Sorry, didn't mean to include your entire post! I also 'Replied' to a different post of yours. Mad Cow?
On Oct 28, 12:23 pm, ornamentalmind <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > WE is inclusive of countries responsible for global survival by nature > of position of influence -money, location, etc. Of course ideally, > carefully wrought vice-grip sanctions, or smart military maneuverings, > should be priority, not horsehockey as practiced by the Bush Brigade, > who I think all conclude has demostrated idiocy. Do not presume to pin > a "W" on my shirt. I will also caveat that some ends never justify the > means. The "We" I project includes all countries capable of compromise > for greater good. > So, if "W" was not in office do you suggest all military missions in > the last 8 years would be extremely different? Very few would be > deemed necessary or helpfull? Ultimately what do you suggest we do > moving onward? Disband the military? give them taser guns? is > possession of weapons a bait to attack from any kind of outside force? > What do you propose other than this cancerous canker? or, can you say, > living breathing people volunteering to be deluded by the Bush > Administration or any other President working in conjunction with a > bunch of geeks in Congress? > Aren't analogies tools of examining similar - but not necessarily > completely related items...not a statement of truth, but a path to > some form of it? Poor analogies, how I do love to examine the world > through them...and anyone's truth will only be built of sets of > probabilities. Absolutism is not my bag. > Just to clarify, the "peace-niks" I refer to are people I've met who > are oblivious to all counter-arguement against peaceful means to an > end, and consider darwinian combat a thing of the past.... > > “I will also caveat that some ends never justify the means.” – cross > > So, I take it that the following is a justified means to you? … or at > least a de facto manifestation of ‘Might Makes Right’? > > “…I know this little note is a spoof, but in a global society how can > we Not police the planet?…” – cross > > Further, as idealistic and appealing as your collective of ‘countries > capable of compromise for greater good’ may appear, upon further > analysis, in almost all such contracts the reality is manifested by > the imposition of vested interests by using force of one type or > another upon the rest, no? > > Even though I accept your rather bombastic and filled with hyperbole > questions as being just that, I’ll do my best to respond. > > I think that IF Bush (and his cadres) were not in charge, the role of > the US military would have been quite different over the last 8 years. > I am not so naïve as to think that the US military industrial complex > does not hold great sway over how resources are used here and > elsewhere, however the current result of the Madness of King George is > clear to all now. Add to this that Clinton had DAILY meetings on > terrorism while ‘W’ had only ONE IN FOUR MONTHS!!!! . . . well, you > get my drift. I clearly believe that since we knew who was doing the > attacking and why and where they were - we even had airport pictures > that the reason that ‘things are different since 9/11’ would never > have been an issue with a different administration. > > As an admitted child of the 60s (and before), it appears that the > lessons of the futility of imposing might (and ‘democracy’) upon > others seem to be fading fast. So, yes, in an ideal world since we are > using hypotheticals here, our intel and influence would have rendered > most if not all military adventuring of the last 8 years null and > void. > > ‘Moving On’ we will have little choice. The US has long passed it’s > zenith and ‘W’ has wiped out most advancements and means gained from > the last 80 years. Not only this, the four horseman are at our door > and, even though I don’t walk around with a sign ‘The End Is Near!’, > in fact, a clear case can be made that it is. Not only for the US > which already is owned by the Chinese, OPEC and Canadians, among > others, but for humanity as a whole. > When you ask about “possession of weapons a bait to attack from any > kind of outside force?”, I would say not necessarily. However, the > history of how the US has dealt with other countries easily has been > the attraction for such attacks. Seldom is it mentioned about how many > countries ‘we’ have military bases firmly and permanently planted > therein. > > Regarding “…living breathing people volunteering to be deluded…”; I > think you are getting closer to the mark here. As has been the case > ‘forever’, ignorance causes suffering. > > Yes, I know how analogies are used in an attempt to know what is. It > is one of 3 commonly used methods. This said, when your feign > rejecting absolutism, I can’t help but review “…and anyone's truth > will only be built of sets of probabilities…”. Personally, while I do > recognize the ancient notion of possibilities, it is not the > centerpiece of my epistemology let alone ontology. It is only one of a > set of such gnoses. > > As to your personal experience and view of those who are not attracted > to violence and appear to be naïve to you, what can I say? Little if > anything. They are your views. I will suggest that seeing a dialectic > between peace and war perpetuates the process. In a way, those who are > so committed to peace as to, in a sense, put themselves ‘on the line’ > and demand it, rejecting that which is omnipresent and hyped by the > apparent opposing view, are heroes to me. A necessary balance to the > hatreds that produce fanaticism of all types. Perhaps I run in > ignorant circles, perhaps they are more based on the ‘now’….but as > many times as I’ve marched for peace, I’ve never heard Darwin > mentioned. Maybe it is a West Coast thing? : - ) > > Thanks for the interaction! > > On Oct 28, 7:09 am, CrossBow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > interesting that so many think war can go away just like that...do > > people really believe that? I know this little note is a spoof, but in > > a global society how can we Not police the planet? that is like > > letting the guy down the street corner beat the shit out of his wife > > and kids in his front yard and watching without response. Oh, yeah > > diplomatic relations...sanctions.... > > > yes, there are bad choices made for engagement, but total peace-niks > > seem delusional to me. Does anyone else think humanity is hardwired > > for war in at least 10 different levels? > > > On Oct 27, 6:48 pm, stem cell <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > great one. thanks. > > > > On Oct 27, 6:32 pm, "Liz Purkrabek" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > From: [EMAIL PROTECTED] [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED] On Behalf Of > > > > Jessica > > > > Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 4:19 PM > > > > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Subject: [skeptics-145] Fwd: Enjoy the read! > > > > > Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008 11:47 AM > > > > Subject: Enjoy the read! > > > > > Dear Red States: > > > > > We've decided we're leaving. We intend to form our own country, and > > > > we're > > > > taking the other Blue States with us. In case you aren't aware, that > > > > includesCalifornia, Hawaii, Oregon, Washington, Minnesota, Wisconsin, > > > > Michigan, Illinois and all the Northeast. We believe this split will be > > > > beneficial to the nation, and especially to the people of the new > > > > country of > > > > New California. > > > > > To sum up briefly: You get Texas, Oklahoma and all the slave states. We > > > > get > > > > stem cell research and the best beaches. We get the Statue of Liberty. > > > > You > > > > get Dollywood. We get Intel and Microsoft. You get WorldCom. We get > > > > Harvard. > > > > You get Ole' Miss. We get 85 percent of America's venture capital and > > > > entrepreneurs. You get Alabama. We get two-thirds of the tax revenue, > > > > you > > > > get to make the red states pay their fair share. > > > > > Since our aggregate divorce rate is 22 percent lower than the Christian > > > > Coalition's, we get a bunch of happy families. You get a bunch of single > > > > moms. Please be aware that Nuevo California will be pro-choice and > > > > anti-war, > > > > and we're going to want all our citizens back from Iraq at once. If you > > > > need > > > > people to fight, ask your evangelicals. They have kids they're > > > > apparently > > > > willing to send to their deaths for no purpose, and they don't care if > > > > you > > > > don't show pictures of their children's caskets coming home. We do wish > > > > you > > > > success in Iraq , and hope that the WMDs turn up, but we're not willing > > > > to > > > > spend our resources in Bush's Quagmire. > > > > > With the Blue States in hand, we will have firm control of 80 percent > > > > of the > > > > country's fresh water, more than 90 percent of the pineapple and > > > > lettuce, 92 > > > > percent of the nation's fresh fruit, 95 percent of America's quality > > > > wines > > > > (you can serve French wines at state dinners) 90 percent of all cheese, > > > > 90 > > > > percent of the high tech industry, most of the U.S. low-sulfur coal, all > > > > living redwoods, sequoias and condors, all the Ivy and Seven Sister > > > > schools > > > > plus Stanford , Cal Tech and MIT. With the Red States, on the other > > > > hand,you > > > > will have to cope with 88 percent of all obese Americans (and their > > > > projected health care costs), 92 percent of all U.S. mosquitoes, nearly > > > > 100 > > > > percent of the tornadoes, 90 percent of the hurricanes, 99 percent of > > > > all > > > > Southern Baptists, virtually 100 percent of all televangelists, Rush > > > > Limbaugh, Bob Jones University, Clemson and the University of Georgia. > > > > We > > > > get Hollywood and Yosemite, thank you. > > > > > Additionally, 38 percent of those in the Red states believe Jonah was > > > > actually swallowed by a whale, 62 percent believe life is sacred unless > > > > we're discussing the death penalty or gun laws, 44 percent say that > > > > evolution is only a theory, 53 percent that Saddam was involved in 9/11 > > > > and > > > > 61 percent of you crazies believe you are people with higher morals > > > > then we > > > > lefties. > > > > > Peace out, > > > > > Blue States > > ... > > read more »- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Memphis Freethought Alliance" group. 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