate.But hold out, Jeb may throw his hat in the ring LOLRudy...he did do a good job in cleaning up NY, cut taxes etc. but his liberal stances that allowed him to get elected in a liberal state like NY, almost exclude him from any chance to get elected to president. correctTruth..Rudy, Romney, Thompson, all could be good presidents. And don't tell anyone, but Richardson and Obama would be a decent alternative ( with republican senate/congress.lost me thereBut I'm still holding out hope for a Bush 3fer...Go Jeb GoLOL...i'm still holding out for neut!!

[All_In 0]

What a pathetic dodge...You start off making gestures to insult servicemen and women, but then when you're called on it, you spin it around to say "WELL, YOU AREN'T DOING ENOUGH FOR THEM!"Typical leftist dialog 101.Say something stupid, offensive and wrong, then when you're called down about it, furiously rationalize and distract from it. Make it someone else's problem. Insult servicemen, but then talk about how servicemen aren't receiving adequate social support.Debating a leftist is totally pointless. They stand for very little, yet when when they're forced to support their beliefs with some sort of prevailing philosophy, they immediately default to blame mode and start running the dialog in circles, so as to prevent it from progressing towards that oh-so-painful truth. You people are so pathetic, there just aren't words to express it; the quintessential confluence of indignity and stupidity. The world benefits none by the presence of you and your ilk.

i can't have an opinion on more than one subject?

[All_In 0]

All In....seriously...wtf? Let me ask you something...Have you ever served for your Country, whether in war time or peace time? Ever felt it in your heart an inherent need to sacrifice several years of your own life, to put all your personal goals and dreams on hold to serve (and possibly protect) your country and way of life? To serve, as a way to pay back a little the fact that you live in such a great place with so much opportunity and feel so fortunate and so lucky that you'd have no problem putting your own life on the line if need be to keep your way of life and protect all of those you love?For the record I'll tell you that I proudly served my 4 years. Not that anyone needs (or cares) to hear it, but my time started on the tail end of the Iran Hostage crisis and my base was front and center for airlift and transport operations being planned that would have put me in over there and eventually would have ended that situation. Thank God it wasn't necessary and I was spared that risk. But then came Grenada and the Soviet build up there. (btw, don't let anyone fool you...I was sent down there, and the last thing that mission was about was to rescue college students). I have also been involved in a few other South American deployments (no need to discuss details) and once again things went well and we all came back safe. I tell you this only because it is important that you believe that I know what I am talking about and that my feelings about all this is genuine. I have to a certain degree already walked this walk. And (thank God) I have not been involved in anything near what the current men and women of the US armed forces are going through, but they have my undying support and utmost respect. Right or Wrong, those folks are over there risking everything. But I don't expect you to be able to feel what I feel, or what it must be like to respect other people who serve, because it is my contention that you have never done anything for your country but sit back and suck on it's hind tit, giving nothing back in return.As I've said before, no one likes this war. ALL wish and hope it will end soon. But you are walking a very thin line here mocking and disrespecting the men and women that are literally in the firing line.So I ask again, have you ever done something as selfless as serve your country? I don't hold things against many people, and really try hard to keep an open mind and get along with everybody. But you have definitely crossed a personal line with me by disrespecting the men and women of our armed forces. Shame on you dude.

never enlisted in the army.and as u pointed out, grenada was a political issue. cuba was VERY involved. i think u were referring to grenada.how exactly is the iraq invasion and occupation protecting your country?ok, i shouldn't dump on all soldiers. they feel they are doing a great service. it's just in this day and age, when so much info is available to prove that the military is just a strong arm for big business, why would anyone risk their lives for the monetary profit of others? what war was conducted for purely noble reasons?

[All_In 0]

Even the countries that aren’t taking part in it are aware of the fact the area needs to be stabilizedWell, Iraq was pretty stable under Saddam. They were producing a ****-load of oil for the world until UN sanctions kicked in after the 1st gulf war.

a relative who was very involved in the aftermath of the gulf war (militarily) mentioned something very interesting when i asked why the US didn't take saddam out(i was young and naive then, thought the US was being altruistic in that war).he said because no one knows who/what will replace him. saddam was known, afterall, he was a US ally just before the war. but whatever replaces him could be 10x worse.yet the idiot prez invades iraq because saudis based in afganistan attack the US.

[All_In 0]

First off wow did this thread get hijacked.Second I just read throught a couple pages of posts and man are All In and Bluedom crossing some lines that would not have been crossed if they had been standing in front of the people they were talking to or especially about.I am going to come out and say I agree with the war in Iraq.

so i guess freedom of speech unless it's something u don't agree with, right? there are no lines to cross in a free society, speech-wise (ok, to some extent, but what i have been saying doesn't cross any lines, i.e. murder threats).and saying u support the iraq invasion and occupation, when all the evidence that has come out proves it was a mistake, just shows your stubborness.

[scram 1]

it's just in this day and age, when so much info is available to prove that the military is just a strong arm for big business

Good. Prove that.

what war was conducted for purely noble reasons?

Want me to continue? History's full of 'em. Delusional leftist ******.The real irony is how much Canada benefits from US presence. Your country would crumble if it were marched on by any given African nation. Your can spend essentially nothing on military expenditures since we do it all for you. I wish there were a way to magically transport Canada into Eastern Europe. Things would be awfully different.

[nutzbuster 7]

never enlisted in the army.and as u pointed out, grenada was a political issue. cuba was VERY involved. i think u were referring to grenada.how exactly is the iraq invasion and occupation protecting your country?ok, i shouldn't dump on all soldiers. they feel they are doing a great service. it's just in this day and age, when so much info is available to prove that the military is just a strong arm for big business, why would anyone risk their lives for the monetary profit of others? what war was conducted for purely noble reasons?

I'll accept that as an apology of sorts. think about it man, these are people like you and I bro, someones brother, or sister, uncle, dad, mom...all they want is to do a good job and come home to TIVO, and FCP and whether or not to go see Spider Man or Lucky You, or to go eat at Taco Bell and then go get a figgin ice cream cone. But instead, for now, they are eating dirt, sweating away 15 pounds, scared to death, watching their friends get hurt or blown to bits. The debate about this is fine. Free speech IS the MOST IMPORTANT right of this country.Hate and debate the war all you want man, all I ask is that you respect the folks that have to fight it please.

[checkymcfold 0]

Debating a leftist is totally pointless. They stand for very little, yet when when they're forced to support their beliefs with some sort of prevailing philosophy, they immediately default to blame mode and start running the dialog in circles, so as to prevent it from progressing towards that oh-so-painful truth. You people are so pathetic, there just aren't words to express it; the quintessential confluence of indignity and stupidity. The world benefits none by the presence of you and your ilk.

no. i'm what you'd probably call a "leftist," but i don't do anything you describe "my people" (to whom, oddly enough, i actually hold no allegiances) as doing. riddle that one out, you simplistic and antagonistic twit.

[FCP Bob 1,312]

The real irony is how much Canada benefits from US presence. Your country would crumble if it were marched on by any given African nation. Your can spend essentially nothing on military expenditures since we do it all for you. I wish there were a way to magically transport Canada into Eastern Europe. Things would be awfully different.

You may want to tone down the hyperbole about Canada's military a bit although your basic point about Canada's location next to the US having allowed Canada to not require a large military other then times of war such as WW I and WW II is a valid one. Canada's largest historic military threat of course came from the US but that hasn't been an issue for a very very long time.54 Canadian military personnel have been killed in Afghanistan which is the second most of the coalition after the United States.http://www.icasualties.org/oef/That's it for me as I hate political debates online as they just turn into what this is turning into.I'm right, you're wrong and because I'm right and you're wrong you're a brain dead moron. No I'm right and you're wrong and you have to be a brainwashed ( insert label here ) to not see that.

[akoff 0]

well said. you do the 51st state, whoops i mean Canada proud

[DoinSublime 0]

When I was in 9th grade we were 'required' to watch a documentary film on the Holocaust, but alot of kids got out of watching it. We were not required to read Night. This was some 24 years ago...yikes.... maybe times have changed.

This was 11 years ago. We watched the documentaries in 10th grade..

[LongLiveYorke 38]

Want me to continue? History's full of 'em.

I'm not sure what it means to have a war fought out of nobility. So many wars have been fought for so many different reasons, and it's really impossible to assign general labels to wars without considering the specifics of any given war. Is it noble to defend your homeland from an invasion? Is it noble to treat your enemies, even in wartime, well? Is it noble to fight against people you consider "evil" even if it means invading? The definition of the term is extremely vague (or better, it is always subjective).

[scram 1]

well said. you do the 51st state, whoops i mean Canada proud

The whole "Canada as a US State" thing isn't entirely impossible. At least, parts of it.The secession of Quebec could trigger economic circumstances within Canada that might cause everything west of Ontario to petition for US statehood. Outline this to any Canadian and of course, they'll patriotically deny it no different than if someone told an American that Texas is going back to Mexico we'd say BS.The difference is, the Canadian statehood thing is an entirely possible (albeit unlikely) circumstance. Man, I so hope it happens... I'd totally accept a few more pansies in exchange for for British Columbia.

[scram 1]

I'm not sure what it means to have a war fought out of nobility. So many wars have been fought for so many different reasons, and it's really impossible to assign general labels to wars without considering the specifics of any given war. Is it noble to defend your homeland from an invasion? Is it noble to treat your enemies, even in wartime, well? Is it noble to fight against people you consider "evil" even if it means invading? The definition of the term is extremely vague (or better, it is always subjective).

You are 100% spot-on-the-money.I was simply pointing out wars that had a valid root cause as based on a fairly universal concept of morality. I seriously doubt that anyone can object to the US marching against Hitler, or the US defending itself in Afghanistan after 9/11 (or Pearl Harbor). Wars like the divisions in Yugoslavia are far, far trickier to address and don't really have a clear-cut answer, but some wars do. The whole "war out of nobility" is an entirely fruitless label, but I think we all basically "get what he was trying to say" without being too hyper-literal about it.

[LongLiveYorke 38]

I seriously doubt that anyone can object to the US marching against Hitler, or the US defending itself in Afghanistan after 9/11 (or Pearl Harbor).

I would have to guess that World War II is as close as we are going to get to a "noble" war, in that it was a war of defense and liberation against an objectively evil group. We're rarely so "lucky" to be involved in wars like that.

[Balloon guy 158]

I'm right, you're wrong and because I'm right and you're wrong you're a brain dead moron. No I'm right and you're wrong and you have to be a brainwashed ( insert label here ) to not see that.

That's what I've been saying for years...Canada has been one of our best allies, until this last one, they often times have been in the fight before us too.I CanadaAll-loser-in is a bad representation of what a Canadian is.

[El Guapo 8]

BG were u serious about Jeb? Couldn't tell if that was sarcastic or not. As far as presidnetial canidate I beleive that the Rep primary is a race between THompson and Guiliani.But I almos think it would be better for Rudy to win because a lot of liberals would be OK voting for him, but Fred Tompson does have all the movies and Law and Order rec, and he has experience. I think the Lymphoma oculd be an issue. Obama does not offend me, I do not think he is hyper liberal, but I agree we would need a rep congress to counterbalaence. How do we vote in people like Pelosi here in CA? I just do not get it.I honestly beleive that the Democrats do not have a chance, I do not think the majority of the voting public of the united states which are over 40, are ready to vote for a Woman or a Black Man yet, and those are their two main candidates, assuming Gore goes Green (not sure if he already did)