So, being an idealist and secular is a bad thing? How?
In a non-secular government, a failure to observe a particular religious precept is a crime against the state. Would you prefer that were also true for America and the western democracies?
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 4065 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Originally posted by AnRyan: A military force will never "defeat" terrorism in traditional military fashion.
Ther are similarities between terrorism and guerrilla warfare. They are dirt cheap to finance. The cannon fodder used by terrorists and guerrillas are young people (even children). These naive, innocent members of society are swayed by religious, political and patriotic propapanda. They are ignorant blank slates that can be easility convinced that their death is a reward. They are impossible to defeat.
The yearly budget for al queda is probably less that one day's supply of beer for the western military.
Think of the money and resources caught up in this. Think of the pitiful return on investment. Almost as pitiful as the return on investment on the war on drugs. The only winners are government military budgets and private military industries.
QM Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.
Posts: 8033 | Location: Cigar land | Registered: March 10, 2003
Being an idealist in world full of people like this ... Can be a very dangerous thing.
Really? How so?
And what about the 'secular' being a bad thing aspect of my question to you. Would you prefer our government were non-secular? Like Iran?
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 4065 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
Originally posted by QM: The yearly budget for al queda is probably less that one day's supply of beer for the western military. .
This isn't really the case.
"The 9/ 11 attacks cost somewhere between $400,000 and $500,000 to execute. The operatives spent more than $270,000 in the United States. Additional expenses included travel to obtain passports and visas, travel to the United States, expenses incurred by the plot leader and facilitators outside the United States, and expenses incurred by the people selected to be hijackers who ulti-mately did not participate."
"The conspiracy made extensive use of banks in the United States. The hijackers opened accounts in their own names, using passports and other iden-tification documents. Their transactions were unremarkable and essentially invisible amid the billions of dollars flowing around the world every day. To date, we have not been able to determine the origin of the money used for the 9/ 11 attacks. Al Qaeda had many sources of funding and a pre-9/ 11 annual budget estimated at $30 million. If a particular source of funds had dried up, al Qaeda could easily have found enough money elsewhere to fund the attack."
Posts: 2283 | Location: WI | Registered: November 16, 2007
Originally posted by QM: Think of the money and resources caught up in this. Think of the pitiful return on investment. Almost as pitiful as the return on investment on the war on drugs. The only winners are government military budgets and private military industries.
Are you saying it is not worth our resources to pursue terrorists?
Posts: 2283 | Location: WI | Registered: November 16, 2007
Being an idealist in world full of people like this ... Can be a very dangerous thing.
Really? How so?
And what about the 'secular' being a bad thing aspect of my question to you. Would you prefer our government were non-secular? Like Iran?
Who said anything about the government? I was speaking about secularism in general.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Who said anything about the government? I was speaking about secularism in general.
Okay. What about secularism in general? You apparently think it's not a good thing, based on the comment in your earlier post about liberals being idealistic and secular.
And you haven't told me about idealism being dangerous in a world with people like Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
(By the way, wasn't it you who told me he was just a figurehead with no real power, doing only what Khamenei allows him to do? I think it was.)
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 4065 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
Who said anything about the government? I was speaking about secularism in general.
Okay. What about secularism in general? You apparently think it's not a good thing, based on the comment in your earlier post about liberals being idealistic and secular.
Jack, I'm tired of trying to explain myself to you. Particularly because you refuse still, to explain yourself. You stated that you did not believe Obama knew his pastor was a bigot who used such inflammatory language. You stated you'd be "shocked and disappointed" if he were lying. Well, he lied, yet you still have not held him accountable and admitted your "shock and disappointment". When you decide to be a stand-up guy and do so, then I will feel obligated to answer your questions. BTW-Though Obama has resigned from the church, he still refuses to disavow it as part of who he is. Seems like all liberals have something in common, failure to admit being wrong.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Originally posted by KKL:Are you saying it is not worth our resources to pursue terrorists?
No. I'm not saying that.
When I have a few black flies or mosquitoes bugging me. I'll swat them. But if I have a hundred I'll stop swatting and use insect reppellent. If those insects are contaminating a village and spreading malaria, sleeping sickness etc. I''ll spray down the whole swamp, maybe even drain it and set fire to it. This might be cheaper and more effective in the long run. However if I do that I may affect good insects and the good animals and plants that live in the swamp. Hmmmmmmmmmm. What to do?
QM Quality does not occur by chance. It is the result of intelligent activities.
Posts: 8033 | Location: Cigar land | Registered: March 10, 2003
Originally posted by KKL:Are you saying it is not worth our resources to pursue terrorists?
No. I'm not saying that.
When I have a few black flies or mosquitoes bugging me. I'll swat them. But if I have a hundred I'll stop swatting and use insect reppellent. If those insects are contaminating a village and spreading malaria, sleeping sickness etc. I''ll spray down the whole swamp, maybe even drain it and set fire to it. This might be cheaper and more effective in the long run. However if I do that I may affect good insects and the good animals and plants that live in the swamp. Hmmmmmmmmmm. What to do?
Would "spraying down the whole swamp" constitute a nuclear attack?
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Jack, I'm tired of trying to explain myself to you.
LOL. And no wonder. You do it so poorly (when you do it at all). It's an exhausting struggle for you.
Shifting the issue to my support for Sen. Obama isn't working too well for you, skippy.
'Question authority. Think for yourself. Filter out the spin. Engage elected officials critically. Make them defend what they're doing in your name. Derive the truth. Speak truth to power.'
Posts: 4065 | Location: Boston | Registered: April 16, 2005
Jack, I'm tired of trying to explain myself to you.
And no wonder. You do it so poorly (when you do it at all). It's an exhausting struggle for you.
Shifting the issue to my support for Sen. Obama isn't working too well for you, skippy.
Jack, you're a tired old liberal with no fire to explain your man or his positions. Keep dodging.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Keep those posts coming! They are hysterical. Every day I read your replies to Jack and get such a good laugh out of them. You sound like a little kid with no explanations or thought or reason behind your posts. Just ranting your Neocon Talking points which are useless and meaningless. I love it! The fact that you really believe what you write is scary though. Especially knowing there are others like you that also vote. The good thing is that you are in the very small minority.
quote:
Originally posted by Presley:
quote:
Originally posted by Jack White:
quote:
Who said anything about the government? I was speaking about secularism in general.
Okay. What about secularism in general? You apparently think it's not a good thing, based on the comment in your earlier post about liberals being idealistic and secular.
Jack, I'm tired of trying to explain myself to you. Particularly because you refuse still, to explain yourself. You stated that you did not believe Obama knew his pastor was a bigot who used such inflammatory language. You stated you'd be "shocked and disappointed" if he were lying. Well, he lied, yet you still have not held him accountable and admitted your "shock and disappointment". When you decide to be a stand-up guy and do so, then I will feel obligated to answer your questions. BTW-Though Obama has resigned from the church, he still refuses to disavow it as part of who he is. Seems like all liberals have something in common, failure to admit being wrong.
Keep those posts coming! They are hysterical. Every day I read your replies to Jack and get such a good laugh out of them. You sound like a little kid with no explanations or thought or reason behind your posts. Just ranting your Neocon Talking points which are useless and meaningless. I love it! The fact that you really believe what you write is scary though. Especially knowing there are others like you that also vote. The good thing is that you are in the very small minority.
Wow, such an elaborate response. It must have taken you all day to come up with that.
"Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free." Ronald Reagan
Keep those posts coming! They are hysterical. Every day I read your replies to Jack and get such a good laugh out of them. You sound like a little kid with no explanations or thought or reason behind your posts. Just ranting your Neocon Talking points which are useless and meaningless. I love it! The fact that you really believe what you write is scary though. Especially knowing there are oth
