Quote from mschey:
Maybe suffering is a strong word but the war is affecting US in many ways: let me count them:
1. Higher gasoline, electricity, heating prices
2. The cost of war = less $$$ for things inside America.
3. Patriot Act = taking freedoms in the name of preserving it
4. Bush being re-elected for the second time - many voted because "you do not change the diver in the middle of the race".
5. lack of focus on things that are important - poverty, education, infrastructure, health care, jobs running away, deficit spending, trade imbalance.
6. Increase of propaganda and spreading the mentality of as v.them. This is how the genocide in rwanda started, namely radio hosts spilling hate. We all know how that episode ended.
So while I sincerely feel for te Iraqis, I am aware that this war is making the US more unstable and its long term effects are like a cancer. You may not see it so clearly at first but the ending is deadly.
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The higher fuel costs are the result of increased consumption by China and India. There might have been a "terror" premium built in, but that has pretty much run it's course.
The majority of the money spent on the war is being transferred to American companies......more guns, and more butter in this case!
The voters made a choice of who they wanted to run the country. I think it was a lesser of two evils choice! While Bush may be the worst public speaker I have ever seen, it literally pains me to watch him give a speech, Kerry ain't no brain trust either, and he has shown on more then one occasion, he isn't any quicker on his feet.
One thing is for certain, we, as a country are doing fine. We have faced some monumental challenges, a massive attack on our soil, a multi front war, and the near decimation of our gulf coast, and yet we are still going strong. I think that 100 years from now, Bush will get the kudos he deserves for tackling the challenges he faced.
The genocide occurred because the pansy's that run the UN are impotent and chose to do nothing. The UN is an impotent organization, but sure makes some of you who feel we need to talk about our differences, that things are getting done. I say, Less Talk More ACTION....that's the way we do it in the US! [/B][/QUOTE]
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To quickly answer your points:
1. I think that the terror war has a lot to do with the price increase. China and India are consuming more of every other resource one might argue, yet it is oil that went from $10 to $60 and not cement or nickel or other resource that both countries have to buy on international markets.
2. Yes a lot of money is being transferred to companies in the US like Haliburton whose connection to vice president has nothing to do with it right? And the company is so American that it is thinking of moving to Dubai - very patriotic. Or do you mean all those companies who for years had been getting billions of dollars in tax incentives and instead of creating jobs here in the US took the money and invested in communist China or Mexico closing factories in the US at the same time.
3. More guns - yes we do spend more than $500 billion on military every year. As for butter, the average salary in the US is on the level from 1973. Yes, 1973. That means that your salary has as much purchasing power as it did in 1973. More butter - I doubt it.
4. As for the voters making the choice. maybe you are not aware but in the presidential elections you actually not voting for the president and the "winner takes all" statue gives all allowed votes for the candidate who had the majority in a given state. So Bush only needed 51% to carry the whole state. In a system like this 49% of the people who voted for someone else does not have representation since the winner takes all.
5. We are doing fine????? 7 trillion national debt. Education system that is so bad and inadequate that cannot even be compared to other First World Countries. trade imbalance, falling infrastructure, diminishing industrial base and the list go on and on.
6. as for the response to what happened in New Orleans, if you think that GWB is going to get kudos for that action then you are crazy. We all saw how swift and organized George's response was.
7. As for the UN, spend some time and see who is blocking 95% of its resolutions and then ask yourself a question why? Try using your brain for a change and not repeat what people at Fox Network are telling you.
8. People who advocate less talk and more action have gotten us into this Iraqi mess and would love to continue this BS for as long as possible. After all how else can you justify taking away our freedoms and cutting programs that would actually benefit the common folk. Communism is gone, time to find a new enemy - world terrorism. Now we can shred the constitution and tell people we need to sacrifice to fight this war. Same old song and dance, for those who are educated and know what is going on.
