US politics circa 2011

[I B Hankering]

Originally Posted by WTF

Even Japan did not invade.

During WWII, the Japanese attacked and occupied the following U.S. possessions/protectorates/territories:
the Philippines: infamously Corregidor and Bataan
Guam
Wake
the Aleutians (Alaska)

Japan did manage to successfully attack—with hostile fire—the following U.S. possessions/territories/states:
Hawaii, Midway, Washington (state), Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan and Iowa.

Originally Posted by WTF

They only wanted oil, or access to oil.

And that's justification for the Japanese killing 23 million Chinese and 30 million other Asians?

Originally Posted by WTF

We would nuke them into oblivion.

I doubt it. It’s a deterrent to formal, organized states, but it will not deter non-state entities like al Qaeda.

Originally Posted by WTF

You sound like some blackmailer. ''Give me money or your citizen will die!''

Does a blackmailer sound like this:

“It is far better for anyone to kill a single American soldier than to squander his efforts on other activities.” bin Laden

“To kill the Americans and their allies -- civilians and military -- is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque [Jerusalem] and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.” bin Laden

“We're preparing attacks inside the United States” bin Laden.

Originally Posted by WTF

What scary is that there are a shit pile of you that actually believe this crap.

It’s happened before, it will happen again. "History may not repeat itself, but it does rhyme a lot."—Mark Twain'

Originally Posted by WTF

I won't ever ask you that question again, I thought I might get a thought out response, not some made for TV Alamo dialogue.

Sorry, I’m not omniscient. It’s the best I could do.

[charlestudor2005]

[Nuking.] It’s a deterrent to formal, organized states, but it will not deter non-state entities like al Qaeda.

How is it that we consider an attack from a non-state entity such as al Qaeda a sufficient rationale to declare war against foreign countries?

Just asking.

[discreetgent]

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

Japan did manage to successfully attack—with hostile fire—the following U.S. possessions/territories/states:
Washington (state), Oregon, California, Arizona, Idaho, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Colorado, Texas, Kansas, Nebraska, South Dakota, North Dakota, Michigan and Iowa.

Do you mean the Balloon Bombs? Only a very few ever went off.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

And that's justification for the Japanese killing 23 million Chinese and 30 million other Asians?




.

Well it was for them...just as it is for any country that needs resources. Why do you think countries go to war if not for resources? What do you think we went into Iraq for.? Their camels? Why do you think we damn near wiped at the Indians? For sport? We wanted their shit and were willing to do whatever it took to take it. Damn what history you been reading? Venture into reality and get out of this idealistic world.

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

Sorry, I’m not omniscient. It’s the best I could do.

No you are not, but what you really are is an apologist for an unlimited Defense Budget.

That plays exactly into OBL hands. You and people that think like you are more valuable to OBL than his own army is. You are willing to bankrupt this country because of some sheep hearder....they have no more ability to invade and defeat this country than a cow jumping over the moon. What they can do is scare folks like you into spending this country to ruin.

Originally Posted by discreetgent

Do you mean the Balloon Bombs? Only a very few ever went off.

Yea according to IB's history class that damn near had us surrendering!


Never again shall balloons or birdcaca threaten this country accordin to Cheney and I B's doctrine.

[TexTushHog]

I get back from lounging around Europe for three weeks spending a bit of my entirely unjustified Bush tax cut from the last year (that was supposed to lead to me creating "more jobs" in my business, somehow, the lying sacks of shit Republicans) and it's like I never even left. It's the very same argument that was going on the day I left!!!

[I B Hankering]

Originally Posted by charlestudor2005

How is it that we consider an attack from a non-state entity such as al Qaeda a sufficient rationale to declare war against foreign countries?

Just asking.

You know this. Afghanistan was/is a “state” in name only. In fact, it has historically been an ungovernable region wherein warlords and tribal factionalism prevails. After 9/11, it became obvious that the government—the Taliban—could not or would not expel the terrorists—al Queda—from it’s borders. Hence, the U.S. government stepped in and attempted to eliminate al Qaeda as a threat to the U.S. This is not without historical precedent; kind of a “history does rhyme scenario” like I was referring to earlier.

Afghanistan in 2001 was not unlike the Barbary region of North Africa in the early 19th century. Ostensibly, this Barbary region was governed by the Ottoman Empire, but, like the Taliban, the Ottoman’s would not or could not insure and preserve peace. In the absence of a state government that would deal with the pirates, the U.S. government presumed to take on that responsibility for itself in order to “provide for the common defense and general welfare” of its citizens. So first Jefferson, and then Madison, like Bush II would do later, sent in American forces—with authorization from Congress—to deal with the threat.

[I B Hankering]

Originally Posted by WTF

Never again shall balloons or birdcaca threaten this country accordin to Cheney and I B's doctrine.

You've misquoted me again. I said it will happen. All we can do is parry off as many blows as we can, minimize the impact and then hopefully eliminate the perpetrators.

[I B Hankering]

Originally Posted by discreetgent

Do you mean the Balloon Bombs? Only a very few ever went off.

The attacks on Hawaii, Alaska and Wake were not balloon bombs. Likewise, California and Oregon were bombed and/or shelled. Some 1,000 balloon bombs reached the U.S. starting forest fires and causing 7 deaths (6 civilians) and left another 22 injured (Army fire fighters).

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

I get back from lounging around Europe for three weeks spending a bit of my entirely unjustified Bush tax cut from the last year (that was supposed to lead to me creating "more jobs" in my business, somehow, the lying sacks of shit Republicans) and it's like I never even left. It's the very same argument that was going on the day I left!!!

We wanted to put an exclusion in that tax bill for trial lawyers, but Obama wouldn't buy it. Afterall, we all know that lawyers don't produce squat but hot air.

[Guest040616]

Originally Posted by pjorourke

Afterall, we all know that lawyers don't produce squat but hot air.

I didn't realize that PJ was a lawyer!

[TexTushHog]

Not much hot air in Tuscany, Paris, or Burgundy, I fear, PJ. A rather chill three weeks, if I do say so myself.

But it's always glad to see that you Republicans want to keep me rolling in dough so I can continue to spread my largess around my favorite European vacation spots. A shame you want the working man and future generations to pay for it, though. But, c'est la vie!! I guess if the blue collar voters keep electing you fools, I'm obligated to hold my end up and keep spending my share of the windfall.

[pjorourke]

Originally Posted by TexTushHog

Not much hot air in Tuscany, Paris, or Burgundy, I fear, PJ. A rather chill three weeks, if I do say so myself.

Must be that global warming shit again, right TTH?

[Texas Contrarian]

Isn't it amusing that some people feel the need to prattle on incessantly about tax cuts for the "rich", apparently oblivious to the fact that they really don't contribute significantly to the size of the deficit? (The bulk of the tax cuts went to the non-affluent.) In fact, the income tax burden has been virtually removed from the bottom half of the income strata, as we discussed in another thread recently.

Apparently, no one is going to be asked to pay for all the massive accumulations of largesse built up over the last few years. Politicians of both parties intend to simply continue giving out more free lunches to everyone. We'll just pay for everything with borrowed and printed money!

(I'm sure nothing can go wrong with a fiscally sound plan like that.)

[WTF]

Originally Posted by I B Hankering

You've misquoted me again. I said it will happen. All we can do is parry off as many blows as we can, minimize the impact and then hopefully eliminate the perpetrators.

At what cost? That is what you seem to have no answer for. At some point every country in a budget crunch has to make some hard choices. That includes endless wars. Defense contractors make a killing doing this crap....they get to sell bombs to destroy the country we invade and then military equipment to the new government we prop up. But we the taxpayers get bled dry.

You do realize that you have a 100x bigger chance of getting killed in a car accident than a terrorist attack. It is idiotic what we spend for what we are getting in return. No country will ever invade us unless you count Mexico , yet you run around like chicken little screaming the sky if falling.

[WTF]

Originally Posted by CaptainMidnight

. Politicians of both parties intend to simply continue giving out more free lunches to everyone. We'll just pay for everything with borrowed and printed money!

.)

We had a debt commission where almost everyone agreed we needed to raise some taxes and cut spending across the board.

What did both parties do? They continued with a tax cut and handed out more free shit to tac on another trillion dollars to the debt!