You might want to back up a bit, jr. I'm not in any way discounting the sacrifices that our men and women in uniform have made.

I like General Smedley Butler's idea that everyone should be paid the same as the lowliest grunt. If no one can profit from war, perhaps we won't go to war.

War Is A Racket [excerpt]

A few profit – and the many pay. But there is a way to stop it. You can't end it by disarmament conferences. You can't eliminate it by peace parleys at Geneva. Well-meaning but impractical groups can't wipe it out by resolutions. It can be smashed effectively only by taking the profit out of war.

The only way to smash this racket is to conscript capital and industry and labor before the nations manhood can be conscripted. One month before the Government can conscript the young men of the nation – it must conscript capital and industry and labor. Let the officers and the directors and the high-powered executives of our armament factories and our munitions makers and our shipbuilders and our airplane builders and the manufacturers of all the other things that provide profit in war time as well as the bankers and the speculators, be conscripted – to get $30 a month, the same wage as the lads in the trenches get.
Major General Smedley D. Butler - USMC Retired

[more]

They are supposed to exist on the bare minimum (and that's being generous). Card board box, red beans and rice, water and one book for entertainment.

We've got war-profiteers to pay, for fuck's sake!

Rude Boy, I would also suggest taxing defense contractors that are making revenue from the war, but I suppose they would just consider it a CODB (cost of doing business) and find a way to add it to their pricing to Uncle Sam, in which case we the taxpayors would ultimately be paying the tax.

I suppose borrowing to fund a war effort has been around for a long time, alhtough the war bonds issued in WWII seemed a more honest way to do it than our defecit spending to fund Vietnam, which IMHO was done for political reasons - people would have been that much less supportive of the war if their taxes had gone up to pay for it - which again I would imagine will happen if a war tax is levied now. BUT, since 99% of us go to the mall and go about our lives with no "skin in the game" as they say, while 1% of us do the actual fighting and dying, I still like this idea.

I like the idea of all being in this together, but who really supports this war exept for a minority? I propose a better idea. Bring 'em home. No war doesn't cost anything.

Jr...? Really, that hurts it stings, it truly does, shut your mouth about "our uninvolvement". I've stood there looking a man in the eyes and shaking his one hand while he was thanking me and my coworkers for doing my job and saving his life.

So giving up texting or data service is too much of a sacrifice. Okay, just wanted to hear you say it.

Obviously the democrats are not willing to sacrifice anything for the war so I go back to my other position; why not get out of it now? The president isn't committed to winning anymore than you and many others are and given those facts there is simply no way we should ask our military to die for a bad policy in a war none of us beleive in enough to sacrifice for.

But it may, if the Taliban returns to power and AQ gets a better place to hide there instead of dodging Pakistani military, and get back to focusing on killing infidels around the world...

they are already taxed. and that always is passed back to the government in what they charge. this is no answer.

if you want a new idea (well, newish) then tell Saudi Arabia and the others in the region who stand to benefit to pony up some cash. actually anyone who benefits from stability in the region (Japan, India etc).

put on a war tax and target the wealthy and maybe Oil Company profits, at least that way we'd have 10,000 lobbyists telling congressmen we have to get out right away.

jesus christ jd he wasn't talking about the soldiers when he referred to uninvolvement.

what's the point of giving up texting or data service if the alternative is more expensive?????

if you agree that A: people need phones to work and live meaningfully and that B: land lines and talk-only cell phone plans are more expensive than texting, then how will giving up texting be any kind of a meaningful sacrifice?

you haven't thought this through.

Everyone of us that wants to be involved can be involved. Our country isn't yet full of people contributing nothing. I'm not a soldier and I've been involved.

http://www.uspoliticsonline.net/imag.../confused1.gif

What the fuck are you on about?

I've saved a few, myself. Not sure that some "my dick is bigger" contest is going to get us anywhere.


Once again, I am not discounting the huge sacrifices that our men and women in uniform (and their families) have made. What I'm saying is that the average American (you know, the other ~250,000,000 of us) have not sacrificed to support the war effort.

great. but your knee jerk reaction was still quite inappropriate. do you honestly disagree with him that most americans are not directly involved with the war?

You pay taxes? You have family, neighbors or friends over there or who have been there? Seems pretty direct involvement to me.

BG, here's the bottom line, if everyone isn't going to be forced to sacrifice no one should be.

But, what I'm saying is that it shouldn't just be a volunteer basis. If Americans had to give up a little bit of their comforts when these men and women were sent off to fight, we might be a bit more careful in general about where we're sending them and why.

Imagine if people had to ration meat, grease, gasoline, or metal in order to make sure the troops had enough to meet their needs.

I'm tired of hearing people rant about uninvolvement, how uninvolved were the people in New York when that first plane hit? That day I saw men who have seen death crying and shaking in their boots knowing we were at war and they feared how bad it could get and who it would touch.

The average american is involved, the fact they can lead the lives they do speaks for how strong the nation still is.

Like I mentioned in a earlier post we are all involved when we pay taxes, provide support to family, friends and neighbors. Having politicos pretend they can "teach america a lesson" with still more taxes is sickening.

Those who can't afford to have the money come out of their benefits. Its countinuitive...