tvashtarkatena

Far from certain, this view is probably more of a young male beat off fantasy. For one thing, WACO et all produced a strong negative reaction among only a very small, extremist part of the population. While much of the country thought it a bit of overkill, they also though David Koresh was a dangerous lunatic and that the government had a right to curtail his activities. The only guy that did anything in response to WACO was a kook named McVeigh. No one else lifted a finger in protest. It was, for the most part, a non-issue. And there in lies the rub. a) Militia groups are very small, very extreme, and viewed very negatively by the vast majority of Americans. b) Any larger attempt to organize against the government would be quashed immediately, given the government's new surveillance powers and the new crime of Domestic Terrorism, which carries extremely harsh penalties. Organizing such a widespread movement is simply no longer possible in the United States. c) Politically, the very gun toting folks you speak of are the most loyal to the American flag; they would be the least likely group to rebel, not the most. d) violent insurgent movements in the US have used bombs, not guns. Bombs are a far more effective way to wreak havoc against a more heavily armed foe (Gee, ya think?). The "Bloodbath route" is an excellent choice for morons with a death wish, but any group seriously considering causing trouble will stock up on fertilizer, not ammo. In other words, how armed the population is doesn't matter at all. The government is not at all afraid of widespread armed resistance, which it realizes is a complete fantasy, and it is incredibly prepared and equipped to nip it at the bud with overwhelming force. If you've ever witnessed or participated in an anti-war demonstration, you know exactly what I'm talking about. Hundreds of cops in riot gear with full automatic weapons and armored vehicles. Um, no. The revolution ain't gonna happen that way. Government is afraid of two things; First and foremost, being voted out of office. Our democracy still works. Why beat off about guns and ammo? Just get involved politically. That's where the power is. Government is also afraid of chaos (riots, etc). This is a very different animal from the organized, armed resistance you apparently spend a good deal of effort fantasizing about. This is an unraveling of society our of desperation; something that is possible in troubled times.

Sobo's original post was obviously a satirical potshot at how manufactured and subjective our definition of race is. Apparently, the satire was too realistic for some here; they just didn't get it.

Reduction/elimination of nukes was not an issue during the election the blatantly obvious reason that our national house was burning down so we had other more pressing issues to worry about. The idea that Obama supports or supported unilateral nuclear disarmament is as moronic as the poster who tried to float it here. The idea that worldwide nuclear disarmament would not be a good idea is as moronic as the poster who floated it here. From a deterrence standpoint, our nuclear arsenal constitutes ridiculous overkill. A huge majority of that arsenal is legacy inventory; we built it, oh well, let's just keep it around, necessary or not. From a budgetary standpoint, nuclear disarmament, while an excellent idea to trim some waste while promoting good will in the world, will probably not save us that much. We need to mothball some carrier battle groups, boomers, and reduce our ground forces for the kind of savings we'll need to survive this financial crisis intact. And speaking of trimming the officer corpse; after 8 years of blank check military spending, there's probably many, many tons of fat to trim there. Our military is bloated beyond belief at this point. Step one is to get the fuck out of Iraq. As has been stated by proponents of the invasion on this forum; 70% of the country is in the hands of the Iraqis, and attacks are way down. Good enough. Mission Accomplished. Bye bye. $340 MILLION A DAY. Yeah, we can probably use that elsewhere right about now.

That's a huge and probably wrong assumption on your part. Exactly: Obama already has backed off the "get out of Iraq" pledge during his campaign. His selection of chief of staff confirms a continuation of that. We are and have been spending sh*tloads of $ on those permanent bases already. Link Will Obama walk away from that investment and change US foreign policy on his own?? Doubtful for many reasons. It will be interesting to see how, or even if, we get the Iraqis onboard with this idea of a long term US presence there. Thats a huge and probably wrong assumption on your part. The chief of staff does not enact foreign policy. People are reading way too much into this appointment; suddenly there are predictions about how every aspect of Obama's presidency will go based on the selection of this one man. Pretty ridiculous. Emanuel may have been chosen for his organizational and administrative skills far more than for his political philosophy, which, after, doesn't have to coincide with the President's at all, since the C.O.S. does not decide policy, he simply helps implement it. Who knows? Certainly no one here, that's for damn sure. In any case, the C.O.S. isn't usually a heavy hitter like the AG, the Secretaries, or Supreme Court judges. Relax.

Anyone who wants to know their genetic story, from the emergence from Africa to the present, can discover it here: National Geographic Genomic Project I did it, (got a free kit from my wife's place of work). The results are pretty broad brush; I "discovered" I'm primarily of Northern European stock. Still, the track and timing of my ancestors' migrations, tied very closely to climate change, is interesting. Anecdotally, I have noticed a striking similarity between the behavior and personalities of my Irish relations and my own family, who've had almost not contact with their American counterparts save for a few brief visits. I've also noticed a 'Celtic' disposition, although it's certainly not absolute in any way. Like it or not, genetics is very cental to who we are. It seems to me that a person's racial identity is internal and external; what race/cultures you identify with versus what others view you as. The two are not always coincident, of course. To most observers, Obama and Tiger are black in a connotative simply because they look black. Whether that's good, bad, or neither depends on the observer. At a genetic level, your outward appearance and the standard definition of race often doesn't coincide at all with a persons' ancestral haplotype, which in itself says little about culture. I don't agree with the idea of treating any discussion of race as taboo. I think there's far more danger and stigma in avoiding a subject than just getting it out on the table. Like it or not, race, like gender, sexuality, and a bunch of other things we're granted at birth, is an important aspect of human interaction.

Don't be an ass. I said pull out as fast as is humanely possible, not Vietnam style, which was complete chaos. And you know what I meant, too.

Arabs respond to the Election

Kristol has proven himself to be an utter ass clown time and time again. It's dumbfucks like him who are responsible for the initial idea to invade Iraq. He should have his pea brain removed through his nostrils with a coat hanger.

Bullshit. We should pull out as quickly as hunanly possible. At 340 million a day, we can't afford not to...never could, really. According to our very own AKA, 70% of the country has been handed off to the Iraqis. Good enough. Let's get the fuck out of there now. The Iraqis will figure things out once they absolutely have to. After all, it's there (free) country, right?

I prefer 1st Coming of the Anti-Christ, thanks.

Given the results of the election, it seems as though we are still the rulers. Change isn't going to happen from the top down, but the way it's already happening; from the efforts of each one of us. Over the past 8 years American's have left their clueless hack of a president behind on all the major issues; the war, health care, global warming; to enact change at the personal, local, and state level. We now have a person who actually believes in true democracy at the top (Remember "I don't need any focus groups?") ; that will make it that much easier to attain the America most of us now realize we need to get to. Frankly, the only honorable thing for George Bush to do now is kill himself for all the lives, dreams, and ethical principles he's destroyed. He's not exactly the honorable type, however.

Let's see. 70 foot high wall of water travelling at 35 miles per hour...8 lbs per gallon... F'in 'ell. Poseiden sized balls.

How a woman works. Serendipity. I just ran into my friend at Northwest Mental Health on Thu and she filled me in about the returning soldiers. It's pretty bad.

The problem the auto companies is that they are the epicenter for manufacturing jobs in the U.S., something we sorely need to hang on to for a bunch of reasons. The effect on unemployment would be massive and devastating. It's all mellow to sit on your free-market-lotus, consentrating on the purity of your breathing...in out in...like a sheet of rice paper hung from spidersilk in a swaying breeze, but the reality of this industry evaporating is just too grim. Plus, if we ever wanna start WWIII, we're gonna need those guys to churn out all the toys.

Traumatic Brain Injury. In addition to direct head trauma, there is some evidence now that helmets actually create reverberating shock waves through the brain immediately following explosions, including firing artillery. The effects, apparently, are not good.

I have spoken.

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!

Fuck Nancy Reagan. She's a Grey, not even human. That head! WTF? How the hell did she get to be First Lady anyway? Obama cracked a joke. Get the fuck over it.

oh, what a wisdom! your insight is just fucking amazing. Looks like Fairweather nailed this one 3 months ago. Today's news: hot off the presses, Gulf of Tonkin part 2. Link "TBILISI, Georgia — Newly available accounts by independent military observers of the beginning of the war between Georgia and Russia this summer call into question the longstanding Georgian assertion that it was acting defensively against separatist and Russian aggression. Instead, the accounts suggest that Georgia’s inexperienced military attacked the isolated separatist capital of Tskhinvali on Aug. 7 with indiscriminate artillery and rocket fire, exposing civilians, Russian peacekeepers and unarmed monitors to harm" 3 more pages if you click the link, but that's the drift. I believe this is the more accurate story, at least from what I've read so far.

It's hard to slow down to spell when you're thinking at several times the speed of light.

I speak the truth and the truth hurts. Deal with it. If you think you're guy's gonna get a free pass for 4 years, you are sadly mistaken. OMFG this guy actually believes he's something more than a half deflated football we play pitbull tuggy toy with. Incredibly, he actually got dumber during his absence. Jebus, you can't make this stuff up.

It seems to me that Pres. Obama needs as much assistance and help as he can get. The budget needs to be submitted by Feb, a scant few weeks after the inauguration. I'm glad Bush is being so generous and helpful to get the guy up to speed with briefings etc etc. He could be locking the door, doing things his way, then blaming Barak when Barak is forced to deal with all the shit which would happen right after he first sits down in the chair. That's my opinion....and you know what they say about opinions:-) That would be doing us all a favor. Instead, he's shitting in every bottom drawer of in the White House for the next administration. What a complete and utter tool.

Is it me or is the irony of that statement thick here-:-) It's you. Mattp has proven himself a left-wing nut incapable of ever entertaining a POV different from his own, and consistently makes stupid accusations and fallacious attributions to other's with whom he is supposedly discussing an issue. Note the first thing he states in response to my comment. My comment did not attack a CC.com poster personally. His does. It's par for the course from that shithead. Business as usual. Unfortunately his party and it's adherents here on cc.com regularly engages in these tactics. You, OTOH, strike me as a reasonable fellow, a critical thinker, and not really divisive at all. You are actually worth the effort. Mattp can fuck off. Shut the Fuck Up you little pussy fuck whiner. My God, you're a skidmark. BTW, why'd you leave? Boss get on yer case for a bit too much "multitasking?" Got a new job, now? You've probably got at least a month before they notice that you don't do shit for the company in your cube.

Rahm Emmanuel is one of the most partisan and abrasive political hacks in the Democrat party. That promise of bipartisan cooperation and "unity" has already been tossed out the window. Uniter? Divider. Plus ca change... There's already a thread about that. Time to Shut The Fuck Up, you incomprehensible shitheel.

It's some kind of large pulley for a Cat. RFS (really fuckin hard stainless) probably. Anyway, I found a way to use it without having to drill it.